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Global Moxie specializes in mobile design strategy and user experience for a multiscreen world. We offer consulting services, training, and product-invention workshops to help creative organizations build tapworthy mobile apps and effective websites. We're based in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more.

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Books by Josh Clark

Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps

Best iPhone Apps: The Guide for Discriminating Downloaders

iWork ’09: The Mising Manual

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Patching Up Your iPhone Wallpaper

Posted Jun 22, 2010 (updated Jun 27, 2010)

Nnngh, the iOS 4 wallpaper change makes me crazy.

Don’t get me wrong, after 24 hours of casual use with the new iPhone operating system, I love it. It’s fast, edges have been smoothed, and nearly every change is for the better. I have a few niggles, but on the whole, the thing is a terrific evolution, with subtle care and thinking throughout. It’s saying something that my one serious quibble so far is an aesthetic one.

But eesh, it’s an aesthetic issue that seriously hampers usability. The new OS replaces the once-black background of the iPhone home screen with an image background. The black void of yore served a useful purpose, making the app icons pop with a gemlike glow. Now the app icons have to compete with noisy background textures.

I know, I know, I’m an elitist snob, but I shudder to think at the photo and texture atrocities being inflicted on innocent handsets around the globe. Pretty much any background photo makes my melon ache. Apple anticipated this by including some new, relatively dark texture images, but even these have too much contrast.

To stop the madness (or at least prevent my own), I grabbed this dark wood texture and built a simple low-contrast wallpaper:

iPhone Dark Wood Wallpaper

Feel free to use it yourself:

Dark Wood Wallpaper (189 KB)
Click the link to see the wallpaper image. On iPhone, tap and hold the image until the "Save Image" option appears.

Looking for something a little different? Give these a spin:

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Comments

1 comment(s) on this page. Add your own comment below.

gary
Sep 29, 2010 2:22pm [ 1 ]

I need a wallpaper with that glass shelf on the downer part on the screen! :( (on IOS 3 i can hide the original what is not shelf) plz help

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