<p>Everybody loves a beautiful wallpaper to freshen up their desktops and home screens, right? To cater for <strong>new and unique designs</strong> on a regular basis, we started our <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/category/wallpapers">monthly wallpapers series</a> more than 14 years ago, and from the very beginning to today, artists and designers from across the globe have accepted the challenge and submitted their artworks. This month is no exception, of course.</p> <p>In this post, you’ll find desktop wallpapers for <strong>August 2025</strong>, along with a selection of timeless designs from our archives that are bound to make your August extra colorful. A big thank you to everyone who tickled their creativity and shared their wallpapers with us this month — this post wouldn’t exist without your kind support!</p> <p>Now, if you’re feeling inspired after browsing this collection, why not <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/12/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-join-in/">submit a wallpaper</a> to get featured in one of our upcoming posts? Fire up your favorite design tool, grab your camera or pen and paper, and <strong>tell the story <em>you</em> want to tell</strong>. We can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with! Happy August!</p> <ul> <li>You can <strong>click on every image to see a larger preview</strong>.</li> <li>We respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the <strong>full freedom to explore their creativity</strong> and express emotions and experience through their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.</li> </ul> <p></p>August Afloat<p></p> <p></p> <p>“Set sail into a serene summer moment with this bright and breezy wallpaper. A wooden boat drifts gently across wavy blue waters dotted with lily pads, capturing the stillness and simplicity of late August days.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.librafire.com/">Libra Fire</a> from Serbia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/aug-25-august-afloat-full.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-25-august-afloat-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/aug-25-august-afloat-preview.png">preview</a></li> <li>with calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/cal/aug-25-august-afloat-cal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/august-afloat/nocal/aug-25-august-afloat-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Dive Into Summer Mode<p></p> <p></p> <p>“When your phone becomes a pool and your pup’s living the dream — it’s a playful reminder that sometimes the best escapes are simple: unplug, slow down, soak in the sunshine, and let your imagination do the swimming.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.popwebdesign.net/">PopArt Studio</a> from Serbia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-full.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-preview.png">preview</a></li> <li>with calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/cal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-cal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/dive-into-summer-mode/nocal/aug-25-dive-into-summer-mode-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Sea Shanties And Ears In The Wind<p></p> <p></p> <p>“August is like a boat cruise swaying with the rhythm of sea shanties. Our mascot really likes to have its muzzle caressed by the salty sea wind and getting its ears warmed by the summer sun.” — Designed by <a href="https://gaae.design/">Caroline Boire</a> from France.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-full.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-preview.png">preview</a></li> <li>with calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/cal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-cal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind/nocal/aug-25-sea-shanties-and-ears-in-the-wind-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Queen Of August<p></p> <p></p> <p>“August 8 is International Cat Day, so of course the month belongs to her majesty. Confident, calm, and totally in charge. Just like every cat ever.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.gingeritsolutions.com/">Ginger IT Solutions</a> from Serbia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/aug-25-queen-of-august-full.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-25-queen-of-august-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/aug-25-queen-of-august-preview.png">preview</a></li> <li>with calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/cal/aug-25-queen-of-august-cal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-25/queen-of-august/nocal/aug-25-queen-of-august-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Happiness Happens In August<p></p> <p></p> <p>“Many people find August one of the happiest months of the year because of holidays. You can spend days sunbathing, swimming, birdwatching, listening to their joyful chirping, and indulging in sheer summer bliss. August 8th is also known as the Happiness Happens Day, so make it worthwhile.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.popwebdesign.net/index_eng.html">PopArt Studio</a> from Serbia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c02105d1-3e31-49e7-b909-ddb84982b7e0/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-full.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/9d979d10-f87f-4935-828a-de2ecd2de311/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-preview.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/9d979d10-f87f-4935-828a-de2ecd2de311/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-preview.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-320x480.jpg">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-640x480.jpg">640x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-800x480.jpg">800x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-800x600.jpg">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1024x1024.jpg">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1152x864.jpg">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1280x720.jpg">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1366x768.jpg">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1400x1050.jpg">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/happiness-happens-in-august/nocal/aug-17-happiness-happens-in-august-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Nostalgia<p></p> <p></p> <p>“August, the final breath of summer, brings with it a wistful nostalgia for a season not yet past.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tot_o_ami">Ami Totorean</a> from Romania.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-24-nostalgia-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-24-nostalgia-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-24-nostalgia-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/nostalgia/nocal/aug-24-nostalgia-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Relax In Bora Bora<p></p> <p></p> <p>“As we have taken a liking to diving through the coral reefs, we’ll also spend August diving and took the leap to Bora Bora. There we enjoy the sea and nature and above all, we rest to gain strength for the new course that is to come.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.silocreativo.com/en">Veronica Valenzuela</a> from Spain.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-full.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/relax-in-bora-bora/nocal/aug-24-relax-in-bora-bora-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Banana!<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://www.ricardogimenes.com/">Ricardo Gimenes</a> from Spain.