Bartender is a popular application for doing this on a Mac. There’s a four-week free trial, but a full license will cost you $15 for use on all your Macs. It’s up to you whether this is worth it, but Bartender allows you to both rearrange the app icons (on pre-Sierra versions. For example, a sports app might offer icons for different teams or an app with light and dark modes might offer corresponding light and dark icons. Note that your app icon can only be changed at the user’s request and the system always provides the user with confirmation of such a change. Provide visually consistent alternate icons in all.

Change your desktop picture from System Preferences

Oct 07, 2019  Open the Photos app. If you're using multiple displays, drag the Photos window over the desktop that you want to change. Control-click (or right-click) the image that you want to use. Select Share from the shortcut menu, then choose Set Desktop Picture from the submenu. Mar 16, 2015  One of the best ways to customize your Mac and make it your own is to change your app and folder icons. With just a few simple changes, you can have things uniquely your own. There are a lot of different icons you can change in OS X. The easiest ones to change are your applications and folders but, we warn you, it can be habit forming. Aug 18, 2014  There are times when it's necessary to restart the Mac's Finder. (It is, after all, just an app.) Perhaps it's locked up. Or perhaps you've made a configuration change that requires a Finder restart. Mar 09, 2018  What happens is this: I click on an app to open it, and then its icon changes to the weird default one shown above. Mostly the issue only affects an app or two, but a few times, I’ve seen entire Docks full of those same icons. Which, as you can imagine, doesn’t make it easy for folks to see what they’re clicking on. Plus, it looks strange. Jun 25, 2018  How to change icons on a Mac: Swapping the existing icons The first method to change the icon on a Mac is to swap the icon of an existing folder with some other folder. It is nothing but copying the folder of an icon in.icns format and then paste it to that folder which you want to change.

1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences.
2. Click Desktop & Screen Saver.
3. From the Desktop pane, select a folder of images on the left, then click an image on the right to change your desktop picture.
   

In macOS Mojave or later, you can also choose from Dynamic Desktop images, which automatically change throughout the day based on the time of day in your location.

Add a folder of your own images

To add a folder of your own images, click the add button (+) below the list of folders, then choose the folder that contains your images.

For best results, choose images that are stored on your startup disk. Images stored on a different disk might not load reliably after restarting your Mac, depending on how quickly the other disk becomes available after startup.

Change your desktop picture from Photos

1. Open the Photos app.
2. If you're using multiple displays, drag the Photos window over the desktop that you want to change.
3. Control-click (or right-click) the image that you want to use.
4. Select Share from the shortcut menu, then choose Set Desktop Picture from the submenu.
   

Change your desktop picture from the Finder

1. From a Finder window or your desktop, locate the image file that you want to use.
2. Control-click (or right-click) the file, then choose Set Desktop Picture from the shortcut menu. If you're using multiple displays, this changes the wallpaper of your primary display only.
   

If you don't see Set Desktop Picture in the shortcut menu, you should see a submenu named Services instead. Choose Set Desktop Picture from there.

Learn more

• If Location Services is turned off, Dynamic Desktop images change throughout the day based on the time zone selected in Date & Time preferences, not based on your specific location.
• You can use these image formats for desktop pictures: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and PICT.
• For more information about the settings in Desktop preferences, click in the corner of the Desktop preferences window.

App Icon

Every app needs a beautiful and memorable icon that attracts attention in the App Store and stands out on the Home screen. Your icon is the first opportunity to communicate, at a glance, your app’s purpose. It also appears throughout the system, such as in Settings and search results.

Embrace simplicity. Find a single element that captures the essence of your app and express that element in a simple, unique shape. Add details cautiously. If an icon’s content or shape is overly complex, the details can be hard to discern, especially at smaller sizes.

Provide a single focus point. Design an icon with a single, centered point that immediately captures attention and clearly identifies your app.

