There was never a better time in history to be an entrepreneur than right now. The internet changed the world in ways that people 20 or 30 years ago could have never predicted. We've gotten used to these changes and adapted to everything that's going on so much that most people don't take to appreciate everything that's happened in the last two decades.
If you take a step back and look at how much our world has changed and technology keeps improving, it's nothing short of amazing. A few decades ago, running a website wouldn't be even considered a job. Not to mention that talking about about publicly available AI tools would not have attracted an audience a few years ago. But here we are today.
Smartphones made perhaps the biggest impact on our daily lives out of all electronic devices, mainly because of how much people use them. They have become an extension of ourselves in such a capacity that most people (especially young adults) feel lost when they don't have their smartphones on them.
With the rise of smartphones came a new global market that people from all over the world could easily tap into if they had a good idea and could develop it. This gave entrepreneurs endless opportunities. App development is a popular career choice nowadays and I predict that it will remain that way for a very long time.
You can have only a dollar and a dream, and there's a chance that you'll make it in this world if your idea is good enough to attract a customer base. While developers and entrepreneurs focus mainly on the apps they're making, I would say that it's equally important to carefully consider what an app icon will look like.
The app icon needs to be visually appealing and memorable. Today, I'm going to show you how you can leverage generative AI models like Dall-E 3 to create stunning app icons.
How to Write Dall-E 3 Prompts for App Icons
There are different approaches to writing Dall-E 3 prompts for app icons. One approach would be to carefully describe all of the objects you want to see featured in the app icon design, along with your preferred color palette. But this is not what I'm going to be doing today.
Instead, I will focus on an approach that I deem to be beginner-friendly. It's also a strategy that will help you get consistent results. My prompts for these types of designs are quite simple. I usually describe what an app is about in a concise manner, and then run my prompts through several times to find a result that I really like.
The reason why I use this approach for app icon design is quite simple - it urges the AI model to significantly increase the randomization of its designs. That's important in this case because I feel like it increases the chances of you finding the perfect design for your app.
You might think that you have a good idea for a design, but it's usually best to explore many different ideas before settling on the one that's already in your head. In this article, I'll show you prompts that you can use several times and get different results in each instance.
14 Dall-E 3 Prompt Examples for App Icons
App icons feature slightly different designs compared to traditional logos. If you're more interested in learning what types of logos you can make with Dall-E 3, I would like to redirect you to a different article of mine. I have an entire guide on how to make logos with Dall-E 3 that's suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
prompt #1: app icon design for a travel app that assists users in discovering unique destinations and connecting with fellow travel enthusiasts
Dall-E 3 has a great capability of understanding what users write in their prompts mainly due to the fact that the company behind it created the most popular large language model so far, ChatGPT. As you can see, this type of app icon makes perfect sense. I mentioned that it should be a travel app, and the generative AI model included a globe, airplanes, and map pins in the design. Let's see what else Dall-E 3 can make.
prompt #2: app icon design for a finance app that monitors your expenses and provides alerts when your budget is approaching its limits
One of the things that most people have to learn the hard way in life is how to control our spending and save money. This is something that they don't teach you in school and is rarely taught in the household because the majority of people don't know how to do it. Some finance apps have made it easier for people to monitor their expenses, so I think these types of applications are important.
I don't know what to say about this design other than that it's amazing. The icon is memorable and users intuitively know what the app is about as soon as they see the design.
prompt #3: app icon design, pictorial mark logo, a fitness app that enables users to challenge friends to virtual workout competitions through interactive video messages
Dall-E 3 really shines when it blends a lot of different objects together in a single image. This is something that most other text-to-image AI models struggle with. None of these human characters look out of place. This is also a great idea for an app. We need more gamified experiences in order to motivate people to stay active.
prompt #4: app icon design for an astronomy app that provides real-time updates on celestial events and connects users with fellow stargazers
I don't specify a color palette in any of my prompts for app icons. I just let the model randomize the results and then pick the one I like the most. However, note that you can always mention a certain palette in your prompt and the model will follow your instructions.
Hues of blue and purple here are phenomenal. Both colors are tied to the cosmic theme of the app icon design.
prompt #5: app icon design for a dating app that focuses on shared interests, connecting users based on their favorite hobbies and activities
In order to write this article, I first had to come up with different ideas for apps and then generate these images. Some of these ideas may be good, but I think that even professional designers would struggle to come up with relevant designs if I described what I had in mind.
