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.