Nov 7 2010

iPhone App Ransom Font

The Apple App Store has been proven successful in just about every metric, in the number of available apps, the number of apps downloaded, and the large number of developers flocking to the platform. One iPhone feature that does not get a lot of attention is the how apps are laid out in a series of pages. To visually distinguish apps, each app can use a custom 32×32 pixel image as an icon. The application’s icon image is used in the Apple App Store as a visual shortcut or descriptor for the application. The icon is an integral part of the application’s branding. A visually stunning icon will lead to more downloads and more sales. I feel that the iPhone apps’ logos have developed a new app iconography, a new language based on icons much like the how symbols are used in freeway signs to denote roadside services.

App Ransom Font

App Ransom Font

A large number of iPhone apps use the first letter of the name of their product or service in the app icon, for example Facebook uses a stylized lowercase F and WordPress uses a W in a circle. Some brands have done a great job integrating their brand into their mobile app’s logo, for example my favorites include American Airlines, Dictionary.com, Hulu, Kayak, Skype, etc. There are so many brands that follow this pattern of using the first letter of their product or service’s name that I noticed I could develop a logo-based App Ransom Font.

I didn’t actually create a iPhone inspired ransom font but I’m sure you can use iPhone app icons if you ever need to create a web 2.0 inspired ransom note.

Please note that I am missing an app whose icon has the following letters: L, X