Microsoft recommends that your icon contain these three sizes:

• 48 x 48 pixels
• 32 x 32 pixels
• 16 x 16 pixels

Each icon should contain these three color depths to support different monitor display settings:

• 24-bit with 8-bit alpha (Windows XP)
• 8-bit (256 colors) with 1-bit transparency
• 4-bit (16 colors) with 1-bit transparency

Windows XP icons have the following attributes:

• Can contain any of 16 million colors (True Color).
• Do not use a color palette. Any of 16 million colors can be applied at will.
• 8-bit "alpha" channel provides 256 levels of transparency, which allows icons to display with smooth edges that appear to blend into any background.

The following colors should be used in Windows XP icons:

Windows XP icons use usually the following perspective:

However, not all objects work well at 16 × 16 pixels at an angle. Because of this, some objects are often shown in a straight-on manner.