Application icons
Designing an icon for your BlackBerry smartphone application lets you showcase your app to BlackBerry users. In the BlackBerry World storefront, an icon is the first introduction that users have to your app. The icon also appears on the home screen as the way users open your app.
Your icon is placed on a transparent tile automatically with the application name label below the icon.
Best practices
Create an icon that is a 114 x 114 pixel square. This approach is the best (and easiest) way for your icon to fit in with other BlackBerry application icons. Larger icons will be scaled down to 114 x 114 pixels.
Focus on a single iconic metaphor that clearly represents the application. Think of your icon as a road sign that people understand quickly.
Use a silhouette to differentiate your icon from other icons.
Try to maintain consistency with other BlackBerry application icons in scale and volume.
Basic shapes
Our app icons are based on these basic shapes. Most of the squares, circles, and rectangles that we use have exactly the same size and proportions as these 3 shapes.
Perspective and lighting
The icons are designed to look like you hung them on a wall at eye level.
The lighting in the BlackBerry 10 UI is designed at a 90 degree top-down angle.
Drop shadow
Distance: 2 pixels
Size: 2 pixels
Angle: 90 degrees
Inner boundaries
Icon padding
Create an icon that is 106 x 106 pixels if you want to allow room for a drop shadow or outer glow.
Inner symbols
If you use a symbol in your icon, try to make it the same size as the symbols in other BlackBerry application icons.
Color palette
Limit the number of colors that you use in your icon. The colors shown here are used in BlackBerry application icons.
Stroke
Use a five pixel stroke where appropriate. This is especially important so that icons with a dark background are always visible on the home screen.
Using elements like strokes consistently helps your icon fit in with the BlackBerry application icons.
Materials
Most of our app icons are created using these 4 materials. Limiting the number of materials and using them consistently will help unify your application icon with our BlackBerry application icons.
Use materials appropriately. If your icon is made of paper, don't give it a glossy finish.