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-24-banana-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-24-banana-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-24-banana-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1366x768.png">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-24/banana/nocal/aug-24-banana-nocal-3840x2160.png">3840x2160</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Summer Day<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://cpsp.in/">Kasturi Palmal</a> from India.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-summer-day-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-summer-day-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-summer-day-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-800x600.jpg">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/summer-day/nocal/aug-23-summer-day-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Retro Road Trip<p></p> <p></p> <p>“As the sun dips below the horizon, casting a warm glow upon the open road, the retro van finds a resting place for the night. A campsite bathed in moonlight or a cozy motel straight from a postcard become havens where weary travelers can rest, rejuvenate, and prepare for the adventures that await with the dawn of a new day.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.popwebdesign.net/seo-optimizacija.html">PopArt Studio </a> from Serbia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-retro-road-trip-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-retro-road-trip-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-retro-road-trip-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-320x480.jpg">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-640x480.jpg">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-800x480.jpg">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-800x600.jpg">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1024x1024.jpg">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1152x864.jpg">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1280x720.jpg">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1400x1050.jpg">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/retro-road-trip/nocal/aug-23-retro-road-trip-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Spooky Campfire Stories<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://www.ricardogimenes.com/">Ricardo Gimenes</a> from Spain.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2024/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1366x768.png">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/spooky-campfire-stories/nocal/aug-23-spooky-campfire-stories-nocal-3840x2160.png">3840x2160</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Bee Happy!<p></p> <p></p> <p>“August means that fall is just around the corner, so I designed this wallpaper to remind everyone to ‘bee happy’ even though summer is almost over. Sweeter things are ahead!” — Designed by Emily Haines from the United States.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/fe3c5086-c859-4d07-b477-164a15433f15/aug-16-bee-happy-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/9652bddf-d511-4014-867d-585b4b05e9c0/aug-16-bee-happy-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/9652bddf-d511-4014-867d-585b4b05e9c0/aug-16-bee-happy-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1366x768.png">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/bee-happy/nocal/aug-16-bee-happy-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Oh La La… Paris’ Night<p></p> <p></p> <p>“I like the Paris night! All is very bright!” — Designed by <a href="https://www.silocreativo.com/en">Verónica Valenzuela</a> from Spain.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/f30e0e86-d6cc-40ec-8cf9-b331785ce2c4/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c5d06b93-8eda-40af-bd31-3efbf2e73625/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c5d06b93-8eda-40af-bd31-3efbf2e73625/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-800x480.jpg">800x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-1152x864.jpg">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-14/oh-la-la-paris-night/nocal/aug-14-oh-la-la-paris-night-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Cowabunga<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://www.ricardogimenes.com/">Ricardo Gimenes</a> from Spain.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b531ca2f-bac1-4241-98ef-d5de509d2090/aug-21-cowabunga-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/41c9f73b-4612-48f4-ab9a-0c6449f9cf55/aug-21-cowabunga-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/41c9f73b-4612-48f4-ab9a-0c6449f9cf55/aug-21-cowabunga-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1366x768.png">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-21/cowabunga/nocal/aug-21-cowabunga-nocal-3840x2160.png">3840x2160</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Childhood Memories<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by Francesco Paratici from Australia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/0e78c0ea-650c-4284-a61a-3f281d4d4413/august-12-childhood-memories-4-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/a92e8178-2097-4bf1-9803-1d85bb2710a5/august-12-childhood-memories-4-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/a92e8178-2097-4bf1-9803-1d85bb2710a5/august-12-childhood-memories-4-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-320x480.jpg">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1024x1024.jpg">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1366x768.jpg">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-childhood_memories__4-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Summer Nap<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://dorvandavoudi.com/">Dorvan Davoudi</a> from Canada.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/80a729c6-385d-4e22-bb2c-61266a7f5a96/aug-16-summer-nap-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/7e52aff7-6aac-4b28-b75c-f118e8591211/aug-16-summer-nap-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/7e52aff7-6aac-4b28-b75c-f118e8591211/aug-16-summer-nap-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-800x480.jpg">800x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-800x600.jpg">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1152x864.jpg">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1280x720.jpg">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1366x768.jpg">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1400x1050.jpg">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/summer-nap/nocal/aug-16-summer-nap-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Live In The Moment<p></p> <p></p> <p>“My dog Sami inspired me for this one. He lives in the moment and enjoys every second with a big smile on his face. I wish we could learn to enjoy life like he does! Happy August everyone!” — Designed by <a href="https://westievibes.com/">Westie Vibes</a> from Portugal.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/1ab25b5a-40a4-4e39-9206-2c3b12c04aa4/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c117def9-f04a-432a-9f1a-5cae806a2418/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c117def9-f04a-432a-9f1a-5cae806a2418/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-20/live-in-the-moment/nocal/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-20/live-in-the-moment/nocal/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-20/live-in-the-moment/nocal/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-nocal-1080x1920.png">1080x1920</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-20/live-in-the-moment/nocal/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-20/live-in-the-moment/nocal/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-20/live-in-the-moment/nocal/aug-20-live-in-the-moment-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Handwritten August<p></p> <p></p> <p>“I love typography handwritten style.” — Designed by Chalermkiat Oncharoen from Thailand.