Make the visual part of the icon take up less space in the image.
So if this is your icon now:
;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
Change it so that the important part is in the middle, and the outside is blank, like this:
:o :o :o :o :o
:o ;) ;) ;) :o
:o ;) ;) ;) :o
:o ;) ;) ;) :o
:o :o :o :o :o |