Summary of "WWDC25: Say hello to the new look of app icons | Apple"
Summary of the video
Apple’s designer Marie introduces a completely reimagined app icon look built around a new “liquid glass” material design language for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS.
The session covers:
- The creative vision, inspired by layered VisionOS icons and real glass properties
- An updated design system and grids to keep icon artwork consistent across shapes and devices
- Practical design guidance for creating icons that work well with the new material effects and appearance modes
A core theme is that icons become more “physical” through:
- Internal lighting
- Translucency
- Frost/edge highlights
- Specular highlights
- Gyro-reactive motion on the home screen
Artistic techniques, concepts, and creative process shown
1) New “Liquid Glass” material system (appearance + lighting)
Icons use layered material properties to create:
- Edge highlights
- Frostiness
- Translucency
- Depth (as if lit from within)
On the home screen, the material animates based on gyro input, making light appear to move along icon edges (reflecting the world around the user).
It supports multiple appearance modes, including:
- Monochrome glass (light/dark variants)
- Tint modes
- Dark tint: adds color to the foreground
- Light tint: infuses color into the glass
- Compatibility with a tinted lock screen
2) Unified iconography + updated grids/design system
The approach shifts from per-device differences to a more unified language across iPhone/iPad/Mac.
Rounded rectangle icons
- Use an updated, simpler, evenly spaced grid
- Feature a rounder corner radius for improved alignment with UI/hardware
- Maintain a 1024 px canvas
Circular icons (Apple Watch)
- Use a 1088 px canvas, with an overshoot to help cross-platform translation
- Updated templates help preserve visual consistency at small scale
Grid/masking behavior on macOS
- The canvas acts as a mask to prevent awkward/irregular shapes
- Some existing icons can be auto-masked/extended into the rounded rectangle template
- For certain unique shapes, the system may:
- Remove drop shadows
- Auto-scale
- The speaker recommends redrawing to better use the canvas (example: Photo Booth)
3) Templates for common design tools
System-provided templates are available for:
- Figma
- Sketch
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
They can be downloaded from Apple’s developer.apple.com resources page.
4) Practical guidance for drawing icons for the new material effects
Core idea: design artwork that “plays nicely” with the material system rather than fighting it.
Layering (background + multiple foreground layers)
- Icons still have:
- One background layer
- Potentially multiple foreground layers
- The technique emphasizes stacking shapes to create dimensionality
Example described:
- Moving from “stencil-like” separation to true layered dimensional stacking (example: Podcasts)
Guidance also notes:
- With richer system material, realistic 3D perspectives can conflict with material qualities
- Prefer simpler/frontal/flat views so the material supplies nuance (example: Chess)
Translucency + blur
- Use translucency together with blur to achieve depth and lightness
- Works across:
- light/dark modes
- transparent modes
- When glass is the background, translucent layers reveal the wallpaper through the icon
“Less is more” (reduce built-in static effects)
Reduce baked-in complexity (e.g., fewer overlaps/layers and remove extra built-in shadows/bevels) so:
- material intersections
- reflective edges
- chromatic shadows
- specular highlights can show properly.
Example described:
- Photos: reduce overlapping so intersections/reflective edges read well
- Home: simplify by reducing layers and removing extra effects before applying glass treatment
Shape/material compatibility (avoid tiny sharp details)
Avoid:
- sharp edges
- thin lines
Prefer:
- rounder corners so light travels cleanly on edges at small scale (example: Settings gear wheels)
- bolder line weights for elements intended to receive material treatment
Background choice (lighting direction + System gradients)
Because the look depends on lighting effects:
- Use softer gradients that match light direction
- soft light-to-dark gradients
- Use System Light and System Dark gradients instead of pure white/black
- With dark mode adoption, prefer colored backgrounds to preserve distinction between modes
Steps / workflow advice (as presented)
- Start with layering logic
- Use one background
- Build foreground via stacked layers for dimensionality
- Design for material strengths
- Let the liquid glass material provide nuance rather than relying on complex 3D illustration
- Use translucency + blur intentionally
- Create depth by making layers translucent (so the background can show through)
- Simplify your source artwork
- Reduce overlap/layer count where it would suppress intersections and reflective edges
- Remove/avoid redundant static effects (drop shadows, bevels) since the system adds them
- Use geometry that survives small sizes
- Prefer round corners over sharp edges and thin strokes
- Increase line weight for details that will be treated by material
- Choose the right background gradient
- Use System Light/System Dark gradients
- Consider colored backgrounds for clearer mode switching
Featured creators or contributors
- Marie — Apple designer; speaker introducing the new icon design language
- Lyam — colleague mentioned for the companion talk, “Make app icons with Icon Composer”
Category
Art and Creativity
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