Version 2 · 2026-07-17 · Round 2 — refining the keeps
Round 2 regenerated only what survived v1 — B1, B3, E1, C3 — each with surgical spec changes, plus one earned hybrid: B3's winning solid disc crossed with C3's fox head. Below, every refinement sits next to its original so you can see exactly what changed, ending with the five finalists and the one decision left.
The shelf, round 2
A1 (bottom right) is still the bar: every finalist has to be this clear while saying more.
The duels
Each refinement was one surgical spec change. Sometimes the model obeyed, sometimes it didn't — the read under each tells you which. Small renders are true 29 px (real pixels, 3× enlarged).
Family B3 — the solid disc
Round 1's mass winner. The house sat large in the disc.
House cut to 47% with real clearance. The refinement worked — calmer, better balanced, nothing lost at small size.
The thicker handle came — but the house drifted large again. B3a does everything this does, better.
Family E — glass inside the house
The surprise of round 1 — house as hero, glass knocked out inside.
Wider 45° gable with pronounced eaves — more archetypal "house" at every size.
The glass enlarged to 52% of the body — "search" now shouts even at 29 px. My pick of the two.
Families C + X — the fox
Round 1's only true fox — but the head was soft.
Tall ears, angular cheeks, pointed snout — unmistakably a fox now, never a cat.
The earned hybrid: B3's solid-disc mass × C3's fox. Bold, unique on the shelf, and unmistakably NoonFox. The star of round 2.
Family B1 — the classic ring
The clean classic from round 1 — carried forward unchanged.
The refinement failed honestly: the model ignored the size cut and lightened the ring instead. The original stays.
The five finalists
All five pass the gates — squint, 29 px, grandparent, shelf. What separates them is meaning, not craft:
"Find things in your home" — clearest product story
"NoonFox finds things" — strongest brand, most unique
House-first reversal — warmest, most domestic
Fox in the lens — mascot inside the search metaphor
The classic ring — safest, most conventional
My recommendation: it's a two-horse race. B3a if the icon should sell the product to a stranger scrolling the App Store ("find things in your home"). X1 if it should build the brand on your users' Home Screens ("that's NoonFox"). I lean B3a — for a young app, the product story wins the install; the fox can live inside the app.
How to finish
Or one more round: "v3: B3a vs X1 only, plus <your tweak>". Masters in the vault: candidates/round-2/ · Round-2 cost ≈ $0.50, total ≈ $1.25.