The iOS App Icon Book Review: a celebration of app icons of the past

It’s been nearly 15 years since the first iPhone was launched and almost as long since the creation of Apple’s App Store. In that time, millions of apps have found their way onto Apple devices – each with its own distinctive icon. As a relatively new form of art, The iOS App Icon Book is unlike most other art books you will come across.

About the book

The iOS App Icon Book features an array of iPhone app icons from the past decade. You may remember some of these iconic iOS app designs, and some you may have never seen before. 

Danish designer Michael Flarup has been working on the book since 2018. He took his passion for app icons and design and turned it into a stunning coffee table book. What started as a Kickstarter campaign, has become a highly-anticipated project. It’s easy to see that this book was born out of a love of the craft of icon design.

The iOS App Icon Book also comes with a thank you note with an “Iconist” sticker and a stencil the author designed that he uses in his work. It’s a nice touch to an already good-looking book.

Throughout, you’ll not only gain an appreciation for the thoughtfulness and the work put into these designs, but you may also learn something. Additionally, the author makes it clear that this is not a textbook on how to design app icons but offers tidbits of information for those who are interested in the craft.

There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to which icons made the cut. Flarup does include many of his own pieces as he has created some of these over the years – you can even see the metamorphosis of various icons as they have updated throughout time. Many of these apps you will recognize by only seeing its icon.

Artist spotlights

Within its 163 pages, you’ll find various spotlights of app icon artists, featuring interview questions about their career. Here we see artist Marc Edwards from Australia. The interview shows how he started designing app icons, his current work setup, advice on how to get started, and more. These rare insights gives us a look at the faces behind some of these famous app icons.

While it’s easy for an Apple blogger to appreciate this book, it’s not for everyone. As the book title suggests, the app icons are purely related to iOS – so don’t try to give this book to your hardcore Android friend. However, this is a great gift for digital art lovers and Apple enthusiasts alike. It’s a fantastic way to appreciate and preserve the art of the technology we use so often today. It also shows us where we came from and allows us to celebrate the progress.

Pre-order The iOS App Icon Book now

You can pre-order The iOS App Icon Book for €60 with orders currently shipping. The book is purely a physical hard copy and there are no plans to release a digital version.

Let us know in the comments if you plan on picking up a copy.