Optimizing our newspaper or magazine app's icon for Newsstand in iOS 5

With iOS 5, Apple has developed a new set of application icon attributes to help make our periodical stand out in the new Newsstand feature. Our icon can now look different than the standard glossy rounded rectangle, allowing for our work to gain greater attention from our users.

In this recipe, we'll look at different ways in which we can customize our periodical icon in Newsstand.

Getting ready

In this recipe, we'll need a nearly completed periodical application for which we can complete the necessary icon files. It's important that we have an idea about what sort of art direction will be required for the icon as we complete this work.

How to do it...

Creating icon files for periodicals in iOS 5 and beyond is a bit more complex than the standard application, as we have the ability to have customizable covers that change as content changes with new issues in the app. We can also dress up our app icon to look like a real...