App Launcher Icon Competition November 2011
Article Metadata
Contents |
Winners announced!
This was a fun competition to run, and it seems that with 196 icons submitted by 103 developers you agree!
Without further ado, the three winners, with entries that we think best captured the essence of their app are:
 |
Melon Mobile for its (soon to be published) Baby Monitor app. The icon uses a clever background colour, links to notifications, and highlights monitoring. |
 |
Pixle/Trismer for its Bord "chalkboard simulator". The icons uses bold, simple elements that connect with the target audience. |
 |
Stephen Spencer for his Meex "electronic music beatmatching app". The icon combined surround with real world symbol. Metaphor expresses content of app. |
The winners will hear from us in the next few days regarding shipping their shiny new Nokia N9 mobile devices.
While no additional prizes will be awarded, the judges would like to give an "honourable mention" to the following eight competitors who showed a real understanding of what we meant by simplicity, purity, friendliness, and fun (note that the apps linked below may not yet display their shiny new icons!):
- WaterBubble from Chintan Dave
- Kontact Touch/Notes from Nuno Pinheiro
- HappyRepublic Day from Sangram.
- Bunyi (soon to be released) from Dhi Aurrahman
- Pitu Hunt from Carlos De León
- LyricsQuick from Jaakko Koskenkorva
- Get a Cab! MY from Michelle Ng
- Toshi from Janez Vreček
Thanks everyone who competed. Special thanks also to Nokia Design & Sanna for the competition and for judging (which was not an easy task!)
Competition background
We're having a competition to celebrate the launch of Nokia's new icon styles and templates.
All you have to do is use our new toolkits to create a compelling new app launcher icon for your Series 40, Symbian, or Nokia N9 app. We're going to be awarding a number of new Nokia N9 mobile devices, which is a pretty cool prize for doing something that every great app has to have anyway!
If that's not enough, then consider that as winner of a Nokia Developer competition your icon, and hence your app, will be featured in our Community, Wiki, and Project home pages, as well as in our developer newsletters - giving your app immediate visibility with hundreds of thousands of your peers and potential employers!
The Nokia Icon Toolkit contains all available Nokia icon templates. Supported applications for the templates are Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, and Adobe Photoshop (for Nokia N9 and Series 40 icons).
Read the guidelines for each of the platforms (Series 40, Symbian and MeeGo) and off you go!
How to participate
Create a new app launcher icon for your app using our templates and email it to us along with a brief explanation of why it is an effective metaphor for your app. That's it!
Here are the competition rules:
- The icon must be original work and be based on our templates; icons should be submitted as PNG if your app is for Series 40 or N9 and SVG if your app is for Symbian.
- You submission must arrive in our inbox between November 14 and Nov 30 (GMT).
- The icon remains your copyright, and we hope you'll use it for your application!
- Nokia must have permission to publish your icon and application description on the wiki, discussion boards, newsletters, and any other mechanisms while promoting this competition and its results.
- Only icons for "real" apps are accepted. If the app is not yet public you should include screenshots and a description in your email.
See the fine print for more information.
Evaluation of entries
We will be judging the icons on how well they communicate the essence of your app, and how well they match with the platform's icon philosophy. We'll be looking for simplicity and purity, along with a thick serving of friendliness and fun.
The entries will be evaluated by selected Nokia UI Experts. The results are expected to be announced in December.
Feedback
In order to improve our templates, we wish to receive your feedback and improvement ideas on the icon templates. Share your thoughts in your competition entry email if you want to keep them private.
Generic questions or comments concerning this competition can be addressed as comments to this wiki page.
The fine print
The main sponsor of the competition is Nokia Corporation, Finland (“main sponsor”). The competition is a competition of skill. No purchase or admission fee is necessary to participate. By participating in the competition the participant indicates his/her/its acceptance to these rules and agrees to be bound by them as well as any rules and regulations of Nokia Developer and the Developer’s Wiki. You acknowledge and agree that no form of cheating will be tolerated. Any persons found cheating, as determined in the sole and absolute discretion of the main sponsor, will immediately be disqualified from the contest. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the main sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to amend, withdraw or revise these rules and the prizes at any time without notice and in such event the main sponsor shall not have any liability whatsoever.
