Mastering Your Newly Improved iOS 14 Home Screen

And you don’t need to be a tech whiz to do it…

by GIANNA PORECK ★ OCTOBER 21, 2020

With the creation of the Apple iOS 14 update, social media users everywhere have been taking their home screens to the next level. It may look like you need a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science to make your very own aesthetic home screen, but you only need a few hours, two apps, and one Pinterest account to do it. Whether you want neutral tones, a specific color aesthetic, or a seasonal look, you can make your new home screen whatever you want it to be. Here, I’ll provide some of the best tips I learned from creating my own iOS14 home screen, including what apps to use, how to find your app icons, and how to use widgets to change up the format of your home screen.

Declutter your apps

I’m sorry, but the Pac-Man app you bought in eighth grade and haven’t touched since has got to go. You’re probably not going to use it ever again and it’s only going to make your home screen look more cluttered. The less folders, the better and the less apps you have, the faster you will finish designating pictures to each one. If you have a lot of apps under the same categories, such as games, food delivery, shopping, etc. put them in folders. This decreases the amount of pages you will have to edit and makes it easier to find the apps you are searching for.

Make Pinterest your new bff

What’s not to love about this app. Pinterest should be your go-to when looking for aesthetic photos for your app icons, background images, and ideas for the layout of your home screen. Here, you’ll find a large collection of different aesthetic pictures, all from one search. While you don’t need to make an account to use Pinterest, it makes it much easier to pin all of the pictures you are thinking of using into one organized folder, rather than taking multiple screenshots. Your phone storage will thank you later.

Start by finding your aesthetic. Are you looking for a specific color, such as neutral tones and images? Try searching “neutral aesthetic wallpapers.” Are you looking for a home screen with icons that mimic summer? Search “summer vibes.” I always like to use the words “aesthetic” or “vibes” after the keywords in my search to make sure I’m getting content that is more closely related to what I’m looking for. If not, you could end up with random watermarked photos you’d find on Safari. Once you’ve found the aesthetic you are looking for, start pinning them into a folder labeled “home screen.”

Pro tip: if your app icons are really busy or complex, try to use a plain background so that your home screen doesn’t look cluttered and the icons pop. You can choose a plain color, a brick wall, or a neutral background with one design in the middle. Once you’ve found your aesthetic, try to find about 30-40 pictures (if you’re an app junky like me) to use as cover photos for each app.

Download Widgetsmith and Color Widgets to spice up your screens

So you might be wondering...“what the hell is a widget”? Widgets are the big blocks you may have seen on home screens which a lot of people use to create a calendar, show the time, write a quote, or even just to display a photo. Widgetsmith has 3 different widget sizes: small, medium, and large. Small ones can be used to create blocks of pictures that vary the layout of your screen, while medium widgets can be used to create horizontal pictures that take up about a quarter of your home screen. Large widgets, unless you have a screen with about 5 apps or so, are usually too large and will take up about half of your screen.

Here’s all you have to do to put the widget on your home screen using the Widgetsmith app:

Go to the home screen and hold on an app; click edit home screen so all the apps shake.
Hit the plus button in the top left corner, then scroll all the way down in the menu that pops up until you find “Widgetsmith.”
Choose the size of the widget you want to add from the menu and click add widget.
If you have multiple widgets in the size you choose to put on your home screen and it isn’t the one you wanted, click the widget once, hit the bar labeled “widget,” and a list of widgets will appear to change which one will pop up on your home screen.

The Color Widget app is best for adding a medium sized calendar to the top of your home screen or anywhere else you may want it. When you open the app, there will be a bunch of widget designs to choose from; select the one you want, then choose edit to change the theme, background photo, and font to your liking.

Here’s how to add it to your home screen:

Go to your home screen and hold on the apps; click edit home screen and the apps will shake.
Hit the plus button in the top left corner and a menu will pop up.
In the menu, scroll all the way down to “Color Widgets” and click on it.
You will see three sizes for the calendar—small, medium, and large. Click on your preferred widget size.
If you have multiple widgets in the size you’ve selected and the wrong one shows up on your screen, click on the widget added, and hit “choose.”
After you hit choose, click on the name or number of the widget you intended, and it will pop up on your home screen.
Move it to where you prefer it.

Create shortcuts to change the logo of the app on your home screen

Using shortcuts is how people change their default app icons to different pictures.

Here’s all you need to do to make your app icons your very own:

Go the the “Shortcuts” app.
Hit the “+” in the top right corner.
Press “add action.”
Hit the scripting icon. It should be in the top row, third from the left.
Press “open app.”
In the bar that says “Open choose,” press choose.
Scroll to the selected app you want this shortcut to open (i.e. Instagram, Snapchat, or Messages) and click the app name.
On the screen that is brought up, click on the three dots in the top right.
Click “Shortcut name.”
Make the shortcut name the name of the app (since this will pop up in the shortcut app when you reopen it to see what apps you’ve already made an icon for, it is easiest to make the shortcut name the name of the app).
Click add to home screen.
Click the icon with the two squares in the section labeled “home screen name and icon.”
Click “choose photo.”
Choose the photo from your photo album that you’ve designated for the app.
Hit add on the top right of your screen.

You’re all set! The app has been added to your home screen. Now you only have to repeat this about 20-40 more times. When opening your apps, you might notice a lag where it takes you to shortcuts first, and then the app. If it really bothers you, there’s a way to fix that. All you have to do is go to Settings > Accessibility > Reduce Motion and the problem is fixed!

While getting used to your new home screen can be a little confusing without the normal app icons, you’ll eventually get the hang of it. Once you see your home screen come together, you’ll get a little rush of serotonin every time you open your phone. iOS 14 isn’t just about an aesthetic home screen. If you do it right, you can make everything just a little more accessible to you when you open your phone. Happy designing!

Cover photo credit: Pinterest (@Lauren Gill)

University Girl MagazineOctober 21, 2020