Icon Builder: One Source Icon, Complete Mobile Sets
Icon Builder is a small web tool that generates all required iOS and Android app icon sizes from a single square PNG.
The goal was to take one designer‑provided master icon and produce complete icon sets for both platforms in a few seconds, without manual resizing or folder juggling.
Problem: Many Icon Sizes from One Design
Shipping a mobile app means dealing with a surprising number of icon sizes:
- On iOS, multiple sizes and scale factors inside
AppIcon.appiconset,
- On Android, density‑based folders from
mipmap-ldpi to mipmap-xxxhdpi.
Doing this manually often leads to:
- Wrong dimensions,
- Inconsistent naming and folder structures,
- Repetitive, error‑prone work every time the icon changes.
Solution: Server‑Side Icon Generation
Icon Builder takes an uploaded PNG and on the server:
- Resizes it into all required dimensions,
- Builds separate folder structures for iOS and Android,
- Packages everything into a single ZIP file,
- Returns a direct download link together with a small preview.
Under the hood:
- JSON files define the target sizes and paths,
- PHP’s image libraries resize the icon while preserving transparency,
- Temporary folders are created for each run and cleaned up afterwards.
Approach: Minimal UI, Clear Feedback
The interface is deliberately simple:
- A single upload area and short description,
- Validation for non‑square or oversized images,
- Clear error messages when input is not suitable,
- A confirmation message and download link when generation succeeds.
Technically, the focus was on:
- Safe file uploads and validation,
- Isolated temporary directories per user session,
- A predictable output structure that mobile projects can drop in directly.
Outcome
With Icon Builder:
- Designers and developers no longer have to maintain icons by hand,
- iOS and Android icon sets stay consistent across projects,
- A small, reusable production tool emerged that fits naturally into mobile release workflows.
It shows how automating a narrow but repetitive task can free time for more meaningful design and engineering work.