This competition shall not constitute a commitment or create a joint venture, partnership, agency or other business relationship between the participants and the main sponsor of this competition. This competition shall not either be understood to grant to any participant whether expressly or by implication any ownership, rights or license to any intellectual property rights of the main sponsor and vice versa. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Nokia shall not be liable for any damages arising out of the participant’s participation to the competition. The laws of Finland shall be applicable to any disputes arising out of the competition. Unless otherwise provided for in applicable mandatory legislation, such disputes will be finally settled in the public court of Helsinki.
Nokia Developer employees and contractors are not eligible for this contest. The competition is open to other Nokia employees (except those working directly for Nokia Developer) with the following limitations:
- You should not be directly involved in the development of icons for Nokia platforms or Nokia marketing material
- You should use only the published tools and resources - "practice what you preach"
- Submissions from the Nokia employees will be judged and prized separately, and will not compete directly with third party developers
Copyright ©2011 Nokia. All rights reserved. Nokia and Nokia Developer are registered trademarks of Nokia Corporation.
Contents
Hugovk - .AIA and .AIT files
> You should use only the published tools and resources - "practice what you preach"
Please could you publish a tool for .aia and .ait files, or convert them to .svg files that can be edited with the free Inkscape? Unfortunately my freeware budget doesn't extend to a $600 Adobe Illustrator licence.
Or is there some other way I can use them?
Thank you!hugovk 12:18, 11 November 2011 (EET)
Krebbix - Inkscape
We do support Inkscape from now on for Series 40, Symbian and Nokia N9. Please check the updated pages.
http://www.developer.nokia.com/Resources/Library/Design_and_UX/designing-for-nokia-platforms/iconography-style-summary.html
From there you find the Nokia Icon Toolkit. This toolkit contains also Inkscape templates. The same steps which are performed by the Illustrator action script are described in detail for the Inkscape template pages which you find for each platform and each type of supported icon. The Adobe Illustrator action script just does it automatically, whereas Inkscape requires manual work - which I think is fair enough since it comes for free. In the end, the results of an Illustrator action script or Inkscape process should be very close to each other.
Kind regards,
KrebbixKrebbix 15:09, 11 November 2011 (EET)
Hugovk - Thanks!
Hi Krebbix, thanks for updating the link to the new zip with .svgs!hugovk 16:04, 11 November 2011 (EET)
Ruchaitu - insckape and svgt
Sometime back, i had lot of issues generativ SVGT files for symbian using inkscape. so i used a tool called svg pony to tranform SVG generated by inkscape to SVGT.
If i dont do this conversion the icon wont showup properly on the phone. can i follow these steps again? or inkscape can support SVGT somehow?ruchaitu 08:06, 12 November 2011 (EET)
Lg21 - Not your Application
Can you provide an icons for an app that is not yours but that app owner gives you permission to use and will use that icon?lg21 08:35, 12 November 2011 (EET)
Ltomuta - Re: insckape and svgt
@Ruchaitu: You are welcome to optimize your icon so that it not only renders as intended on device but also does it so as fast as possible. There's no restriction with regards to the tools used to do this, but we do have in fact a recommended one, the SVG Converter ( http://projects.developer.nokia.com/svg2svgt )ltomuta 10:45, 12 November 2011 (EET)
Peppelorum - 404 for Meego guidelines
The link to the Meego guidelines seems to be broken.peppelorum 13:43, 13 November 2011 (EET)
Sangp -
In which format are we supposed to send the ICON? Should we send in SVG format or png format or you need the original source file with the template?Sangp 08:53, 14 November 2011 (EET)
Rikkybiologic - "your apps"?
what the meaning about "your apps"? does we have to make an icon for our creation apps? i dont have an app or can we make icons for existing apps, like camera, calendar, etc? sorry for bad english thanks
rikkybiologic 11:38, 14 November 2011 (EET)
Ashraf fawzy - How many icons I should participate with?
