This is our Guide for Android Apps

For iOS, click here

While designing your logos and icons for your custom branded Mobilize app, we urge you to first read Apple's and Google's own guidelines for creating a good mobile app.
Google Play Store Guidelines

Android Logo

This will be used as your community's logo in the app

Android Push Notification:

In order to show an icon on push notifications in Android properly, the icon must be white on transparent background. Use this as a reference:
https://romannurik.github.io/AndroidAssetStudio/icons-notification.html
After you create the proper image, you can use the same tool to create the icon set by selecting image and importing the image.

Android Play Store Feature Graphic

Where it's displayed: Your feature graphic (1024 w x 500) is displayed before your screenshots on your app’s store listing. If you’ve added a promo video, a Play button will overlay on your feature graphic so users can watch your promo video.
Tips

Don't include any copy or important visual information near the borders of the asset: specifically near the bottom third of the frame.
If adding text, use large font sizes.
Your graphic may be displayed alone without the app icon.

Google Play Store Icon

To publish your store listing, a high-res icon is required. The high-res icon does not replace your app's launcher icon, but should be a higher-fidelity, higher-resolution version that follows these design guidelines:

Requirements

32-bit PNG (with alpha)
Dimensions: 512px by 512px
Maximum file size: 1024KB

Where it's displayed

Your high-res icon is used in various locations on Google Play.

App Title

Google allows developers to include 50 characters in the App Title, so use them wisely. Keep your brand name short, easy to spell and easy to memorize for your users. Include your most relevant keyword(s) alongside your brand name. This can significantly improve your app keywords rankings!

Short description: up to 80 characters

Google allows developers to include up to 80 characters for the short description, and if the users are interested to know more, they can expand the short description to view the full description of your mobile app or game.

A well-composed short description is the highlight of all the best things about your app or game, and the best use that a developer can give to this field is to include the core keywords and the main purpose of your app.

Quick tip: Like it happens with the title, adding emoji in the short description definitely catches users’ eye!

BONUS: Spy any Google Play Store short description with this tool.

App Description

The description in Google Play is specifically important because it is an On-Metadata factor that is responsible for Search and Conversion. In this field you have to include all the keywords of your app or game, combined with a powerful call-to-action.

First of all, the description serves the purpose to improve your app’s position in the Google Play Store search algorithm, so it has to be searchable. And secondly, it helps to convince your potential users to install your app, so it has to be actionable.

The maximum length for a description in Google Play is 4.000 characters. The best practice is to include your target keywords a few times, and it is important to mention the core ones in the first and in the last lines of the description to improve rankings for those keywords.

Unlike Apple App Store, Google indexes ALL content of your app description and it helps with ASO.

A few tips for a perfect description:

Use the maximum possible number of characters for description. 3000-3500 char is OK.
Localize description to ALL possible languages.
Look for mid and long-tail keywords and add them to your description.
Use bullet points to organize the information in a clear and visual way for the user.
Describe the best features of your app.
Write in short paragraphs without an overload of information.
Include emoji or format text with HTML.
If your app has won a contest or award, brag about it!
Include a call-to-action that contains a sense of urgency (e.g. “Download now and start an adventure”)
Support your description with your social media profiles or links to communities of users of your app.
And check these requirements from Google what NOT to do

Icon

An icon is the first visual impact that your app will have on the user, an essence of your application. Right after making the search request in Google Play, what the users see is a huge list of apps with different names and icons, and at this point the users will decide which app to check out and install.

A striking, attractive icon is a key piece of your app’s appearance, and it directly impacts the Conversion Rate. An image is worth a thousand words!

Moreover, the icon (as well as the title and developer name) are the things that users see in the actual search result in Google Play Store, so these elements are ones that have the most impact on the search ASO.

To publish your app page in Google Play Store, you need a high-resolution icon. Google has the following requirements for developers:

32-bit PNG (with alpha)
Dimensions: 512px by 512px
Maximum file size: 1024KB

Some tips to put a spotlight on your app icon:

Make your icon coherent with the purpose of your app or game.
Stick to the overall style of your app.
Check your competition and be different.
Use vibrant colors to grab the attention.
Avoid text in your icon.
Play with simple forms and harmonizing colors.
Adding borders to the icon makes it more visible.
Follow the design tendencies, be modern and innovative – remember how flat design stole the show?

If you are ready to start designing, read this great case study by Incipia on how to pick the best app icon. Or go to Creative Bloq for inspiration on some awesome icon designs! Browsing the Google Play Store can also be helpful to find out new trends for icons.

Feature Graphic

Another key element for Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the Google Play feature graphic that is displayed before your screenshots if you have a video.

Basic requirements for feature graphic from Google are:

JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha)
Dimensions: 1024px by 500px

Follow these simple tips while designing your feature graphic:

Don’t include any important visual or textual information near the borders and in the bottom third of the graphic.
Center the information/text/logo horizontally and vertically.
Use large font sizes for texts.
Mind that your feature graphic can be used alone without app icon, so stick to your style and make it recognizable.
A/B test your graphic to see which one has better conversion rate to install (this is your end goal). Use Google Play experiments for this.
Take a chance to change the theme for a season, important announcement, or an X-mas holiday, for example.
Remember to localize your feature graphic alongside with name and description, in case it includes text.

Check out this post for more best practices and examples of feature graphics.

Screenshots

Like the icon and feature graphic, the screenshots don’t affect the search algorithm, but they do have an impact on the conversion rate to install. Screenshots show how your app or game looks like from inside, and highlight its best features. It is then up to the user if he likes what he sees and if he wants it, so it is very important to grab user attention from the first screenshot.

In Google Play Store you can add up to 8 screenshots for each supported device type, while the minimum required by Google is just 2 screenshots with following specs:

JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha)
Minimum dimension: 320px
Maximum dimension: 3840px
The maximum dimension of your screenshot can’t be more than twice as long as the minimum dimension

Obviously, don’t limit yourself to the minimum of 2 screenshots. Be creative and captivate your users with a showcase of your community's best features.

The screenshots don’t have to be actual screenshots, you can (and should) go for storytelling and create a sequence of rich images to describe the best features of your community.

Follow these tips to rock your screenshots:

Reserve the first screenshot slot for your most important message, or your app’s BEST feature.
Don’t give bare screenshots, provide explanations to each slide.
Pick a style or theme for your screenshot sequence and follow it instead of bringing up random images
Don’t just declare your app features – challenge the user with your copy!
If you have a limited offer, show it on your screenshots.
If you have awards or mentions in media, too!
Test many options to find the best-converting ones.
Localize screenshots if needed