Best & Most Creative iOS 14 Home Screen Designs

There has been a flurry of activity on social media recently with iPhone owners sharing their custom Home Screen designs. Some have received quite a bit of attention and a few designs have even been made available to purchase as wallpapers and icons. Further adding to the varied designs is a number of apps that are available in the App Store to help with customization.

With the launch of iOS 14, Apple introduced several new features, including some customizations that were impossible before. For example, users can now choose their preferred browser and email apps instead of being forced to use Apple Mail and Safari. Home Screen Widgets with selectable sizes were added with the new OS update. These provide a small view that offers a subset of the features provided in a full app. A more restricted form of Widgets has been available since iOS 8, but the new Widgets can be mixed on the same page as app icons. This is the first real customization of the Home Screen possible on an iPhone.

Home Screen Widgets were the catalyst that inspired iPhone owners to look for ways to customize further. There are several custom widget design tools in the app store, the most popular being Widgetsmith. The general idea with these apps is to enable custom colors and fonts in Widgets, though the functionality is quite limited. Nevertheless, it has become a commonly used tool, as seen on Twitter with the hashtag #ios14homescreen seeing frantic activity. Many share that it takes hours, even a full day, to make the changes, but most say that they love being able to express their own style.

Custom App Icons & Most Creative Designs

Most every redesigned Home Screen featured custom app icons. The trick to this is using Apple’s Shortcuts app as an intermediate step between tapping an icon and opening the app. This really isn’t a good idea for anyone concerned about performance. Opening apps via custom icons has an inherent delay of over a second, since the Shortcuts app opens first and flashes on screen before the actual app appears. For some this will totally negate the aesthetic benefits of custom app icons.

Twitter user, dawn earned over 14,000 likes with a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed Home Screen. It’s colorful and fun and the icons mostly make sense for the apps.

poggy the froggy made icons that appear to be drawn with color pencils, placed over grid-paper background, a hand-drawn look with over 12,000 likes on Twitter.

Bader Sam went with a neon styled 60’s space theme on solid black background. A bold choice that received over 1,900 likes.

Twitter user, no, chose a cinnamon colored background, with a striking blend of monotone app icons and anime drawings for their Home Screen.

rebecca chose the Powerpuff Girls as inspiration, nicely balanced color with stylized, yet simple, pastel icons for apps.

Judging style will always be subjective, but the designs highlighted here share a few traits that are generally considered good criteria for computer design. Since a Home Screen is the basic interface to use an iPhone, the design should be functional and not interfere too much with use of the phone. With so many to choose from, the design should be somewhat unique and have good popular appeal. These iOS 14 Home Screen designs meet those guidelines and are striking examples of how far the iPhone display can be changed with some very basic tools.

Source: Twitter

About The Author

Alan Truly
(1132 Articles Published)

Alan is a Tech Writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, Alan stays current on what is new and what is next. With over 30 years experience in computer, video and photo equipment, you can expect useful tips and insights in his writing. Alan has a degree in programming, many years focused on design, editing, and animation. A period of managing logistics and e-commerce operations for a mobile accessories company rounds out a diverse background. Alan is a true jack of all digital trades in this ever-changing computer-enriched world. To stay flexible in mind and in body, he practices yoga, light cardio, and eats a whole food diet, based on minimally processed plants.

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