Any application on your computer has an icon. When customized, icons become recognizable symbols that allow users to spot their favorite application among a multitude of items displayed on the desktop. Just like it happens with a logo, creating an icon that includes definitory elements for the application is important.

While it is not a full-featured icon editor, the WinIcon Maker can help you create ICO files out of one or more JPG and PNG images. This allows you to fashion custom designs for your icons much easier, since you don’t have to start from scratch.

WinIcon Maker welcomes you with a surprisingly simple interface with a basic look. You get to preview your work as changes are applied to the icon instantly, but not at pixel level, as you would with other icon creators. Instead, the application allows you to check out the final layout and work to combine all the elements as you consider fit.

You can use WinIcon Maker to generate icons either in ICO format (for Windows) or in PNG format, at different resolutions, up to 256x256. The canvas size allows a maximum of 1024x1024, helping you create icons in different shapes, namely circles, rounded rectangles or regular rectangles, with or without a colored background of various styles: gradient or solid color. A 3D and a glossy effect and a custom-colored border can be applied for a more interesting look.

So-called badges are meant to highlight important aspects of your icon, such as a discount on the product price. You are free to customize its design as well by choosing the text and its color, the font and the background color, the orientation and the position.

And speaking of orientation and position, the location of each item included in the icon’s design can be customized as well. You can choose the item’s coordinates and size and rotate it, if you need to.

Despite not being a pixel-level icon editor, WinIcon Maker allows generating icons by combining different elements and images in a single design. It can create ICO and PNG files that can be then used as icons for any application on the local PC and make it easily identifiable.