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/4011a427-17f6-4223-9eb4-f759f54251f7/aug-13-handwritten-august-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/52bea7de-ac48-4387-baf7-aaea0311e27a/aug-13-handwritten-august-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/52bea7de-ac48-4387-baf7-aaea0311e27a/aug-13-handwritten-august-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/handwritten-august/nocal/aug-13-handwritten-august-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Psst, It’s Camping Time…<p></p> <p></p> <p>“August is one of my favorite months, when the nights are long and deep and crackling fire makes you think of many things at once and nothing at all at the same time. It’s about heat and cold which allow you to touch the eternity for a few moments.” — Designed by <a href="https://izhik.com/">Igor Izhik</a> from Canada.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/7a3b4015-afe0-4299-9696-22c3543d2665/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/a263dc14-0e54-40ad-9a5f-bc7dc2adee15/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/a263dc14-0e54-40ad-9a5f-bc7dc2adee15/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1024x1024.jpg">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1280x720.jpg">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1400x1050.jpg">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/psst-its-camping-time/nocal/aug-16-psst-its-camping-time-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Hello Again<p></p> <p></p> <p>“In Melbourne it is the last month of quite a cool winter so we are looking forward to some warmer days to come.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.tazi.com.au/">Tazi</a> from Australia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/812278fd-ebf0-46a6-90c1-c65032ca65e0/aug-17-hello-again-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/f767666c-03bf-42c5-b5ee-2e0ebc0ef441/aug-17-hello-again-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/f767666c-03bf-42c5-b5ee-2e0ebc0ef441/aug-17-hello-again-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-17/hello-again/nocal/aug-17-hello-again-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Coffee Break Time<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://www.ricardogimenes.com/">Ricardo Gimenes</a> from Spain.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b7fcfa12-a939-437c-a2c1-320294b54030/aug-18-coffee-break-time-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/ec380c41-2c66-41b9-b716-3a7a45f58ea4/aug-18-coffee-break-time-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/ec380c41-2c66-41b9-b716-3a7a45f58ea4/aug-18-coffee-break-time-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1366x768.png">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-18/coffee-break-time/nocal/aug-18-coffee-break-time-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Subtle August Chamomiles<p></p> <p></p> <p>“Our designers wanted to create something summery, but not very colorful, something more subtle. The first thing that came to mind was chamomile because there are a lot of them in Ukraine and their smell is associated with a summer field.” — Designed by <a href="http://masterbundles.com/">MasterBundles</a> from Ukraine.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2023/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2023/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2023/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1366x768.png">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/subtle-august-chamomiles/nocal/aug-22-subtle-august-chamomiles-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Party Night Under The Stars<p></p> <p></p> <p>“August… it’s time for a party and summer vacation — sea, moon, stars, music… and magical vibrant colors.” — Designed by <a href="https://teodoravasileva.net/">Teodora Vasileva</a> from Bulgaria.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-640x480.jpg">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-800x480.jpg">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-800x600.jpg">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1280x720.jpg">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1400x1050.jpg">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1920x1080.jpg">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-23/party-night-under-the-stars/nocal/aug-23-party-night-under-the-stars-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>A Bloom Of Jellyfish<p></p> <p></p> <p>“I love going to aquariums – the colors, patterns, and array of blue hues attract the nature lover in me while still appeasing my design eye. One of the highlights is always the jellyfish tanks. They usually have some kind of light show in them, which makes the jellyfish fade from an intense magenta to a deep purple — and it literally tickles me pink. We discovered that the collective noun for jellyfish is a bloom and, well, it was love-at-first-collective-noun all over again. I’ve used some intense colors to warm up your desktop and hopefully transport you into the depths of your own aquarium.” — Designed by <a href="https://wonderlandcollective.co.za/">Wonderland Collective</a> from South Africa.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/ced7bcdb-b285-4c0f-8c6e-16a34b2bd713/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-full.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/31e2973d-50fa-4151-a61b-d2936ed260ad/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-preview.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/31e2973d-50fa-4151-a61b-d2936ed260ad/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-preview.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-15/a-bloom-of-jellyfish/nocal/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-nocal-320x480.jpg">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-15/a-bloom-of-jellyfish/nocal/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-nocal-800x600.jpg">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-15/a-bloom-of-jellyfish/nocal/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-15/a-bloom-of-jellyfish/nocal/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-15/a-bloom-of-jellyfish/nocal/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-15/a-bloom-of-jellyfish/nocal/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-15/a-bloom-of-jellyfish/nocal/aug-15-a-bloom-of-jellyfish-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Colorful Summer<p></p> <p></p> <p>“‘Always keep mint on your windowsill in August, to ensure that the buzzing flies will stay outside where they belong. Don’t think summer is over, even when roses droop and turn brown and the stars shift position in the sky. Never presume August is a safe or reliable time of the year.’ (Alice Hoffman)” — Designed by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lenartlivia/">Lívi</a> from Hungary.