Icon Constructor Review

Icon Constructor - does all the heavy work so you don't have to

Submitted by balance on Thu, 2007-07-26 11:30.
Author's Product Rating:
Ease of Use: 
Effectiveness: 
Help/Support: 
The lowest price: 26.95$
You can buy it at RegNow for that price.
Pros:
Great user interface, extremely efficient, ultra easy to use
Cons:
No help file
Review:

Icon Constructor is a surprisingly easy to use, yet efficient program. One of the things that you'll immediately like about it, is that it allows you to create specialized types of icons - Windows icons, E-Mail and Web Shortcuts, Folder icons and it even lets you customize your AIM or ICQ.

The interface looks great, and everything is clearly indicated, so you're not getting lost in this program. in fact all you have to do is load an image (you get the option to select an image from a Video or SWF file too), then you add effects, choose the section of your image that you want displayed, you can play with the zoom - and voila, you're done.

There a couple of styles that you can use - like a computer or a document style. These can help if you're not exactly creative and if all you want to do is create an icon quickly and painlessly. but if you're a professional designer, icon Constructor will give you enough options to customize the software to your needs - you can adjust the transparency and your design will transform into a very nice-looking icon.

Another thing I like is that you can choose different options for different sizes of the same icon, so if you don't want the smallest size of the icon to have a certain style, you can effortlessly disable the option.

However, although it is extremely easy to use, the program has absolutely no help. Whenever the '?' (question mark) help button is pressed - nothing happens. Maybe a manual, or at the very least a web address would have done the trick. But the lack of help is not a great issue as most users, even beginners, will find that Icon Constructor practically guides you through the icon building process: Just start at the top and go straight down while checking through all of the options.

Conclusion:

It's a great piece of software, and if you're looking for an easy, quick, yet professional looking icon-making solution - Icon Constructor is the right choice.