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What software is best for GUI design?

Which is the best way to create Icons, Buttons for Mobile Application development ?.

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Could you please specify a bit more what you're looking for? Are you starting from scratch or are you already proficient with any design software and looking for software to convert your designs in? – Bakabaka Sep 28 '12 at 7:41
If you're asking for what tools there are that are best suited for user interface design, that has been asked before. See this answer - graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/5939/3327 – user568458 Sep 28 '12 at 8:48
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@ Bakabaka.. I am familiar with Coreldraw and photshop. But I couldn't get good clarity in those. – Manojkumar Sep 28 '12 at 9:26
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@Manojkumar: what do you mean by 'clarity'? Are your design not crisp enough when downsized? The software you mention seems like a good start. – Bakabaka Sep 28 '12 at 9:32
I am a beginner in developing those icons, buttons in app development. When I downsize the image which I created using Photoshop, the image pixel is broken. Which way would be better to create icons,buttons from scratch?. Suggest me if you know any link to get familiar. – Manojkumar Sep 28 '12 at 12:15

marked as duplicate by Scott, Joonas, user568458, Alan Gilbertson♦ Sep 30 '12 at 3:57

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

3 Answers

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I usually use Adobe Fireworks to create icons, buttons even website prototype. You can export it as PNG or any format you like. The best part; it is in vector format so you can resize your icons/button to bigger size.

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Can I use Corel draw to create icons. – Manojkumar Sep 28 '12 at 12:23
@Manojkumar yes you can. But you will miss some ability to edit raster images. Fireworks offer both vector and raster editing. – Pereka Grafik Picisan Sep 29 '12 at 3:26
up vote 0 down vote

For the actual creation of the icons, there are huge amounts of tutorials and content just a simple Google away. Googling for 'icon creation tutorial photoshop' yields literally millions of results.

For the actual creation of the *.ico file, I am a fan of GIF movie gear. A bit dated, but it allows you to fine-tune your *.ico to include different resolutions, transparency and colour depths. Importing *.pngs from Photoshop or elsewhere is a snap, too.

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Can I use Corel draw to create icons instead of fireworks. – Manojkumar Sep 28 '12 at 12:24
Yes, preferably in combination with a raster program like Photoshop or the GIMP. But please, read up on the links provided in the comments at Marc Edwards's reply. Some simple Googling for tutorials might help you as well. – Bakabaka Sep 28 '12 at 16:47
up vote 2 down vote

The best way? Use Photoshop (preferred) or Fireworks.

  • Draw everything using vector shapes.
  • Use Layer Styles for additional effects.
  • Lay all the elements you need out flat, and use Slices to save the PNGs required.

There's quite a few questions on graphicdesign.stackexchange.com on the topic. A search might help you out.

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Can I use Corel draw to create icons. – Manojkumar Sep 28 '12 at 12:23
@Manojkumar Of course you can, there's no law against it, you can use pencil, paper, a scanner and MS Paint if you really want... The question is: is it any good for icon design? Corel Draw is Corel's equivalent to Adobe Illustrator, which has some benefits, some disadvantages for interface design including icon design (none fatal). See this answer here for a more detailed comparison of the different options and remember that most of the things said about Illustrator are true for Corel Draw. Bottom line - it's pretty good for it. – user568458 Sep 28 '12 at 12:56
@Manojkumar You should also read up on the difference between raster and vector graphics, since your problems with Photoshop are from carelessly resizing raster graphics. Also see the answers to this. – user568458 Sep 28 '12 at 13:04

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