Hi,
If I have multiple published applications, can I send their icons, or do I have to choose only one application icon to participate with?
Best regards,
Ashrafashraf fawzy 22:03, 15 November 2011 (EET)
Hamishwillee - Responses to last for notes
@Peppelorum - 404 for Meego guidelines
Seems to be working now
@Sangp -
See rules: icons should be submitted as PNG if your app is for Series 40 or N9 and SVG if your app is for Symbian.
@Rikkybiologic - "your apps"?
Your English is fine! This is a competition for real apps that belong to you. No, you can't make icons for existing apps or apps that belong to others. Primarily we're hoping that people who have apps in the old icon style will update to the new style.
@Ashraf fawzy - How many icons I should participate with?
As many as you like provided that the applications are different and have a different "metaphor" (if your application was an ereader, then having 20 different icons for a "book" would be a pain to process!=hamishwillee 06:09, 17 November 2011 (EET)
Rachita - We need to follow colors based on templates?
"The icon must be original work and be based on our templates;"
We have to follow colour based on "Symbian colour spectrum" mentioned in templates?
For example there is light blue colour for contacts in "Symbian colour spectrum". Now if my application is related to contacts then i must use light blue colour? My entry counted invalid if i use some other colour?Rachita 09:14, 21 November 2011 (EET)
Hamishwillee - @Rachita - not invalid, but it may count against you
Hi Rachita
The most important thing is how well your icon captures the "metaphor" of your application and fits with the style of the platform. Fitting in with the Symbian colour spectrum is a part of fitting in with the platform. So if we had two competitors with equally great icons we'd lean towards the one that used the suggested colour spectrum. However if using another colour is a key part of capturing your metaphor, then you should simply explain this in your submission. You could even provide two variants for demonstration that the colour you've suggested is more appropriate.
Regards
Hamishhamishwillee 01:50, 22 November 2011 (EET)
Sangp - Color for Games
If my app is a game, is there any suggested color spectrum for the background?Sangp 11:55, 22 November 2011 (EET)
Hamishwillee - @Sangp - No
Hi Sangp,
None that I can see: http://www.developer.nokia.com/Resources/Library/Design_and_UX/designing-for-nokia-platforms/designing-for-symbian/symbian-iconography-guidelines/symbian-launcher-icon-templates/symbian-inkscape-launcher-template-2.html#toc_Glyphcolours
There probably should be. I'll ask
regards
Hamishhamishwillee 01:55, 23 November 2011 (EET)
SannaH - Icon colors
Hi,
The Symbian color spectrum (http://www.developer.nokia.com/Resources/Library/Design_and_UX/designing-for-nokia-platforms/designing-for-symbian/symbian-iconography-guidelines/symbian-launcher-icon-templates/symbian-inkscape-launcher-template-2.html#toc_Glyphcolours) shows the colors that are used in our devices by default. If your app fits those colors, great! If not, it's definitely not the end of the world :)
As Hamish mentioned, the main thing is that the icon follows the same style and colors as your application.
Keep the icons coming!
SannaSannaH 09:03, 23 November 2011 (EET)
Hugovk - @Hamishwillee / @Rachita /SannaH - icon colours
The official guidelines say:
"Use of colour: The colour of the icon background can be customised to match your brand colours, or it can follow the Nokia colour-coding spectrum, which maps colour groups based on the core functionality of the application (media, tools, utilities)."
http://www.developer.nokia.com/Resources/Library/Design_and_UX/designing-for-nokia-platforms/designing-for-symbian/symbian-iconography-guidelines/symbian-launcher-icon-basics.html#toc_Iconcharacteristicshugovk 13:55, 25 November 2011 (EET)
Rkvino - Reg: competition
Hi, Initially, thank you for conducting the contest , so that it is very motivating .. i sent the icon to nokia.developer.projects@nokia.com., but i didn't got any reply from u(even auto reply). so how could i know whether my icon is submitted for contest or not ..?? plz reply me urgently., so that i can send that icon once again..
regards., vinodh
rkvino@gmail.comrkvino 09:46, 28 November 2011 (EET)
Hamishwillee - @Hugovk - true
Yes. SannaH is the final word, and that's what she's said basically said "the main thing is that the icon follows the same style and colors as your application." Using Nokia colour coding spectrum and different branding colours in the app would not work well.