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c4425cee-41ad-4ab7-96af-9dab9d1115ec/aug-19-colorful-summer-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c4da5f29-93df-4a10-80d2-116d2748c9e1/aug-19-colorful-summer-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/c4da5f29-93df-4a10-80d2-116d2748c9e1/aug-19-colorful-summer-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-800x480.jpg">800x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-1280x720.jpg">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-1400x1050.jpg">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-1680x1200.jpg">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-2560x1440.jpg">2560x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-19/colorful-summer/nocal/aug-19-colorful-summer-nocal-3475x4633.jpg">3475x4633</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Searching For Higgs Boson<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://www.vladstudio.com/">Vlad Gerasimov</a> from Georgia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/85adaefa-8054-4237-94e9-df37f849f5a4/august-12-2012-08-92-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/96410b87-8914-4496-8416-15ef65130c03/august-12-2012-08-92-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/96410b87-8914-4496-8416-15ef65130c03/august-12-2012-08-92-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-800x600.jpg">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-960x600.jpg">960x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1152x864.jpg">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1229x768.jpg">1229x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1280x960.jpg">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1400x1050.jpg">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1440x960.jpg">1440x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1680x1050.jpg">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1728x1080.jpg">1728x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-1920x1440.jpg">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-2304x1440.jpg">2304x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/august-12/august-12-2012_08__92-nocal-2560x1600.jpg">2560x1600</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Freak Show Vol. 1<p></p> <p></p> <p>Designed by <a href="https://www.ricardogimenes.com/">Ricardo Gimenes</a> from Spain.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-full-opt.png"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-august-2025/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-800x480.png">800x480</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1280x1024.png">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1366x768.png">1366x768</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1400x1050.png">1400x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1680x1050.png">1680x1050</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1680x1200.png">1680x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a>, <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-22/freak-show-vol-1/nocal/aug-22-freak-show-vol-1-nocal-3840x2160.png">3840x2160</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Grow Where You Are Planted<p></p> <p></p> <p>“Every experience is a building block on your own life journey, so try to make the most of where you are in life and get the most out of each day.” — Designed by <a href="https://www.tazi.com.au/">Tazi Design</a> from Australia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/228de0db-46a0-4376-90ca-5e140ae509d2/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b9b2f74c-7830-4236-a81a-72f60dc11406/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b9b2f74c-7830-4236-a81a-72f60dc11406/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-640x480.png">640x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-800x600.png">800x600</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-1024x768.png">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-1152x864.png">1152x864</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-1280x720.png">1280x720</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-1280x960.png">1280x960</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-1600x1200.png">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-1920x1080.png">1920x1080</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-1920x1440.png">1920x1440</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/grow-where-you-are-planted/nocal/aug-16-grow-where-you-are-planted-nocal-2560x1440.png">2560x1440</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Chill Out<p></p> <p></p> <p>“Summer is in full swing and Chicago is feeling the heat! Take some time to chill out!” — Designed by <a href="https://ladybirddee.net/">Denise Johnson</a> from Chicago.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/d495ec3e-4fc4-4904-a8f8-77161e9f8e9d/aug-16-chill-out-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b712c69a-9ce4-4193-aaf0-354a7c1591d5/aug-16-chill-out-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b712c69a-9ce4-4193-aaf0-354a7c1591d5/aug-16-chill-out-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/chill-out/nocal/aug-16-chill-out-nocal-1024x768.jpg">1024x768</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/chill-out/nocal/aug-16-chill-out-nocal-1280x800.jpg">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/chill-out/nocal/aug-16-chill-out-nocal-1280x1024.jpg">1280x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/chill-out/nocal/aug-16-chill-out-nocal-1440x900.jpg">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/chill-out/nocal/aug-16-chill-out-nocal-1600x1200.jpg">1600x1200</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-16/chill-out/nocal/aug-16-chill-out-nocal-1920x1200.jpg">1920x1200</a> </li> </ul> <p></p>Estonian Summer Sun<p></p> <p></p> <p>“This is a moment from Southern Estonia that shows amazing summer nights.” Designed by Erkki Pung from Estonia.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/0b076e1e-1df6-4b2d-8207-3e052b411a8c/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-full-full-opt.png"><img src="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b40ec210-dcdf-4288-82ff-36ac0573049b/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-preview-opt.png"></a><p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/b40ec210-dcdf-4288-82ff-36ac0573049b/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-preview-opt.png">preview</a></li> <li>without calendar: <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/estonian-summer-sun/nocal/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-nocal-320x480.png">320x480</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/estonian-summer-sun/nocal/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-nocal-1024x1024.png">1024x1024</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/estonian-summer-sun/nocal/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-nocal-1280x800.png">1280x800</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/estonian-summer-sun/nocal/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-nocal-1440x900.png">1440x900</a>, <a href="https://smashingmagazine.com/files/wallpapers/aug-13/estonian-summer-sun/nocal/aug-13-estonian-summer-sun-nocal-1920x1200.png">1920x1200</a> </li> </ul>

<p>Ever sat in a meeting where everyone jumped straight to solutions? “We need a new app!” “Let’s redesign the homepage!” “AI will fix everything!” This solution-first thinking is endemic in digital development — and it’s why so many projects fail to deliver real value. As the creator of the Core Model methodology, I developed this approach to flip the script: <strong>instead of starting with solutions, we start FROM the answer</strong>.</p> <p>What’s the difference? Starting with solutions means imposing our preconceived ideas. Starting FROM the answer to a user task means forming a hypothesis about what users need, then taking a step back to follow a simple structure that validates and refines that hypothesis.</p> Six Good Questions That Lead to Better Answers <p>At its heart, the Core Model is simply six good questions asked in the right order, with a seventh that drives action. It appeals to common sense — something often in short supply during complex digital projects.</p> <p>When I introduced this approach to a large organization struggling with their website, their head of digital admitted: <em>“We’ve been asking all these questions separately, but never in this structured way that connects them.”</em></p> <p>These questions help teams pause, align around what matters, and create solutions that actually work:</p> <ol> <li>Who are we trying to help, and what’s their situation?</li> <li>What are they trying to accomplish?</li> <li>What do we want to achieve?</li> <li>How do they approach this need?</li> <li>Where should they go next?