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1. Branding

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Pixles, and icons, and splash screens, Oh My! So you've purchased an app, now what? Creating art matching all the requirements can seem intimidating, not to worry -- we've got some tips and tricks to help you through the process.

First, let’s summarize the requirements.

Full app name 

This will appear when the app is searched for and in the iTunes store.  It should be unique to your business (i.e. your store name) to separate you from others. Many members choose to use the “Foto Source” or “Foto Depot” name, if this is the case - adding your location to the end is a good idea to make your app more searchable, and to avoid customer confusion (Ex: Foto Source – McLean)

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Display app name

This will appear on a device’s home screen under your icon. It should be similar to your full app name, however it can’t be longer than 12 characters. Most times the full app name can be shortened using abbreviations: pictures - pics; FotoSource- FS Image Removed

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Icon 

Customers will see your icon in the iTunes store, and on their device’s home screen after download.  The icon in the app store will show when the app name is searched – this could be on a computer or in the app store on an apple device.  Post-download, the icon will show on the user’s home screen of their iPhone/iPad and serves as a gateway to open the application.

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It will always be square, and looks best with no outline - rounded corners are applied once submitted to Apple so any stroke may get cut off.
Sizes needed (in pixels): 1024x1024, 144x144, 114x114, 72x72, 57x57

Splash Screen

These screens appear while an app loads. The size is specific to each device’s full screen size, and will only be visible for a few seconds. 

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     Sizes needed (in pixels): iPhone-640x960 portrait, iPad 2-1024x768 landscape, iPad-2048x1024 landscape

Next, let’s talk design.

Whether using an existing logo or creating something completely new, utilize all branding possibilities by following these characteristics: your art should be recognizable based on certain constraints, unique to your business, and representative of app capabilities as well as your current marketing strategy.

Recognizable. 

Icons and splash screens should be eye-catching and attractive. Common problems arise in image sizing, resolution, and spacing of elements.

       Size: The most common issues arise in image sizing and/or re-sizing, often making art look stretched or blurry.  They can be avoided by starting with a correctly sized new canvas, not up-sizing artwork, and keeping proportions. A more in depth overview of sizing is detailed in the how to section below.

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Resolution:  A resolution (pixles per inch/ppi) too high or too low can also cause image blurriness. An adequate number for these screen images is 72 ppi.

Space:  Icons are most commonly viewed on device home screens, these icons are small and can be hard to see. To maximize space, keep your graphic simple and large within constraints. Multiple colors, text, and other effects can cause your icon to look busy and unrecognizable. Keep in mind that the display app name will be shown under the icon, so text is usually not necessary. Splash screens are much larger leaving room for text, graphics, whatever!

Unique.  

 Maximize branding effectiveness by creating art unique to your business. Use this medium to define or enhance your business’ identity and personality. You can do this by creating art entirely your own, or by using Lucidiom’s generic splash screen available for download here: www.lucidiom.com/share/eqts/pocketpics_splashscreens.zip. 

Preview:

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Feel free to alter this art in any way to fit into your brand, at minimum a name must be on the screen. Many customers have opted to incorporate a template such as Lucidiom’s  or Foto Source’s logo.

Below are two examples from customers who have effectively added their own spin:

 Gosselin photo customized the FS icon by altering the red to black. It is simple, yet makes their icon stand out from others using the original FS logo.

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 Photoworks by Laura altered the generic Pocket Pics splash screen by adding elements apparent on their website.

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Representative. 

Your art should reflect your current marketing strategy as well as the purpose of the app. By creating a unified message among all interaction nodes, a stronger connection is bound to customers.

*{+}Pix\[M\]+* has done a nice job of keeping their icon clear, large, and representative of their website through use of their logo. Their splash screens effectively illustrate their app’s purpose in the photo industry.

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With design in mind, here is a quick tutorial of the technical side to creating an icon in Photo Shop.

Creating an icon using PS

Step 1:

 Create a new canvas. (TIP: Starting with the largest icon; 1024x1024, and downsize to save alternative requirements)

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Step 2: 

Copy and paste any elements (logo/name/etc) on the canvas & move/resize to fit. (TIP: keep proportions during resizing by holding the Shift key while clicking+dragging the element)

Step 3: 

Check to ensure there is no transparency. These will be saved as .PNGs (which usually have a transparent background) however, these should be solid all the way through. If they aren’t, the shadows applied by Apple will show through.

