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How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

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Re: How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

#21

Post by digitalengineer »

paulyan wrote: post #7
digitalengineer wrote: post #3

How can you seriously say this "And we hired a designer on Elance to design an icon. It costs us $50, but absolutely worth the money" and then this:"Icon is super important. Make sure you hired the right talent"? As a designer I like the design, but 50 bucks? "worth the money"? I have no idea why anyone would want to sell their design for just 50 bucks. Is this designer your friend? One thing I do know for sure: If t…

Thanks @digitalengineer for your comments, yes it's relatively cheep from all the offering's. Actually this is my first try, and the result absolutely exceeds my expectation. i guess it's because the designer is from India, so the cost is kept low. i dont think it's possible in US or EU...

I think you're right. The cheapest possibility would be crowdsurfing something like 99designs.com

Re: How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

#22

Post by paulyan »

Peroni wrote: post #20
paulyan wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as a young startup, it's important to balance between attractiveness and expense, Dribbble is too expensive for me...

Then your argument about hiring the right talent is moot. You went with what you could afford and were fortunate with the result however paying $50 for a logo on eLance isn't great advice for other startups.

I would still suggest trying. If you're not satisfied with what's offered, you can reject it, it does no harm. And Elancer has many options to try.

But if without trying, devs will never be able to make an satisfying icon (at least for me). We cannot stay there waiting for Apples to sentence the app's death.

Re: How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

#24

Post by paulyan »

digitalengineer wrote: post #19
paulyan wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as a young startup, it's important to balance between attractiveness and expense, Dribbble is too expensive for me...

Dribble is too expensive for just about any startup ;-) I did my own design (but thats sort of my job). It's no App but the logo involves a camera as well. Doing something/anything with a camera is difficult as everything has been done. Here's my take (upper left): http://royaltyfreemodels.nl/

hmm, upper left has no camera, i think...

Re: How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

#25

Post by paulyan »

digitalengineer wrote: post #5
highace wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the look of it I think it's a stock template icon with some tweaking?

Think youre right. Here is one thats even nicer: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-78548530/stock-vector-vector...

nice...

Re: How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

#26

Post by paulyan »

vineet wrote: post #13
paulyan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi @raverbashing, i read "Wooden texture is a fashionable design in 2012" somewhere, but i forgot where it was... what's the full name of "skeuomorphism"? so that i can check it in App Store..

Google "skeuomorphism".

gotcha, thanks,

Re: How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

#27

Post by nroach »

How do you know whether the increase in downloads is due to "good design" vs. confusion with an official instagram product? The new icon bears a strong resemblance to the instagram icon (particularly at small sizes). Isn't it possible that instead of good design you're simply seeing an increase in conversions by unsophisticated buyers and you're gaining a benefit from that confusion with a well-established brand? It sounds like you're probably not US-based, but it might be worth considering whether there is any legal exposure for trade dress infringement and/or trademark dilution.

Re: How polished UI (icon) helped my iPad app's downloads (stats inside)

#28

Post by paulyan »

francov88 wrote: post #17

Great post, and I agree with the idea that good design makes a huge difference, but I would have like to see more conclusive data. Seemed a little superficial and also like you believe the $50 icon was the source all the popularity. I would have looked at how many people shared the app after the redesign, how many people invited friends, how many more ratings and reviews you got, how often users performed an "action"…

thanks for the comments, @francov88, i will keep up the work and keep sharing. Up to now, I think Padgram still has potential to grow. Among all the Instagram iPad app, Padgram has relatively good design and distinguishing features. I will share more data as it goes.
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