97: Icon and Visual Designer – Matthew Skiles

On the podcast: Matthew Skiles shares how a self-taught teenager in New Zealand went from building his dad's tennis coaching website to becoming one of the most recognizable names in app icon design — including Launched's own icon. He talks about how getting tapped by Christian Selig to design icon alternates for Apollo turned him from unknown to in-demand almost overnight, why he calls chasing app icon work "not a smart business decision" he'd still make again, why Apple's Tahoe squircle rules and Icon Composer's forced glass effects frustrate him more than they excite him, and how AI-generated reference images are quietly reshaping his client conversations. Top Takeaways: 🎨 You don't need a portfolio, you need people who trust your work The first paid gigs in a new niche usually come from existing clients who already know you deliver, not from a polished portfolio you don't have yet. 📉 Constraints make you a better designer When a platform strips away textures and details, you can't hide behind coolness anymore; you're forced to learn what actually matters — a great shape. 🧲 Don't be literal with your app icon The best icons aren't diagrams of what the app does; they're objects so fun to look at that people download the app just to keep them on their home screen. 📐 The #1 app icon mistake: your symbol is too big Shrink it down a few pixels past where you think it should stop; breathing room almost always looks better than filling the frame. 🤖 Infinite AI options are a trap Generating 50 more variations feels like progress, but at some point you have to commit to a direction — endless options create choice paralysis, not clarity. 🎯 "Fun" can be a business strategy Choosing the work you love over the work that's economically sensible isn't smart on paper, but passion compounds: do the thing you love publicly and consistently, and the market finds you. About Matthew Skiles: 🎨 New Zealand-based icon and visual designer for 15+ years, creating hand-crafted artistic expressions for developers big and small. 👋 LinkedIn 🌐 Learn more about Matthew Skiles Follow us on X: Charlie Chapman - @_chuckyc RevenueCat - @RevenueCat Launched - @LaunchedFM Episode Highlights: [00:00] Designing Launched's Icon and Meeting Matthew Skiles [03:13] A Self-Taught Designer in New Zealand [04:57] Learning Through Websites and Early Dribbble [05:40] Building Rockin' Rockets With His Brother [09:46] How Existing Clients Opened the Icon Door [10:46] Discovering Classic Mac App Icons [11:53] Skeuomorphism, Texture, and the Adobe Workflow [15:58] How iOS 7 Changed the Craft [18:59] Learning to Start With Shape [20:24] Big Sur, Tahoe, and Squircle Constraints [22:52] Icon Composer and System-Generated Glass [25:03] Becoming Known for One Kind of Work [25:54] How Apollo Expanded His Audience [27:59] Building a Business on Short Engagements [30:10] Apple's Role in Elevating Icon Design [34:55] Dribbble's Decline and a Fragmented Community [38:05] Finding Inspiration and Today's Icon Trends [41:18] Why Great Icons Needn't Be Literal [42:56] Sketching Concepts Before Adding Color [44:20] Designing for Scale, Competition, and Color [47:44] Refinement and Giving Icons Breathing Room [50:14] AI, Infinite Options, and Choice Paralysis [57:04] Waiting for New Tools to Prove Themselves [59:40] Jasper Hauser and the Icons That Inspired Him