@Rkvino - I've asked SannaH to look at this. We haven't been sending out notifications.hamishwillee 05:57, 29 November 2011 (EET)
Squishy2011 - What email address do i send it to?
What email address do i send it to?squishy2011 13:16, 29 November 2011 (EET)
Dongatory - Submitted
I just submitted my 2 entries but unfortunately I didn't include any of metaphor things by mistake, I though it just needs the app description only.
Honestly, I don't know how to talk about it. My english is not very good and also my verbal thinking is poor too. I will try to find out some words and resubmit it again.dongatory 11:59, 30 November 2011 (EET)
Mind freak - problem while saving svg in inkscape
I have dropped transparent png on precast background and then saved as svg, but at time of converting svg to svg-t, when i add my svg to svg converter it show blank icon also same while setting application icon though i have addded png graphics on my icon.mind_freak 14:40, 30 November 2011 (EET)
Knobtviker - Quick questions
Hi, 2 simple quick questions:
1. - how many participants were involved? 2. - "The results are expected to be announced in December. " Depending on the number of entries, do you maybe know when in December( mid, end) ?
Thanks, this was a fun competition!knobtviker 22:50, 30 November 2011 (EET)
Hamishwillee - @Squishy2011, @Dongator, Knobtviker
Read the post, there's a link in it!
The app description may be sufficient that the metaphor is obvious - for example an email app that uses a letter icon. If not, yes, please do resubmit - make it clear that you're adding to an existing email.
- Quite a lot. In first week alone we had nearly 40
- We've arranged quite a lot of judges but there are also lots of entries. Mid-December is likely but we're not making any promises
You're welcome!hamishwillee 06:42, 1 December 2011 (EET)
SannaH - @Mind freak
PNG is a bitmap based format while Inkscape/SVG is a vector based software. If you want to create an SVG icon in Inkscape every part of the icon has to be vector based. If you want to use a PNG image for your SVG icon creation you need to trace it. Inkscape offers a tracing tool. Select the option "Path" -> "Trace Bitmap" (Shift+Alt+B) and open the Trace Bitmap dialogue. Select the PNG image and try different tracing setting option until you achieve a simple vector image. Here is a link that might help to find optimized tracing settings: http://www.developer.nokia.com/Resources/Library/Design_and_UX/designing-for-nokia-platforms/designing-for-symbian/symbian-iconography-guidelines/symbian-launcher-icon-basics.html
After tracing you need to delete the PNG image from the Inkscape template. You can continue to create your SVG icon as described in the guidelines.
Ltomuta - @Mind Freak
Raster images (like PNG) have no business being in a SVG file. Yes, it is supported by the standard but there are two problems with that: a) SVGs icons were taken into use, replacing raster format, because they scale a lot better. Putting raster images in the SVGs nullifies that feature so then why use SVG format at all? b) the devices have various levels of problems handling SVGs with raster components, transparent PNGs being one known soft spot
The SVG Converter should issue a warning when it detects raster images in the converted file. But it does not remove the image. The result should be visible on a browser, but on device may not work.
Send us the files if you wish, both original and converted, if you think that SVG Converter has a problem.
As for the icon creation, my advice is that you should trace your PNG and then remove it, keeping only the traced replica for editing.ltomuta 08:34, 1 December 2011 (EET)
SimonB - CONGRATS TO ALL THE WINNERS
Congrats to all the winners and those who got special honorable mention. Enjoy those sexy new Nokia N9's.simonB 15:19, 13 December 2011 (EET)
Chintandave er - Thanks - from Honorable mentions list. :)
Thanks.
BTW, I am in Honorable mention list. :)Chintandave er 15:22, 13 December 2011 (EET)