Many of the app-makers and developer I work with are engineers, and they tend to focus on the technological side of their product. Architecture, database, features, APIs, etc. In the end they are happy and proud to see their product working, but a bit ashamed of how it looks. As a UX/UI Designer with 20+ year experience and an app-maker myself, here is my ultimate checklist and a bit of advice to build an app that works AND looks cool.

In this article, we will start with the basics: finding the right name and designing the app logo. It can be done after the backend, but you want to have a pretty good idea of these early on in the process, to avoid too much interface refactoring.

Please note: for this article, I will only focus on the UI and brand side of design (looking good); I will cover the UX and process (usability) in a later article. 

In this article I will cover:

1. Chosing the right app name
2. Designing the logo in levels of grey (no colors yet)

Evolution of Loopzzz logo in Affinity Designer. In this example you can see that I started with ideas around my app: sound waves, a leaf for nature, headsets. In the end, the final logo keeps the same core concepts, with a focus on the play button, and leaves and sound waves as secondary elements.

Chosing the right app name

I often have 2 names for my products. First I work with a project name. That is a bit of a code to name my files and assets, but is only meaningful for me. For example, Tribe Check – Anonymous Safety has the working name Angelapp. But for many reasons, this can not be your final product name.

So the first step is to define the right name for your app. I suggest starting with finding a domain name: something we as engineers are quite used to (and it avoids realizing later that your perfect name is squatted.) My process is the following:

For Tribe Check, I changed the name several times, from Angelapp (project name) to oKou, Smart reminders, Tribe Warning and finally Tribe Check.

1. Identify which language(s) your app will be in (English is probably the easiest choice.)
2. Write down keywords about your product, like hashtags to describe it
3. Cluster them in a mindmap or on a post-it board
4. You can also use the 3 column method: fill each of the following with as many words as you can: What does it do? How does it do it? For whom?
5. Try to associate them in an original way (for example Tribe comes from the How does it do it? and Check from the What does it do?)
6. Start with quantity: think of many names
7. Show them around, ask what potential users and people unfamiliar with your project think it does

When you have a few options that sound right, check the domain name availability and search for it on Google, then iterate from there. For Tribe Check, I changed the name several times, from Angelapp (project name) to oKou, Smart reminders, Tribe Warning and finally Tribe Check.

In your toolbox

1. Infomaniak Domains (or any other web domain availability checker)
2. A whiteboard tool like Miro or Mural, or OneNote or pen and paper
3. A synonym finder like Thesaurus

How long does it take?

It will take time, and be an iterative process. That’s why it’s best to start sooner: it gives you time to think and mature, and it will be much easier if you are not pressed by time right before GTM (Go to Market)!

Designing loopzzz logo in Affinity Designer in a vector format

Designing the logo

Relax, this step is much easier than you think!

An important thing to keep in mind is that your logo must look nice in a very small format

I find the hardest part is to design a logo for other people to get it, it is not intended for you. My process is the following, very similar to finding the app name:

1. Write down keywords about your product, like hashtags to describe it (cf. previous step)
2. Collect visuals that represent those keywords (the easiest is icons or pictures) and place them on a moodboard
3. Try to combine several of these visuals (for example Tribe Check logo represents a heart at its center, symbolizing a person, surrounded by a shield for protection, that looks a bit like a star, and surrounded by a circle of stars, representing the idea of a tribe.) Play with the core concepts of your app to prioritize one or another.
4. At this step, you can just work in levels of grey (we’ll talk about colors in the next article of this series.)
5. Try to combine your logo with the app name: do they work well together? And iterate from here, again showing options around to potential users and people unfamiliar with your project

An important thing to keep in mind is that your logo must look nice in a very small format (as small as 36×36 pixels!) Try to stay as icon-like as possible, minimize empty space, avoid borders and gradients or any text on the logo itself (the name of the app can appear under the logo in the bigger formats.)

In your toolbox

1. A whiteboard tool like Miro or Mural, or OneNote or pen and paper
2. Figma, Illustrator or Affinity Designer to design your logo in a vector format
3. Or if that sounds scary just start with pen and paper and draw the concept of your logo

Could I use generative AI?

Honestly, it can be helpful to get you started, but it won’t help you in the long term: resolution will never be sufficient, so you will have to design it in a tool like Affinity Designer anyway. Besides, the ideas are often a bit dull and lack personality, which is kind of the point of designing a logo for your app.

Stay tuned! In the next article I will cover:

1. Chosing a color palette
2. Chosing a combination of fonts