Every week, we feature customised desktops and home screens submitted by readers that show off beautiful wallpapers and great customisation and UI tweaks. Sometimes they’re fun, sometimes they’re functional, and sometimes they’re both, but 2015 was a great year for all of them. Here’s a look at your favourite ones.
The Global Monitor Desktop
Jerome doesn’t have admin rights to his work laptop (which makes sense), but he didn’t want that to stop him from adding a little personality to it. The result is this good-looking, informative, and custom Windows desktop. Here’s how he set it all up.
The EarthBound Desktop
Reader bionicfemme shared this desktop to our Desktop Showcase and we love it, partially because we share the love for EarthBound. If you like it as much as we do, here’s how you can set it up.
The Modern Desktop
Flickr user Greg put this desktop together using Windows 7, combining some things we like about the flat design in Windows 8 with a little depth elsewhere and some well-placed, very useful widgets. Here’s how he set it up.
The Milkdrop Desktop
Flickr user LostWatson‘s desktop is surreal and beautiful, but well organised, too. A simple launcher on the side offers access to his applications, and the rest is neat and clear. Here’s what he used to set it all up.
The Primordial Desktop
Mackenzie‘s desktop is a beautiful wooded respite that lowers your stress levels just by looking at it — which makes it perfect for a work desktop, or a second screen. Here’s how to set it up.
The Limbo Desktop
Reader Jayesh wanted a desktop that was playful, but also helped him get things done, so he took his love of Limbo (the game, not the the theological concept) and put together this desktop, symbolising the struggle to get things done while simultaneously putting all his tools at his fingertips.
The Equaliser Desktop
Flickr user Elizabeth has a great-looking desktop that puts her music front and center. Plus, it’s really easy to set up. Here’s how she did it.
The Midsummer Night’s Desktop
It’s summertime on the boulevard, and this beautiful Arch Linux desktop takes us down to the beach. Our friend dobbie03 submitted it, and here’s how he made it.
The Low-Poly Island Desktop
Reader Saifali‘s desktop looks like something out of a pixelated fantasy game, and we love it. Part wallpaper and a few useful widgets, it’s also easy to set up. Here’s how he did it.
The Radial Desktop
Reader jonredcorn2 shared this super clean desktop over at Flickr, packed with useful information, bordered with shortcuts and feeds, and informative but not too busy. Here’s how he set it up.
The Radioactive Home Screen
The term “radioactive” can invoke imagery from nuclear reactors to Homer Simpson. This home screen is packed with plutonium powered inspired glowing green. It even comes in both dark and light themes.
The Minimal Orange Home Screen
If you dislike clutter and miss Halloween a little bit, this home screen design should cheer you up and help keep your phone organised. Using simple widgets and just a few icons, it’s slick and clean.
The Black Material Home Screen
There’s something to be said for simplicity. Today’s design sticks to a grey scale palette, but still manages to include plenty of information with a layout that conveys some depth.
The Fantasy Day Home Screen
Few things are as annoying as turning your phone on at night and getting blasted in the face with your bright cheery home screen. This design keeps it minimal, and automatically switches between a light and dark theme depending on the time of day.
The Diamond Home Screen
Who needs horizontal lines? This home screen design shifts everything on its end, putting all the essential widgets and shortcuts on a stylish diamond grid.
The White Winter Home Screen
If hot weather is making you crave the cold, this peacefully white home screen will help you feel winter’s chill.
The Expandable Home Screen
Sometimes, less is more. Today’s home screen keeps it simple with an open home screen with room to breathe. Swipe right and you’ll get an overlay packed with minimal widgets.
The Sepia Tone Home Screen
If your giant phone blasting your face with bright light every time you turn on your home screen is displeasing, you might like this design. Employing a subdued, sepia scheme, this design is easy on the eyes, even with an AMOLED display.
The Noir Dark Home Screen
Widgets are useful for getting quick information without opening an app. This design skips the icons entirely and gives you the info you need in a dark, old-timey home screen.
The 8-Bit City Home Screen
8-bit designs may have been a technological necessity back in the day, but now they have a nostalgic charm. This 8-bit landscape, by reddit user Esrahaddon, can actually animate a retro city on your home screen when set up properly.
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