</li> <li>What’s the essential content or functionality they need?</li> <li>What needs to be done to create this solution?</li> </ol> <p>This simple framework creates clarity across team boundaries, bringing together content creators, designers, developers, customer service, subject matter experts, and leadership around a shared understanding.</p> Starting With a Hypothesis <p>The Core Model process typically begins before the workshop. The project lead or facilitator works with key stakeholders to:</p> <ol> <li>Identify candidate cores based on organizational priorities and user needs.</li> <li>Gather existing user insights and business objectives.</li> <li>Form initial hypotheses about what these cores should accomplish.</li> <li>Prepare relevant background materials for workshop participants.</li> </ol> <p>This preparation ensures the workshop itself is focused and productive, with teams validating and refining hypotheses rather than starting from scratch.</p> The Core Model: Six Elements That Create Alignment <p>Let’s explore each element of the Core Model in detail:</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/core-model-start-from-answer-not-solution/1-core-model-framework.png"></p> <h3>1. Target Group: Building Empathy First</h3> <p>Rather than detailed personas, the Core Model starts with quick proto-personas that build empathy for users in specific situations:</p> <ul> <li>A parent researching childcare options late at night after a long day.</li> <li>A small business owner trying to understand tax requirements between client meetings.</li> <li>A new resident navigating unfamiliar public services in their second language.</li> </ul> <p>The key is to humanize users and understand their emotional and practical context before diving into solutions.</p> <h3>2. User Tasks: What People Are Actually Trying to Do</h3> <p>Beyond features or content, what are users actually trying to accomplish?</p> <ul> <li>Making an informed decision about a major purchase.</li> <li>Finding the right form to apply for a service.</li> <li>Understanding next steps in a complex process.</li> <li>Checking eligibility for a program or benefit.</li> </ul> <p>These tasks should be based on user research and drive everything that follows. <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2022/05/top-tasks-focus-what-matters-must-defocus-what-doesnt/">Top task methodology</a> is a great approach to this.</p> <h3>3. Business Objectives: What Success Looks Like</h3> <p>Every digital initiative should connect to clear organizational goals:</p> <ul> <li>Increasing online self-service adoption.</li> <li>Reducing support costs.</li> <li>Improving satisfaction and loyalty.</li> <li>Meeting compliance requirements.</li> <li>Generating leads or sales.</li> </ul> <p>These objectives provide the measurement framework for success. (If you work with OKRs, you can think of these as <strong>Key Results</strong> that connect to your overall <strong>Objective</strong>.)</p> <h3>4. Inward Paths: User Scenarios and Approaches</h3> <p>This element goes beyond just findability to include the user’s entire approach and mental model:</p> <ul> <li>What scenarios lead them to this need?</li> <li>What terminology do they use to describe their problem?</li> <li>How would the phrase their need to Google or an LLM?</li> <li>What emotions or urgency are they experiencing?</li> <li>What channels or touchpoints do they use?</li> <li>What existing knowledge do they bring?</li> </ul> <p>Understanding these angles of different approaches ensures we meet users where they are.</p> <h3>5. Forward Paths: Guiding the Journey</h3> <p>What should users do after engaging with this core?</p> <ul> <li>Take a specific action to continue their task.</li> <li>Explore related information or options.</li> <li>Connect with appropriate support channels.</li> <li>Save or share their progress.</li> </ul> <p>These paths create coherent journeys (core flows) rather than dead ends.</p> <h3>6. Core Content: The Essential Solution</h3> <p>Only after mapping the previous elements do we define the actual solution:</p> <ul> <li>What information must be included?</li> <li>What functionality is essential?</li> <li>What tone and language are appropriate?</li> <li>What format best serves the need?</li> </ul> <p>This becomes our blueprint for what actually needs to be created.</p> <h3>Action Cards: From Insight to Implementation</h3> <p>The Core Model process culminates with action cards that answer the crucial seventh question: <em>“What needs to be done to create this solution?”</em></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/core-model-start-from-answer-not-solution/2-action-card.png"></p> <p>These cards typically include:</p> <ul> <li>Specific actions required;</li> <li>Who is responsible;</li> <li>Timeline for completion;</li> <li>Resources needed;</li> <li>Dependencies and constraints.</li> </ul> <p>Action cards transform insights into concrete next steps, ensuring the workshop leads to real improvements rather than just interesting discussions.</p> The Power of Core Pairs <p>A unique aspect of the Core Model methodology is working in core pairs—two people from different competencies or departments working together on the same core sheet. This approach creates several benefits:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Cross-disciplinary insight</strong><br>Pairing someone with deep subject knowledge with someone who brings a fresh perspective.</li> <li> <strong>Built-in quality control</strong><br>Partners catch blind spots and challenge assumptions.</li> <li> <strong>Simplified communication</strong><br>One-to-one dialogue is more effective than group discussions.</li> <li> <strong>Shared ownership</strong><br>Both participants develop a commitment to the solution.</li> <li> <strong>Knowledge transfer</strong><br>Skills and insights flow naturally between disciplines.</li> </ul> <p>The ideal pair combines different perspectives — content and design, business and technical, expert and novice — creating a balanced approach that neither could achieve alone.</p> Creating Alignment Within and Between Teams <p>The Core Model excels at creating two crucial types of alignment:</p> <h3>Within Cross-Functional Teams</h3> <p>Modern teams bring together diverse competencies:</p> <ul> <li>Content creators focus on messages and narrative.</li> <li>Designers think about user experience and interfaces.</li> <li>Developers consider technical implementation.</li> <li>Business stakeholders prioritize organizational needs.</li> </ul> <p>The Core Model gives these specialists a common framework. Instead of the designer focusing only on interfaces or the developer only on code, everyone aligns around user tasks and business goals.</p> <p>As one UX designer told me: </p> <blockquote>“The Core Model changed our team dynamic completely. Instead of handing off wireframes to developers who didn’t understand the ‘why’ behind design decisions, we now share a common understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish.”</blockquote> <h3>Between Teams Across the Customer Journey</h3> <p>Users don’t experience your organization in silos — they move across touchpoints and teams. The Core Model helps connect these experiences:</p> <ul> <li>Marketing teams understand how their campaigns connect to service delivery.</li> <li>Product teams see how their features fit into larger user journeys.</li> <li>Support teams gain context on user pathways and common issues.</li> <li>Content teams create information that supports the entire journey.</li> </ul> <p>By mapping connections between cores (core flows), organizations create coherent experiences rather than fragmented interactions.</p> Breaking Down Organizational Barriers <p>The Core Model creates a neutral framework where various perspectives can contribute while maintaining a unified direction. This is particularly valuable in traditional organizational structures where content responsibility is distributed across departments.