My passion for mobile technology and how it can benefit everyday life
began with the purchase of the original iPhone in 2007. But after a few
generations of the iPhone, I began to grow tired of the limited
personalisation and customisation options afforded by the fruit company.
I had successfully explored mobile apps and had embedded the use of
mobile technology in my daily life. But I had a yearning for a more open
approach to an operating system. Out of curiosity, I began to look
beyond the ringed-fence Apple products and discovered Android.
My first Android device was a Samsung Galaxy Note, and at first, I
was confused by the seemingly limitless customisation options. The
Android operating system was very different from iOS and I needed a
starting point from which to learn.
The home screen seemed a logical place to begin. I was excited about
having the freedom to place, and even design my own home screen
elements. Screen shot one represents my early exploration of the Android
home screen. Here I have simply chosen the wallpaper, placed app icons
and a weather widget. Screenshot two shows a little further
personalisation of the weather widget, after I discovered HD Widgets
app. HD Widgets is available from the Google Play App Store and it
allows the user to create many kinds of widgets. Different styles,
colours and sizes of widgets can be created to suit your needs.
As my confidence grew, I began to explore some of the many custom
launchers available on the Play Store. Nova Launcher is one of the most
popular. It offers the user many personalization options. These include a
near stock Android experience, changing of the home screen grid size,
app drawer layout and use different icon packs. It is also possible to
backup your favourite home screen designs, so that you can easily apply
them later.
Screen shot three shows a home screen design created using Nova
Launcher, the icon pack used is called Lipse Icons. The time and date
widget was created using Zooper Widget Pro. Screen shot four shows an
iOS inspired home screen, again created using Nova Launcher. To achieve
this design, the grid size was changed and I applied a set of iOS icons.
Finally, screen shot five shows a very different approach to home
screen design. The launcher used here is Buzz Launcher. This design was
more complex and time-consuming to create. Firstly, the ‘organiser’
inspired layout was created in Photoshop. Exact screen and grid
dimensions provided the structure in Photoshop for the design to fit
onto.
The completed Photoshop design was then applied using Buzz Launcher.
The time, date and battery widget was created using Zooper Widget Pro.
Whilst Buzz Launcher offers almost limitless creative opportunities for
the experienced home screen designer, new users can choose from a larger
selection of user-created designs. These can be downloaded and applied
quickly and easily.Below are some well-known apps and tools to help you
with getting the best possible home screen setup on your Android device.
You can download beautiful wallpaper packs from
here and awesome free and premium icon packs at the
Google Play Store.
I hope this article shows how it is possible to personalise your
Android device and provides you with a little inspiration and motivation
for your own home screen designs.