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Step 4: 

Save as a .png

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Step 5: 

To resize, select image -> image size from the toolbar. Change width and height to the next size down, make sure resolution is still at 72ppi

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Step 6:

Save again as .PNG and repeat with remaining sizes.

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1. 1. NEW apps:  Please fill out this form: https://www.photofinale.com/form-app  This form collects the graphics and info we need to build and package the app. The form has a template to use for the two graphics you will need and details about each field. 
   2. Updates to apps: Nothing branding-wise do for an update. If you require icon or text changes, let us know.

2. Enroll in the Apple Developer Program

   1. Fill out this form:https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/  
   2. TIPS
      1. You will need a DUNS number (free). If you don’t have one a link is included in the enrollment form.
      2. Enroll as an organization, not as an individual. 
      3. Please use proper-case when you put in your organization name. Do not use all capitals.
      4. The program is US$99 a year, which you will need to keep up-to-date in order to keep the app listing active. 
      5. If your business and app name are different, please send us documentation to prove they belong to the same entity that we can include with the appeal to Apple after the rejection. 
3. Add a Photo Finale user to your account
   1. Go to appstoreconnect.apple.com > Users & Access > Add a new user with this info:
      1. First Name: Photo
      2. Last Name: Finale
      3. Email: pfdev@photofinale.com
      4. Roles: “admin”
      5. Developer Resources: check the box
4. Request API Access
   1. Go to appstoreconnect.apple.com > Users and Access > Keys. Click Request Access. This will allow us to generate a key. You do not need to generate a key.
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5. Contact Photo Finale with Details 
   1. Send the following info to rachel@photofinale.com:
      1. Team Agent (Apple ID). The email address you registered as the admin of your new account.
      2. Team ID. To find, go to developer.apple.com, click Account and sign in. Then, click Membership.
      3. Team Name. These aren’t always recognizable if they don’t match the company name we know you by, so helps to have it.
      4. Developer name. This is the name that should show up along with the app listing (I just want to verify in case you have registered with one business name, but it would make more sense to list the app with a different name—often dealers use their official corporate entity name for the account, but have their photo business go by another name, or may prefer the store or simpler name that customers know them by for the app store listing)
      5. Proof: IF your Apple developer account company name does not match or is similar to your app's name, you will need to provide us with some official documentation that shows ownership of the brand or dba that we can submit along with the transfer request. Please send a jpg or pdf that we can include to send to Apple. Other dealers in the same situation have send a tax registration document that showed the app business name and the account business name were registered by the same parent.
6. Approve Transfer
   1. This applies to updates only. Once your account is squared away, we will put in a request to Apple to transfer the app from our account to your new account. You will have 60 days to approve this. You should get an email from Apple asking you to do so.
7. NEW APP!
   1. We build the new app, or the upgraded version, and submit that to Apple. They generally approve in about a week and your app will be ready to take orders.

A note about emails you will get from Apple

You will get emails from Apple from time to time, some of which you can ignore and some of which you need to act on.  As you are the agent, there is no way to prevent you from getting the should-be-ignored emails.

Need to act on:

• Initial transfer (if you already have an app you will have to approve its transfer from the PF developer account to your account)
• Membership expiring / renewal  (annually)
• New agreement needs signing   (whenever Apple updates terms of service)

Can ignore:

• App Store Connect: Your App (XX) has one or more issues
• iOS Distribution Certificate Expires in X Days
• iOS Distribution Certificate is Revoked
• iOS Provisioning Profile Expires in X Days

FAQs

1. The Apple program is $99/year, which you pay to Apple and need to keep updated. 
2. The app uses your Photo Finale site settings–so all products, pricing, shipping, promos that you have online, will be offered in the site. The exception currently is Rush service, which is not in the app yet. 
3. We do not have "app only" promos or pricing.
4. Make sure your Welcome email (set in Lab 50), makes sense for your website as well as your app.

Need Help?

Contact Rachel at rachel@photofinale.com.