In this particular case, I think it's extremely difficult to come up with a design that relays what the app is about and is also memorable. I like what the Dall-E 3 did here, but I think the icon would be even better if I had come up with a different idea for an app.
prompt #6: app icon design for a fashion discovery app that helps users find and connect with local designers and boutiques
The point of fashion is to enable you to express yourself through clothes. This is something that you really do if you only shop at large store chains like Zara and H&M. That's why I think that local designers and small businesses will always be able to thrive as long as the clothes they sell are different and visually appealing. An app like this can help you find your own style and give you locations where you can find clothes. This way, you can both express yourself through fashion and support local businesses.
prompt #7: app icon design for a sustainability app that facilitates eco-friendly lifestyle choices and connects users with like-minded individuals
I think that both the near- and far future will be significantly more focused on sustainability. This is something that humans should be conscious of in order to protect our planet. This is a great design for a sustainability app, but I think it would be even better if you were to edit it slightly and remove the small circles spread throughout the icon.
prompt #8: app icon design for a finance app that uses AI to provide personalized investment advice and connects users with financial advisors
Although I already came up with an idea for a finance app icon, I wanted to do another one. The twist here is that the app is infused with AI. I kind of already knew what I wanted to see. An illustrated neural network is the obvious choice for an app like this. The handshake below it is definitely a nice touch.
prompt #9: app icon design for a language learning app where users earn points and unlock new levels by mastering different languages
It's difficult to come up with a bunch of different app ideas. Of course, I have to sometimes use ideas that already exist. This type of app is essentially what Duolingo offers. Their gamified language learning app is what helped them become really successful. They also have a nice mascot logo that's memorable.
Although I personally think that the Duolingo logo is one of the best in this modern age, I really like the idea Dall-E 3 came up with here. It makes perfect sense and demonstrates to users what the app is about.
prompt #10: app icon design for a creativity app that encourages users to express themselves through art, music, and writing
I think that this is the best app icon design I made for this article with the help of Dall-E 3. I like the vibrant colors featured in the design. The explosion of colors symbolizes an outburst of creativity.
prompt #11: app icon design for a virtual art gallery app that showcases digital artworks and connects artists with potential buyers and collaborators
Although I like what Dall-E 3 did here, I think that this is a design that requires some edits in order to be great. There is nothing wrong with the design per se, I just don't find it very memorable.
prompt #12: app icon design for a fantasy sports app that allows users to create and manage their own virtual leagues with friends
I've never been into fantasy sports, but some of my friends spend a large amount of time on apps like this. I think that this can be a great reference image to give to a professional designer. The thing I would change here is the balls. A soccer ball here looks like a basketball. And that's completely fine considering that an AI model made the design from a basic text description. You can't expect it to be perfect, which is why I said that this one should be used as a reference image.
prompt #13: app icon design for a productivity app that offers tools and tips for effective time management and goal achievement
There never seems to be enough time to finish all of the tasks we have. What I learned over the years is that people have more than enough time, they just don't know how to manage it properly. If you struggle with time management, I suggest that you download an app like this and start making small changes to your life.
prompt #14: app icon design, pictorial mark logo, a weather app that delivers forecasts through animated weather icons and personalized voice updates
I think that this would be a great idea for an app. It could even leverage AI for personalized voice updates. I don't know if it would be completely legal, but you could use AI to for example have the voice of Morgan Freeman inform you about the weather every day.
Final Thoughts
It didn't take too long for me to come up with a bunch of different ideas for apps, then write prompts for icon design, and generate the images. Although I've learned to easily tap into my imagination when interacting with text-to-image AI models, the efficiency that you can unlock when using these tools is incredible.
Note that I came up with many different ideas here and the results were still amazing. Just imagine what I could've done if I focused only on a single app idea. I could've written countless variations of a prompt until I got the perfect design.
If you want to create a design for your app, I recommend you spend at least several hours interacting with this model to explore every idea you have. On the other hand, if you're an AI artist and want to sell app icon designs, then you should work on creating icons for a wide variety of apps and then putting them in your portfolio. In any case, Dall-E 3 will be here to maximize your productivity and make your job easier.
