Review: Struktur Icon Pack (Android)

Developer Alex Cronin’s Shamrock Studios has just recently put out a beautiful new icon pack. It’s titled “Struktur,” and is sure to please those who desire an elegant theme replacement for their Android smartphone or tablet.

If you prefer to use an alternative launcher to the stock launcher on your Android device, give these a whirl. Struktur is compatible with Apex, ADW, Nova, Action, Aviate, Smart, Unicon, Holo, and Go Launcher. Shamrock Studios has advised that they intend to continue development on compatibility with other launchers when and where possible, though they’ve got all of the major launchers covered which Shamrock’s app requires no special or unnecessary permissions, which is something I love to see.

The design of the icons is elegant because of its simplicity in design. Shamrock does away with frills and filler. Instead, they focus on displaying each app’s iconic emblem and its shadow in the foreground as a circle, along with a color complimentary to the app’s icon as the background. Also included in the background are faint diagonal lines that help the emblems stand out. Complimentary colors are always selected, but these lines help break up a bit of the monotony of what would otherwise be a bland background. It’s a really nice touch, and pleases the eye greatly.

My only complaint about the Struktur icon pack is that apps missing icons are sometimes painfully obvious. The icons for the Aldiko reader app and YouMail voicemail apps are particularly guilty of this, with the emblems of each app not being not entirely centered and the background colors not matching at all. I understand that this is the app doing its best to account for icons not yet added by the designers and artists, however, and I have to admit that some icons don’t look as awful in this state. The Flipboard and Pocket Casts icons are good examples of this.

Besides, these are obviously temporary placeholders, as Shamrock is committed to adding icons regularly, giving users a way to contact them directly through the app’s interface. Indeed, you can check off the apps that are missing icons and email that list directly to Shamrock Studios, a nifty little addition that I really like.

I really enjoy this theme pack. Shamrock Studios has done a great job with the icons available so far – well over 600 are available in high resolution at 192×192 pixels each. I’ll be keeping these icons active on my Nova Launcher for quite a while!