</p> The Workshop: Making It Happen <p>The Core Model workshop brings these elements together in a practical format that can be adapted to different contexts and needs.</p> <h3>Workshop Format and Timing</h3> <p>For complex projects with multiple stakeholders across organizational silos, the ideal format is a full-day (6–hour) workshop:</p> <p><strong>First Hour: Foundation and Context</strong></p> <ul> <li>Introduction to the methodology (15 min).</li> <li>Sharing user insights and business context (15 min).</li> <li>Reviewing pre-workshop hypotheses (15 min).</li> <li>Initial discussion and questions (15 min).</li> </ul> <p><strong>Hours 2–4: Core Mapping</strong></p> <ul> <li>Core pairs work on mapping elements (120 min).</li> <li>Sharing between core pairs and in plenary between elements.</li> <li>Facilitators provide guidance as needed.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Hours 5–6: Presentation, Discussion, and Action Planning</strong></p> <ul> <li>Each core pair presents its findings (depending on the number of cores).</li> <li>Extensive group discussion and refinement.</li> <li>Creating action cards and next steps.</li> </ul> <p>The format is highly flexible:</p> <ul> <li>Teams experienced with the methodology can conduct focused sessions in as little as 30 minutes.</li> <li>Smaller projects might need only 2–3 hours.</li> <li>Remote teams might split the workshop into multiple shorter sessions.</li> </ul> <h3>Workshop Environment</h3> <p>The Core Model workshop thrives in different environments:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Analog</strong>: Traditional approach using paper <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18yT6Fv-fFmVqorWuezRSAraVj2ngCwXh/view?usp=sharing">core sheets</a>.</li> <li> <strong>Digital</strong>: Virtual workshops using <a href="https://coremodel.link/miro">Miro</a>, <a href="https://coremodel.link/mural">Mural</a>, <a href="https://coremodel.link/figjam">FigJam</a>, or similar platforms.</li> <li> <strong>Hybrid</strong>: Digital canvas in physical workshop, combining in-person interaction with digital documentation.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Note</strong>: <em>You can find all downloads and templates <a href="http://coremodel.link/templates">here</a>.</em></p> <h3>Core Pairs: The Key to Success</h3> <p>The composition of core pairs is critical to success:</p> <ul> <li>One person should know the solution domain well (subject matter expert).</li> <li>The other brings a fresh perspective (and learns about a different domain).</li> <li>This combination ensures both depth of knowledge and fresh thinking.</li> <li>Cross-functional pairing creates natural knowledge transfer and breaks down silos.</li> </ul> <h3>Workshop Deliverables</h3> <p><strong>Important to note</strong>: The workshop doesn’t produce final solutions.</p> <p>Instead, it creates a comprehensive brief containing the following:</p> <ul> <li>Priorities and context for content development.</li> <li>Direction and ideas for design and user experience.</li> <li>Requirements and specifications for functionality.</li> <li>Action plan for implementation with clear ownership.</li> </ul> <p>This brief becomes the foundation for subsequent development work, ensuring everyone builds toward the same goal while leaving room for specialist expertise during implementation.</p> Getting Started: Your First Core Model Implementation <p>Ready to apply the Core Model in your organization? Here’s how to begin:</p> <h3>1. Form Your Initial Hypothesis</h3> <p>Before bringing everyone together:</p> <ul> <li>Identify a core where users struggle and the business impact is clear.</li> <li>Gather available user insights and business objectives.</li> <li>Form a hypothesis about what this core should accomplish.</li> <li>Identify key stakeholders across relevant departments.</li> </ul> <h3>2. Bring Together the Right Core Pairs</h3> <p>Select participants who represent different perspectives:</p> <ul> <li>Content creators paired with designers.</li> <li>Business experts paired with technical specialists.</li> <li>Subject matter experts paired with user advocates.</li> <li>Veterans paired with fresh perspectives.</li> </ul> <h3>3. Follow the Seven Questions</h3> <p>Guide core pairs through the process:</p> <ul> <li>Who are we trying to help, and what’s their situation?</li> <li>What are they trying to accomplish?</li> <li>What do we want to achieve?</li> <li>How do they approach this need?</li> <li>Where should they go next?</li> <li>What’s the essential content or functionality?</li> <li>What needs to be done to create this solution?</li> </ul> <h3>4. Create an Action Plan</h3> <p>Transform insights into concrete actions:</p> <ul> <li>Document specific next steps on action cards.</li> <li>Assign clear ownership for each action.</li> <li>Establish timeline and milestones.</li> <li>Define how you’ll measure success.</li> </ul> In Conclusion: Common Sense In A Structured Framework <p>The Core Model works because it combines common sense with structure — asking the right questions in the right order to ensure we address what actually matters.</p> <p>By starting FROM the answer, not WITH the solution, teams <strong>avoid premature problem-solving</strong> and create digital experiences that <strong>truly serve user needs</strong> while achieving organizational goals.</p> <p>Whether you’re managing a traditional website, creating multi-channel content, or developing digital products, this methodology provides a framework for better collaboration, clearer priorities, and more effective outcomes.</p> <p><em>This article is a short adaptation of my book</em> <strong><em>The Core Model — A Common Sense to Digital Strategy and Design</em></strong>. <em>You can find information about the book and updated resources at <a href="http://thecoremodel.com/">thecoremodel.com</a>.</em></p>

<p>It’s common to see <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_components">Web Components</a> directly <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2025/03/web-components-vs-framework-components/">compared to framework components</a>. But most examples are actually specific to Custom Elements, which is one piece of the Web Components picture. It’s easy to forget Web Components are actually a set of individual Web Platform APIs that can be used on their own:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_components/Using_custom_elements">Custom Elements</a></li> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Reference/Elements/template">HTML Templates</a></li> <li><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_components/Using_shadow_DOM">Shadow DOM</a></li> </ul> <p>In other words, it’s possible to create a <strong>Custom Element</strong> without using <strong>Shadow DOM</strong> or <strong>HTML Templates</strong>, but combining these features opens up enhanced stability, reusability, maintainability, and security. They’re all parts of the same feature set that can be used separately or together.</p> <p>With that being said, I want to pay particular attention to <strong>Shadow DOM</strong> and where it fits into this picture. Working with Shadow DOM allows us to define clear boundaries between the various parts of our web applications — <strong>encapsulating</strong> related HTML and CSS inside a <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/DocumentFragment"><code>DocumentFragment</code></a> to isolate components, prevent conflicts, and maintain clean separation of concerns.</p> <p>How you take advantage of that encapsulation involves trade-offs and a variety of approaches. In this article, we’ll explore those nuances in depth, and in a follow-up piece, we’ll dive into how to work effectively with encapsulated styles.