Aesthetic Layout Ideas for Your iOS 14, 15, 16, or 17 Home Screen

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Cute & modern ideas to showcase your favorite wallpapers & apps
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One of the best new features of the newer versions of iOS for iPhone is that, since the release of iOS 14, they offer new tools for customization. But if you’re not sure how to get the aesthetic you want for your home screen, this article will help you get started. In addition to offering a few fun theme and layout ideas, we’ll also break down how to customize your home screen and get it looking just the way you want it.

Customizing Your Home Screen in iOS

If you have iOS 14 or later on your iPhone, you can easily customize the look of your Home Screen by adding and editing widgets, changing your wallpaper, and even creating custom app icons with the Shortcuts app. Be on the lookout for even more customization options with the release of iOS 18 in fall 2024!

Section 1 of 2:

Ideas for Themes and Layouts

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  1. Black and white icons against a stark black or white background make for an elegant and modern aesthetic. Some iPhone users also report that a more practical, less colorful interface makes it less tempting to spend lots of time staring at your phone. If you don’t want to fiddle with custom icons and widgets, you can easily switch your phone to black and white just by going into your accessibility settings. Here’s how: [1]
    • Open Settings and then select Accessibility .
    • Select Display & Text Size , then tap Color Filters .
    • Switch on the toggle switch next to Color Filters , then select Greyscale from the list that appears. Your phone is now in greyscale!
    • If you want a starker appearance, change your wallpaper to a simple black or white background. You can also download a black and white icon pack or create your own, then use the icons to create custom shortcuts for your favorite apps.
  2. Whether you’re a die-hard summer fan or someone who just can’t get enough snow, seasonal layouts can be a great way to spruce up your phone screen. For instance, give your phone a springtime vibe by setting a floral wallpaper, then create a custom clock widget with a flowery border. Add a weather widget so you can keep track of what’s happening outside with a glance!
    • You can also create a slideshow of your favorite seasonal images using a photo widget app, such as Photo Widget: Simple or PHOTO ALBUM. [2]
    • You can get custom clock widgets with apps like Clock Widget – Custom themes or Clock Face- desktop alarm.
    • There are also some apps that provide beautiful weather widgets in the app store, such as Weather Widget, Weather+, and Weather Live - Local Forecast.
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  3. Embrace your love of all things cute and fluffy with a pastel aesthetic. Choose a wallpaper and icons with colors like pale pink, blue, yellow, green, and purple. Use a photo widget app, such as Photo Widget: Simple or Widgetsmith, to add some cute photos to your home screen along with your favorite widgets and apps.
    • For instance, you might use a sunset photo in shades of purple, pink, and blue as your wallpaper, then coordinate with custom app shortcuts in the same shades.
    • Add a custom picture widget with a cute photo or an inspiring text quote on a pastel-colored background.
  4. Neon home screen themes give your phone a touch of ‘80s glam. Download a neon icon pack, use one that comes with an app like Themify or Apple Icons Customizer, or make your own using the Shortcuts app. Some apps, like Widgy or Widgetsmith, let you create custom widgets with a neon or glow-in-the-dark look.
    • Make your home screen look like a retro nightclub with a neon-lit brick wallpaper. Add a custom neon clock widget at the top and line up some glowing neon app icons underneath.
    • You can also set your phone to Dark Mode to complete the effect and make your neon icons and widgets really pop. Go to Settings then select Display & Brightness . Select Dark to activate Dark Mode. [3]
  5. If you’re feeling wistful for a simpler, more pixelated time, a retro layout can be a fun option. Apps like Retro Widget and websites like Icon Rewind allow you to transform your home screen with old-school app icons and widgets that emulate phone screens from the pre-smartphone era. If you prefer to make your own old-school pixel art icons, try an app like Pixel Widget.
    • Complete the effect with a nostalgic wallpaper, such as a background based on one of your favorite old-school arcade games or a retro Apple logo.
  6. If you’re a superfan of something, express your love with a custom home screen layout. Whether it’s a video game or a popular anime, there’s bound to be a custom icon pack to suit your needs. If you’d rather not make your own, do a Google search using terms like “Good Omens iOS 17 icons” or “Chicago Bulls custom widgets for iPhone.”
    • A lot of fan artists sell or give away wallpapers, widgets, and icons on websites like Etsy and Widgetopia.
  7. Widgets and icons that look like hand-drawn doodles are chic and fun, and they can make your home screen look like a bullet journal or scrapbook. Download a doodle-style icon pack, or make your own with an app like Widgetsmith or App Icon Creator. [4]
    • You can download doodle or line-art icons from websites like The Noun Project or Icon8.
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Section 2 of 2:

How to Customize Your Home Screen

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  1. Widgets are larger icons on your home screen that let you see useful information without having to open an app. For instance, if you want to see the weather forecast or your upcoming calendar events at a glance, you can easily do it with a widget. To add a widget: [5]
    • Open your home screen and tap and hold a widget or any blank area on the screen. Any widgets or icons already on the screen should start to jiggle.
      • If you have multiple home screens, swipe through until you find the one where you want to add the new widget.
    • Press the + button that appears in the upper left side of the screen.
    • Select the widget you want to add. Scroll down through the options in the pop-up menu or use the Search Widgets bar at the top to find a specific widget.
    • Tap the widget you want and scroll through the different versions of the widget. When you find the one you like best, tap the Add Widget button.
    • When you’re finished, press the Done button at the top right side of the screen.
    • Tap and hold widgets to edit or remove them, or tap, hold, and drag them to move them around.
    • You can also add widgets to your Today View by swiping right from your home screen and lock screen. On the Today View screen, tap and hold any area until the widgets begin to wiggle. Tap + in the upper left corner, select a widget and widget size, then tap Add Widget > Done .
  2. Smart Stacks allow you to stack multiple widgets on your home screen so it doesn’t become too cluttered. To add a Smart Stack, press and hold the home screen until the widgets start to jiggle, then tap the + button. When the widget menu opens, scroll down to Smart Stack . Select the Smart Stack icon you like best, then tap Add Widget . [6]
    • The preset Smart Stack contains a collection of widgets automatically selected by your iPhone. Widgets will rotate through the stack throughout the day to show information relevant to your time, location, or current activity, or you can swipe through them whenever you like.
    • You can also build your own widget stacks with widgets that are already on your home screen. Press and hold the screen until the icons start wiggling, then drag and drop widgets on top of each other to create stacks. You can put as many as 10 widgets in one stack.
    • To edit a stack, press and hold it until the Edit Stack option appears. Tap it and then drag and drop the widgets into the order you like. You can also turn the Smart Rotate feature on or off. When you’re finished, tap Done .
    • If you have iOS 15 or later, tap and hold a stack, tap Edit Stack , and then select Widget Suggestions On if you want apps relevant to your current activity to automatically appear in the stack whenever you might need them. Tap Done when you’re finished.
  3. The wallpaper you choose can make a huge difference in the overall look of your home screen. To change your wallpaper, tap the Settings gear icon and select Wallpaper , then +Add New Wallpaper . Select one of iPhone’s built-in wallpapers, or choose an image from your photo gallery. Once you’ve picked a wallpaper you like, tap Add . You’ll also be given the option to Set as Wallpaper Pair if you want to set your selection as both your Lock Screen and Home Screen wallpaper. [7]
    • You can even choose a live or animated image from your gallery, or select one of the built-in “dynamic” wallpapers, if you want to add a little movement to your home screen.
    • In some recent versions of iOS (such as iOS 17), you can select a Photo Shuffle option if you want your wallpaper to cycle through different images throughout the day.
    • You can also select automatically generated wallpapers made from your photos under the Suggested Photos header.
    • To make the image to shift slightly depending on the angle of your phone, toggle on Perspective before you set your wallpaper.
    • If you’re planning to use custom icons and widgets, then a solid color or a simple pattern that won’t clash with your icons will work best for your wallpaper. [8]
  4. While iOS versions 14-17 have a few built-in options for customizing the look of your widgets, they’re pretty limited. Fortunately, there are several apps on the market that allow you to get a lot more creative. A few popular options include Themify, Color Widgets, Widgetsmith, and Flex Widgets.
    • Widgetsmith and Flex Widgets are primarily focused on widget customization, while Themify and Color Widgets also offer custom app icons and wallpapers.
    • Custom widget apps like Widgetsmith and Flex Widgets allow you to change elements of the widget such as the font, color, border, image, and other information that can appear on the widget (such as the time and date).
  5. Shortcuts is a built-in app in iOS. Shortcuts allow you to use features of your apps without directly opening them. They also offer the opportunity to customize the look of your home screen, since you can create custom icons for each shortcut. To make your own custom icons: [9]
    • Open the Shortcuts app.
    • Tap the + icon in the top right corner of the screen.
    • Select Add Action .
    • In the search bar that appears at the top of the screen, type in Open app , then select the Open App option that appears under Scripting .
    • Tap the pale blue App button next to the Open App icon, then choose an app from the list of apps that appears.
    • Tap the down arrow icon to the right of the name of your shortcut in the top center of the screen. (In older versions of iOS, tap the button that looks like a pair of sliders instead.)
    • Select Choose Icon . Pick the custom icon you’d like to use for your app.
    • In the same menu, rename your shortcut with the name of the app.
    • Finally, tap Add to Home Screen in the same menu.
    • Tap Done in the top right corner.
    • To remove the old app icon, tap and hold it, then tap Remove App . Select Remove from Home Screen from the popup menu.
    • If you don’t want to see a notification every time you use a custom app icon, you can turn them off .
  6. If you have iOS 16 or later, you can customize your Lock Screen by changing the layout style or adding widgets. To do it, touch and hold any spot on your Lock Screen until the Customize button appears. Tap the button, and then:
    • In the pop-up menu, select Customize Current Wallpaper .
    • Swipe through the options at the bottom of the screen to see different styles you can apply, such as a color wash or a gradient backdrop.
    • Tap the date and time at the top of the screen to change the style or add a widget.
    • Tap the Add Widgets button to browse your apps and add widgets to the lock screen below the date and time. Tap x to close the menu after adding a widget.
    • Tap Pinch to Crop to adjust the cropping of your lock screen wallpaper.
    • Tap the ••• button in the bottom right corner to access additional options, like Extend Wallpaper and Depth Effect .
    • When you’re finished making changes, tap the blue Add button in the top right corner of the screen.
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      Tips

      • If you don’t want to make your own custom icons, you can download icon packs and wallpapers for iOS online or from the App Store. Save the pack to Photos or Files on your phone, then select and assign the icons you want using the Shortcuts app.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-color-and-brightness-iph3e2e1fb0/ios
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/9rht_ifmec8?t=28
      3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/108350
      4. ↑ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/how-to-get-that-aesthetic-look-on-your-iphones-home-screen/
      5. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118610
      6. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118610
      7. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102638
      8. ↑ https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/apps/a34687665/how-to-customize-ios-14-home-screen/
      9. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/shortcuts/welcome/ios

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Go black and white for a minimalist look.
      2. Try a seasonal color scheme.
      3. Use pastels for a soothing look.
      4. Go neofuturistic with a neon theme.
      5. Choose retro icons for a nostalgic vibe.
      6. Celebrate your favorite show, movie, or sports team.
      7. Try a line-art theme.

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