From Logo to App Icon — Free Step-by-Step Workflow (2026)

You've got a logo. Now you need a complete, professional app icon set for Android, iOS, and your website's favicon — without opening Photoshop or paying for a design tool. Here's the full workflow using two free GMC Tools utilities.

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Step 1: Make Sure Your Logo Is Square

App icons are square by definition. If your logo is a horizontal wordmark or an irregular shape, you'll get the best results by first cropping it into a square composition that focuses on just the symbol/mark portion.

Use the Image Cropper:

Upload your logo

Set a 1:1 (square) aspect ratio

Crop tightly around your icon mark — leave the wordmark/text out, since text becomes unreadable at small icon sizes

Export at the highest resolution available (aim for 1024×1024px or larger)

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Step 2: Check Resolution

App icons need to look sharp at 1024×1024px (the iOS App Store size). If your cropped logo is smaller than that, consider re-exporting from your original design file (Figma, Illustrator, etc.) at a higher resolution rather than upscaling — upscaling a small raster image will look soft at the largest sizes.

If you only have a low-resolution source, the Image Upscaler can help recover some sharpness, though starting from a high-res source is always better.

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Step 3: Generate the Full Icon Set

Now the main step — open the App Icon Generator:

Upload your square, high-resolution icon mark

Background: if your logo has a transparent background, decide whether to keep it transparent (good for PWA/favicons) or add a solid brand color (required for the iOS App Store icon)

Padding: start at 15% and check the shape preview

Shape preview: switch between square, rounded, and circle — adjust padding until your design looks balanced in all three

Platforms: check Android, iOS, and/or PWA depending on what you're building

Click Generate Icons, review the preview grid, then Download all (.zip)

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Step 4: Drop the Files Into Your Project

The downloaded ZIP is organized by platform:

android/ → copy mipmap-* folders into app/src/main/res/ (Android Studio), and use play-store-icon-512.png for your Play Console listing

ios/ → drag each file into the AppIcon asset set in Xcode's Assets.xcassets

pwa/ → copy into your site's static assets and reference them in manifest.json and your HTML <head>

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Step 5: Double-Check on Real Devices

Icons can look different in an emulator vs a real device's launcher. After building your app, install it on a physical phone (or a few, if you can) and check the icon on the home screen, app drawer, and recent-apps view.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do all of this without any design software?

Yes — Image Cropper and App Icon Generator are both free, browser-based tools that need nothing installed. A logo file (even a phone screenshot of a printed logo) is enough to start.

What if I don't have a logo yet?

Consider designing a simple, bold symbol-based mark first — icons with fine text or complex gradients rarely read well at 48px regardless of how they're generated.

How long does this whole process take?

Cropping plus generating typically takes under five minutes once your source artwork is ready.

Do I need different workflows for Flutter/React Native vs native apps?

No — the generated Android and iOS folders use the same standard structure regardless of framework, so the same ZIP works for native, Flutter, and React Native projects.