</p> Why Shadow DOM Exists <p>Most modern web applications are built from an assortment of libraries and components from a variety of providers. With the traditional (or “light”) DOM, it’s easy for styles and scripts to leak into or collide with each other. If you are using a framework, you might be able to trust that everything has been written to work seamlessly together, but effort must still be made to ensure that all elements have a unique ID and that CSS rules are scoped as specifically as possible. This can lead to overly verbose code that both increases app load time and reduces maintainability.</p> <div> <pre><code>&lt;!-- div soup --&gt; &lt;div id="my-custom-app-framework-landingpage-header" class="my-custom-app-framework-foo"&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;etc...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/div&gt; </code></pre> </div> <p>Shadow DOM was introduced to solve these problems by providing a way to isolate each component. The <code>&lt;video&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;details&gt;</code> elements are good examples of native HTML elements that use Shadow DOM internally by default to prevent interference from global styles or scripts. Harnessing this hidden power that drives native browser components is what really sets Web Components apart from their framework counterparts.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/web-components-working-with-shadow-dom/1-shadow-dom-devtools.png"></p> Elements That Can Host A Shadow Root <p>Most often, you will see shadow roots associated with Custom Elements. However, they can also be used with any <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLUnknownElement"><code>HTMLUnknownElement</code></a>, and <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Element/attachShadow#elements_you_can_attach_a_shadow_to">many standard elements</a> support them as well, including:</p> <ul> <li><code>&lt;aside&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;blockquote&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;body&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;div&gt;&lt;footer&gt;</code></li> <li> <code>&lt;h1&gt;</code> to <code>&lt;h6&gt;</code> </li> <li><code>&lt;header&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;main&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;nav&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;p&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;section&gt;</code></li> <li><code>&lt;span&gt;</code></li> </ul> <p>Each element can only have one shadow root. Some elements, including <code>&lt;input&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;select&gt;</code>, already have a built-in shadow root that is not accessible through scripting. You can inspect them with your Developer Tools by enabling the <strong>Show User Agent Shadow DOM</strong> setting, which is “off” by default.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/web-components-working-with-shadow-dom/2-dom-setting-chrome-developer-tools.png"></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/web-components-working-with-shadow-dom/3-user-agent-shadow-root-chrome-developer-tools.png"></p> Creating A Shadow Root <p>Before leveraging the benefits of Shadow DOM, you first need to establish a <strong>shadow root</strong> on an element. This can be instantiated imperatively or declaratively.</p> <h3>Imperative Instantiation</h3> <p>To create a shadow root using JavaScript, use <code>attachShadow({ mode })</code> on an element. The <code>mode</code> can be <code>open</code> (allowing access via <code>element.shadowRoot</code>) or <code>closed</code> (hiding the shadow root from outside scripts).</p> <pre><code>const host = document.createElement('div'); const shadow = host.attachShadow({ mode: 'open' }); shadow.innerHTML = '&lt;p&gt;Hello from the Shadow DOM!&lt;/p&gt;'; document.body.appendChild(host); </code></pre> <p>In this example, we’ve established an <code>open</code> shadow root. This means that the element’s content is accessible from the outside, and we can query it like any other DOM node:</p> <div> <pre><code>host.shadowRoot.querySelector('p'); // selects the paragraph element </code></pre> </div> <p>If we want to prevent external scripts from accessing our internal structure entirely, we can set the mode to <code>closed</code> instead. This causes the element’s <code>shadowRoot</code> property to return <code>null</code>. We can still access it from our <code>shadow</code> reference in the scope where we created it.</p> <pre><code>shadow.querySelector('p'); </code></pre> <p>This is a crucial security feature. With a <code>closed</code> shadow root, we can be confident that malicious actors cannot extract private user data from our components. For example, consider a widget that shows banking information. Perhaps it contains the user’s account number. With an <code>open</code> shadow root, any script on the page can drill into our component and parse its contents. In <code>closed</code> mode, only the user can perform this kind of action with manual copy-pasting or by inspecting the element.</p> <p>I suggest a <strong>closed-first approach</strong> when working with Shadow DOM. Make a habit of using <code>closed</code> mode unless you are debugging, or only when absolutely necessary to get around a real-world limitation that cannot be avoided. If you follow this approach, you will find that the instances where <code>open</code> mode is actually required are few and far between.</p> <h3>Declarative Instantiation</h3> <p>We don’t have to use JavaScript to take advantage of Shadow DOM. Registering a shadow root can be done declaratively. Nesting a <code>&lt;template&gt;</code> with a <code>shadowrootmode</code> attribute inside any supported element will cause the browser to automatically upgrade that element with a shadow root. Attaching a shadow root in this manner can even be done with JavaScript disabled.</p> <pre><code>&lt;my-widget&gt; &lt;template shadowrootmode="closed"&gt; &lt;p&gt; Declarative Shadow DOM content &lt;/p&gt; &lt;/template&gt; &lt;/my-widget&gt; </code></pre> <p>Again, this can be either <code>open</code> or <code>closed</code>. Consider the security implications before using <code>open</code> mode, but note that you cannot access the <code>closed</code> mode content through any scripts unless this method is used with a <em>registered</em> Custom Element, in which case, you can use <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/ElementInternals"><code>ElementInternals</code></a> to access the automatically attached shadow root:</p> <pre><code>class MyWidget extends HTMLElement { #internals; #shadowRoot; constructor() { super(); this.#internals = this.attachInternals(); this.#shadowRoot = this.#internals.shadowRoot; } connectedCallback() { const p = this.#shadowRoot.querySelector('p') console.log(p.textContent); // this works } }; customElements.define('my-widget', MyWidget); export { MyWidget }; </code></pre> Shadow DOM Configuration <p>There are three other options besides <strong>mode</strong> that we can pass to <code>Element.attachShadow()</code>.</p> <h3>Option 1: <code>clonable:true</code> </h3> <p>Until recently, if a standard element had a shadow root attached and you tried to clone it using <code>Node.cloneNode(true)</code> or <code>document.importNode(node,true)</code>, you would only get a shallow copy of the host element without the shadow root content. The examples we just looked at would actually return an empty <code>&lt;div&gt;</code>. This was never an issue with Custom Elements that built their own shadow root internally.