When a monogram beats a logo
The launcher icon is drawn at roughly four millimetres across, next to thirty others, on a wallpaper you did not choose. Most website logos were designed for a header at ten times that width, usually with the brand name beside them. Shrunk to 48 pixels, a wordmark is a smudge and an illustrated logo is a blur. A single letterform on a flat brand colour survives that shrink — which is why so many of the apps already on your phone use exactly that.
A monogram is also the honest choice when the site simply has no square artwork. It says "this is Bloom Bakery" as clearly as a logo would, and it can be replaced in a later update without changing anything else.
What the tool produces
| File | Size | Use |
|---|---|---|
icon-1024.png | 1024 × 1024 | The one file the builder asks for — it generates the rest |
play-store-icon-512.png | 512 × 512 | Play Console listing icon. Square corners, no transparency, as Play requires |
res/mipmap-*/ic_launcher.png | 48 – 192 | The five density buckets for a native project |
res/mipmap-*/ic_launcher_round.png | 48 – 192 | Round variant for launchers that ask for one |
res/drawable/ic_launcher_foreground.png | 432 × 432 | Adaptive icon foreground, padded to the 66% safe zone |
Getting the letter to read at 48 pixels
- One or two letters. Three fit, but they are small. "BB" reads; "BBK" is a texture.
- Contrast first. The auto setting picks black or white lettering based on the colour's luminance. Override it only for a colour that is genuinely mid-tone, and check the 48px preview.
- Gradients are fine; busy gradients are not. Two neighbouring colours (a lime into a teal) add depth. Two opposing colours fight the letter.
- Leave the shape to Android. Since Android 8 the launcher masks icons to its own shape — circle on Pixel, squircle on Samsung. The rounded option matches the most common result; the adaptive foreground in the ZIP is what the launcher actually masks.
- Watch the circle preview. It shows what a circular mask does to the corners. If the letter touches the edge, shrink it.
Using it with the builder
Upload icon-1024.png at the app info step. The builder generates every launcher density, the round variant and the Play icon from it — the ZIP here is for people building a native project or who want to inspect the output first. Pair the icon with the Theme Colour Lab so the status bar and splash use the same colour, and the app looks designed rather than assembled.