How to Create a Motivational Wallpaper for Your Phone

Looking to spice up your phone wallpaper?

We all look at our phones multiple times a day. Why not create a phone wallpaper that not only looks good, but reminds you of positive affirmations, goals, or things that simply make you smile. Self-care is much needed in the turmoil of the pandemic. Add a splash of positivity to your day-to-day by learning how to create a motivational wallpaper for your phone.

Brainstorm

Grab a sheet of paper or open up your notes app and examine the following prompts. Don’t worry about writing our the perfect responses. This is all about exploration to figure out what exactly gives you your spark.

Prompts

• What do you feel you need more of in your life?
• What is a goal you would like to work towards?
• Write down some of your favorite quotes or sayings.
• Think of what categories of images you find inspiring.
• What colors do you love?

Tip: If writing these down don’t work for you, then go to Pinterest and create a board of things you like.

Embrace your creativity!

Now it’s time to do the work and utilize your creativity.

The good news is that there are free programs out there to create all kinds of graphics including a phone wallpaper. My personal favorite is Canva for all things graphic design. You can choose to do this via the Canva app or on the desktop version. Personally, I find the desktop version more responsive and user-friendly.

After signing up you will see the home page. Here you will be able to view multiple types of templates. Before choosing a template, we need to make sure you have the correct wallpaper dimensions for your phone wallpaper.

No worries about figuring this out. I created a handy pdf to help you out. The only information you need are the width and the height. Click on the button below to view a comprehensive list.

Now that you have your phone wallpaper dimensions, we can set up the template.

You will notice the word “pro” tossed around on Canva’s site. They do have a pro version for Canva where you can gain access to additional features, images, and fonts but it’s unnecessary for most purposes if you don’t have a blog or some form of business.

Tip: You can filter for free images and fonts through the search bar instead of rummaging through the entire gallery of mixed pro and fee content.

Steps to Create a Phone Wallpaper in Canva (Desktop)

1. Click create a design and click + custom size button
2. Next enter the width x height that works for your phone. For example, my iPhone 11’s wallpaper dimensions are 828 x 1792. Once you enter the dimensions click create new design.

App Instructions

If you choose to design in the app, the steps are the same except it will look slightly different and more condensed.

1. Just click the + button in the bottom right corner.
2. Enter the width and the height. Then click create new design.
3. You will see templates by default, search phone wallpapers. If you want to edit from scratch then swipe down to view the blank template.

Pause

Before you jump into designing, step away from Canva for a moment and take another look at the notes or the Pinterest board you made earlier.

Visualize what your ideal wallpaper might look like to you. Which elements can you pull from your brainstorm session that will work to form a cohesive, aesthetic, and motivational wallpaper. This will help you create a wallpaper that isn’t just a bunch of random elements thrown together (unless that makes you smile). Think of what you would find motivational.

Canva (Desktop) Steps continued…

3. Now that you have created a template for your phone’s dimensions, you will see a blanket template. It is time to embrace your inner creativity!

Take your time. This isn’t a race. Play with colors, backgrounds, elements, text, images etc. Canva is so simple that all you have to do is click or drag and drop. Need more assistance? Check out Canva’s learning portal.

Now if you want a quick wallpaper then feel free to use the pre-made templates. All you have to do is type “phone wallpapers” in the search bar. Currently, they have 330 designs available to you to choose from. Woah right? Take your time choosing.

Just be sure to use that you are using a template that offers all the elements for free if you haven’t purchased the Canva Pro membership. You will be able to tell if it is free or not once you hover your mouse button over the template. If it’s totally free it should say so as seen in the image below.

This is to avoid paying unnecessary fees for Canva Pro features. They are typically only one to two dollars but why pay if you don’t have to? You can always swap the paid elements out for free ones if you really like a pro template.

Ready for your wallpaper?

The designing is done and you are ready to make your phone inspiring and fabulous. Nice work! Now it’s time to download this thing.

Canva Steps continued (Desktop)…

4. If you designed the phone wallpaper on your laptop/desktop then of course you can simply download it to your computer and then manually transfer it to your phone as seen below. Just click download, choose your preferred format, and then click the download button on the bottom.

Canva App Alternative

For the sake of efficiency, I suggest downloading the Canva app on your smartphone and just downloading the phone wallpaper directly to your camera roll from the app. You can still design on desktop/laptop. This is just a quicker download option. You don’t have to. It’s just an option.

Look at you, designer pro!

Find the image in your camera roll and set it as your phone lockscreen, homescreen, or both if you’d like! Now you have a beautiful wallpaper on your phone that will inspire you every day.

Keep in mind if something looks off then all you have to do is go back on the Canva homepage, find the area that says your designs, choose your design, and then edit what you have already created. Simple as that!

I absolutely love Canva and use it for everything. Now that I am blogging I have the pro version, but it’s completely optional. I appreciate that they make it so accessible to users for free. I hope you will have plenty of fun creating beautiful designs. There are so many templates from resumes to social media graphics.

Janelle (Simply Nel Belle)

Hello everyone! I am a Boston based blogger that loves all things travel and lifestyle. You can usually find me working away at my university job, snapping pictures, thrifting, or trying out some new recipes.

www.simplynelbelle.com