Design a recognizable icon. People shouldn’t have to analyze the icon to figure out what it represents. For example, the Mail app icon uses an envelope, which is universally associated with mail. Take time to design a beautiful and engaging abstract icon that artistically represents your app’s purpose.

Keep the background simple and avoid transparency. Make sure your icon is opaque, and don’t clutter the background. Give it a simple background so it doesn’t overpower other app icons nearby. You don’t need to fill the entire icon with content.

Use words only when they’re essential or part of a logo. An app’s name appears below its icon on the Home screen. Don’t include nonessential words that repeat the name or tell people what to do with your app, like 'Watch' or 'Play.' If your design includes any text, emphasize words that relate to the actual content your app offers.

Don’t include photos, screenshots, or interface elements. Photographic details can be very hard to see at small sizes. Screenshots are too complex for an app icon and don’t generally help communicate your app’s purpose. Interface elements in an icon are misleading and confusing.

Don’t use replicas of Apple hardware products. Apple products are copyrighted and can’t be reproduced in your icons or images. In general, avoid displaying replicas of devices, because hardware designs tend to change frequently and can make your icon look dated.

Don’t place your app icon throughout the interface. It can be confusing to see an icon used for different purposes throughout an app. Instead, consider incorporating your icon’s color scheme. See Color.

Test your icon against different wallpapers. You can’t predict which wallpaper people will choose for their Home screen, so don’t just test your app against a light or dark color. See how it looks over different photos. Try it on an actual device with a dynamic background that changes perspective as the device moves.

Keep icon corners square. The system applies a mask that rounds icon corners automatically.

App Icon Attributes

All app icons should adhere to the following specifications.

App Icon Sizes

Every app must supply small icons for use on the Home screen and throughout the system once your app is installed, as well as a larger icon for display in the App Store.

Provide different sized icons for different devices. Make sure that your app icon looks great on all the devices you support.

Mimic your small icon with your App Store icon. Although the App Store icon is used differently than the small one, it’s still your app icon. It should generally match the smaller version in appearance, although it can be subtly richer and more detailed since there are no visual effects applied to it.

Spotlight, Settings, and Notification Icons

Every app should also provide a small icon that iOS can display when the app name matches a term in a Spotlight search. Additionally, apps with settings should provide a small icon to display in the built-in Settings app, and apps that support notifications should provide a small icon to display in notifications. All icons should clearly identify your app—ideally, they should match your app icon. If you don’t provide these icons, iOS might shrink your main app icon for display in these locations.

Don’t add an overlay or border to your Settings icon. iOS automatically adds a 1-pixel stroke to all icons so that they look good on the white background of Settings.

Free Icons For Mac

TIP If your app creates custom documents, you don't need to design document icons because iOS uses your app icon to create document icons automatically.

User-Selectable App Icons

Mac Application Icons

For some apps, customization is a feature that evokes a personal connection and enhances the user experience. If it provides value in your app, you can let people select an alternate app icon from a set of predefined icons that are embedded within your app. For example, a sports app might offer icons for different teams or an app with light and dark modes might offer corresponding light and dark icons. Note that your app icon can only be changed at the user’s request and the system always provides the user with confirmation of such a change.

Change Icon Mac Folder

Provide visually consistent alternate icons in all necessary sizes. Like your primary app icon, each alternate app icon is delivered as a collection of related images that vary in size. When the user chooses an alternate icon, the appropriate sizes of that icon replace your primary app icon on the Home screen, in Spotlight, and elsewhere in the system. To ensure that alternate icons appear consistently throughout the system—the user shouldn't see one version of your icon on the Home screen and a completely different version in Settings, for example—provide them in the same sizes you provide for your primary app icon (with the exception of the App Store icon). See App Icon Sizes.

Change Icon Mac Os

For developer guidance, see the setAlternateIconName method of UIApplication.

Change File Icon Mac

NOTE Alternate app icons are subject to review by App Review and must adhere to the App Store Review Guidelines.