I primarily use color as a labeling tool for quickly accessing information and identifying icons, which is helpful for locating apps on my iPad quickly but frustrating when I download applications that have similar looking icons. To make it easier to find icons, I started learning how to create custom iOS icons and custom Home Screen designs so that it would be easier to locate apps of interest that also provided adequate contrast against my preferred device wallpaper. Here are my tips for how to create custom iOS icons and custom Home Screen designs for iOS and iPadOS devices that support iOS 13 and later.
Benefits of custom icons for iOS devices
It seems obvious that changing an icon from something that is hard to see to something that is easier to see would make a significant difference for users with visual impairment, but there are other benefits to enabling custom icons for Windows users with low vision or vision loss, which can include:
- Having custom icons can assist with identifying identical looking programs or folders, using color or shapes as a way of conveying information so that users don’t have to rely on reading text labels
- Switching icons to match a user’s preferred aesthetic may help with improving confidence with using assistive technology devices. This can be especially valuable for students who may feel like they don’t want to “stand out” by using a device that is different from others
- Changing icon colors can provide better contrast against a desktop wallpaper/background
- Using color as a labeling tool can be helpful for organizing digital folders, similar to how someone might use color-coordinated folders for physical materials
- Custom icons can provide a simplified visual experience, eliminating additional patterns or complex shapes for icons that may be challenging to see
- For users with cerebral/cortical visual impairment, frequently used icons can be switched to a preferred color(s) to aid with identification or optimized for display on a solid color background.
Some users may prefer to have the same custom icons across multiple operating systems, such as having the same icons for both an iPad and Windows computer or a Windows computer and Android phone. This is technically possible, but users will likely need to convert the PNG icons used for Apple/Android devices to an ICO file format for Windows.
Related links
- How To Customize Icons For Windows
- How To Create A Custom Android Home Screen With Microsoft Launcher
Improving icon accessibility with dark icons and tinted icons for iOS
Starting in iOS 18, the appearance of app icons can be customized to display dark theme icons, tinted icons, or to switch between light mode and dark mode automatically based on system settings. The tinted icon setting may be of particular interest to users with neurological visual impairment, as these can be customized to show a preferred color.
To customize icons using Home Screen settings:
- Long press on a blank space on the Home Screen
- When the icons begin to shake, select the Edit button in the top left corner
- From the list of available options, select Customize
- Select the desired icon theme from the list at the bottom of the screen, including light theme, dark theme, automatic (system theme), or tinted
- By default, Tinted will display icons in a greyscale color scheme, but this can be customized by sliding the color spectrum or selecting the dropper icon to match another color on the screen.
At this time, only one icon theme can be applied at a time— users can’t have some apps with a dark theme icon and others with a light theme icon. However, users can set custom icons with Shortcuts that will not be affected by the dark theme.
Related links
- How To Use Invert Colors With Low Vision
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- Highlighting Information With Low Vision
Requirements for custom icons for iOS and iPadOS
Unlike Windows icons that require a specific file format for icons, iOS and iPadOS support PNG images that do not require any specialty software to design or file conversion tools. The primary requirement is that the icon must be in a square shape, and it is recommended that it is 1024 x 1024 px in size in order to be displayed at the highest resolution. Apple has a comprehensive list of icon design recommendations for app developers that can also be applied to amateur designs. Details like rounded corners and shapes are applied automatically when rendering the icon on the Home Screen.
When I was working on creating custom Home Screen icons, I saved everything in a folder in the Photos app so that I could easily upload it to another app or zoom in to determine if I had to make changes to the design.
Find custom iOS icons online
There are several applications and sources for downloading custom iOS icons and iPad icons, which can include downloading single icons and themed packs/aesthetic icons. I’ve used ScreenKit in the past to search for custom aesthetic icons, though I preferred to mix and match several icons from different themes to find a collection that matched my style preferences and that also incorporated the applications I use on a daily basis. A lot of my friends downloaded icon packs from Etsy, which has a huge selection of digital icons as well.
Another option is to search for images online that can be downloaded as 1024 x 1024 px images. For one student I worked with that had subscriptions to both programs, I downloaded icons from LessonPix and Boardmaker that they could use to open applications for different tasks.
For users that prefer to create their own icons, I have used Canva to customize icons and create designs since they also have an extensive icon library. I also really like using the Coolors app to try out different color palettes, and worked with a different student who preferred to use single-color squares instead of complex visual icons to locate apps of interest— they used Coolors to choose the colors they wanted to use, and I used a Canva icon template to save images of colored squares.
Related links
How to customize icons for iOS using the Shortcuts app
Shortcuts is a free built-in application available in iOS 12 and later that provides options for displaying custom icons on the iOS, iPadOS, and WatchOS Home Screen. To add a custom icon to your Home Screen with Shortcuts:
- Open the Shortcuts app
- Select Add New Shortcut (plus icon) in right corner
- Select Open App (may need to type this in search)
- Tap on App, and select App from list of installed apps
- Tap on Open App, and select Rename
- Name the shortcut— I recommend writing the name of the app
- Select the Shortcut Details icon, which looks like an I surrounded by a circle
- Select Add to Home Screen
- Select Image icon
- Select desired icon from Photos app or Files app
- Select Add, and the app will be added to the Home Screen
To “hide” the previous icon, long-press on a blank space on the Home Screen and wait until the apps start to shake. Select the original app icon and select Remove from Home Screen— do not delete the original app or remove it from the device.
More resources on how to customize iOS home screens and make devices easier to see
- Want more ideas for customizing an iPad Home Screen? Check out How To Organize Apps On iPad With Low Vision
- Looking for ways to make iPad and iPhone easier to see? Browse How To Make iPad Accessible for Low Vision and iPhone Accessibility Settings For Occipital Stroke
Published November 6, 2018. Updated March 2025