Custom Phone Wallpapers

The custom phone wallpaper I made from a photo on a hike last fall changes how my phone feels every time I unlock it. Instead of a default gradient, I see a ridge of pine trees against a sky I actually stood under. Image is personal in a way the pre-loaded options aren't. The personalization makes the device feel like mine rather than everyone's. Choosing a wallpaper is a small creative decision you make once and then live with hundreds of times a day. My lock screen version is different from the home screen, darker and moodier. The shift between them when I swipe feels like a transition between public and private space. Friends curate their wallpapers with the same attention they give their apartment walls. The habit says something about how personal a phone has become.