</p> <p>But for a declarative Shadow DOM, this means that each element needs its own template, and they cannot be reused. With this newly-added feature, we can selectively clone components when it’s desirable:</p> <div> <pre><code>&lt;div id="original"&gt; &lt;template shadowrootmode="closed" shadowrootclonable&gt; &lt;p&gt; This is a test &lt;/p&gt; &lt;/template&gt; &lt;/div&gt; &lt;script&gt; const original = document.getElementById('original'); const copy = original.cloneNode(true); copy.id = 'copy'; document.body.append(copy); // includes the shadow root content &lt;/script&gt; </code></pre> </div> <h3>Option 2: <code>serializable:true</code> </h3> <p>Enabling this option allows you to save a string representation of the content inside an element’s shadow root. Calling <code>Element.getHTML()</code> on a host element will return a template copy of the Shadow DOM’s current state, including all nested instances of <code>shadowrootserializable</code>. This can be used to inject a copy of your shadow root into another host, or cache it for later use.</p> <p>In Chrome, this actually <a href="https://github.com/whatwg/html/pull/10260#issuecomment-2042918560">works through a closed shadow root</a>, so be careful of accidentally leaking user data with this feature. A safer alternative would be to use a <code>closed</code> wrapper to shield the inner contents from external influences while still keeping things <code>open</code> internally:</p> <div> <pre><code>&lt;wrapper-element&gt;&lt;/wrapper-element&gt; &lt;script&gt; class WrapperElement extends HTMLElement { #shadow; constructor() { super(); this.#shadow = this.attachShadow({ mode:'closed' }); this.#shadow.setHTMLUnsafe(<code>&amp;lt;nested-element&amp;gt; &amp;lt;template shadowrootmode="open" shadowrootserializable&amp;gt; &amp;lt;div id="test"&amp;gt; &amp;lt;template shadowrootmode="open" shadowrootserializable&amp;gt; &amp;lt;p&amp;gt; Deep Shadow DOM Content &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt; &amp;lt;/template&amp;gt; &amp;lt;/div&amp;gt; &amp;lt;/template&amp;gt; &amp;lt;/nested-element&amp;gt;</code>); this.cloneContent(); } cloneContent() { const nested = this.#shadow.querySelector('nested-element'); const snapshot = nested.getHTML({ serializableShadowRoots: true }); const temp = document.createElement('div'); temp.setHTMLUnsafe(<code>&amp;lt;another-element&amp;gt;${snapshot}&amp;lt;/another-element&amp;gt;</code>); const copy = temp.querySelector('another-element'); copy.shadowRoot.querySelector('#test').shadowRoot.querySelector('p').textContent = 'Changed Content!'; this.#shadow.append(copy); } } customElements.define('wrapper-element', WrapperElement); const wrapper = document.querySelector('wrapper-element'); const test = wrapper.getHTML({ serializableShadowRoots: true }); console.log(test); // empty string due to closed shadow root &lt;/script&gt; </code></pre> </div> <p>Notice <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/ShadowRoot/setHTMLUnsafe"><code>setHTMLUnsafe()</code></a>. That’s there because the content contains <code>&lt;template&gt;</code> elements. This method must be called when injecting <strong>trusted</strong> content of this nature. Inserting the template using <code>innerHTML</code> would not trigger the automatic initialization into a shadow root.</p> <h3>Option 3: <code>delegatesFocus:true</code> </h3> <p>This option essentially makes our host element act as a <code>&lt;label&gt;</code> for its internal content. When enabled, clicking anywhere on the host or calling <code>.focus()</code> on it will move the cursor to the first focusable element in the shadow root. This will also apply the <code>:focus</code> pseudo-class to the host, which is especially useful when creating components that are intended to participate in forms.</p> <div> <pre><code>&lt;custom-input&gt; &lt;template shadowrootmode="closed" shadowrootdelegatesfocus&gt; &lt;fieldset&gt; &lt;legend&gt; Custom Input &lt;/legend&gt; &lt;p&gt; Click anywhere on this element to focus the input &lt;/p&gt; &lt;input type="text" placeholder="Enter some text..."&gt; &lt;/fieldset&gt; &lt;/template&gt; &lt;/custom-input&gt; </code></pre> </div> <p>This example only demonstrates focus delegation. One of the oddities of encapsulation is that form submissions are not automatically connected. That means an input’s value will not be in the form submission by default. Form validation and states are also not communicated out of the Shadow DOM. There are similar connectivity issues with accessibility, where the shadow root boundary can interfere with ARIA. These are all considerations specific to forms that we can address with <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/ElementInternals"><code>ElementInternals</code></a>, which is a topic for another article, and is cause to question whether you can rely on a light DOM form instead.</p> Slotted Content <p>So far, we have only looked at fully encapsulated components. A key Shadow DOM feature is using <strong>slots</strong> to selectively inject content into the component’s internal structure. Each shadow root can have one <strong>default</strong> (unnamed) <code>&lt;slot&gt;</code>; all others must be <strong>named</strong>. Naming a slot allows us to provide content to fill specific parts of our component as well as fallback content to fill any slots that are omitted by the user:</p> <div> <pre><code>&lt;my-widget&gt; &lt;template shadowrootmode="closed"&gt; &lt;h2&gt;&lt;slot name="title"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Fallback Title&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/slot&gt;&lt;/h2&gt; &lt;slot name="description"&gt;&lt;p&gt;A placeholder description.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/slot&gt; &lt;ol&gt;&lt;slot&gt;&lt;/slot&gt;&lt;/ol&gt; &lt;/template&gt; &lt;span slot="title"&gt; A Slotted Title&lt;/span&gt; &lt;p slot="description"&gt;An example of using slots to fill parts of a component.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;li&gt;Foo&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Bar&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Baz&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/my-widget&gt; </code></pre> </div> <p>Default slots also support fallback content, but any stray text nodes will fill them. As a result, this only works if you collapse all whitespace in the host element’s markup:</p> <pre><code>&lt;my-widget&gt;&lt;template shadowrootmode="closed"&gt; &lt;slot&gt;&lt;span&gt;Fallback Content&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/slot&gt; &lt;/template&gt;&lt;/my-widget&gt; </code></pre> <p>Slot elements emit <code>slotchange</code> events when their <code>assignedNodes()</code> are added or removed. These events do not contain a reference to the slot or the nodes, so you will need to pass those into your event handler:</p> <pre><code>class SlottedWidget extends HTMLElement { #internals; #shadow; constructor() { super(); this.#internals = this.attachInternals(); this.#shadow = this.#internals.shadowRoot; this.configureSlots(); } configureSlots() { const slots = this.#shadow.querySelectorAll('slot'); console.log({ slots }); slots.forEach(slot =&gt; { slot.addEventListener('slotchange', () =&gt; { console.log({ changedSlot: slot.name || 'default', assignedNodes: slot.assignedNodes() }); }); }); } } customElements.define('slotted-widget', SlottedWidget); </code></pre> <p>Multiple elements can be assigned to a single slot, either declaratively with the <code>slot</code> attribute or through scripting:</p> <div> <pre><code>const widget = document.querySelector('slotted-widget'); const added = document.createElement('p'); added.textContent = 'A secondary paragraph added using a named slot.'; added.slot = 'description'; widget.append(added); </code></pre> </div> <p>Notice that the paragraph in this example is appended to the <strong>host</strong> element. Slotted content actually belongs to the “light” DOM, not the Shadow DOM. Unlike the examples we’ve covered so far, these elements can be queried directly from the <code>document</code> object:</p> <div> <pre><code>const widgetTitle = document.querySelector('my-widget [slot=title]'); widgetTitle.textContent = 'A Different Title'; </code></pre> </div> <p>If you want to access these elements internally from your class definition, use <code>this.children</code> or <code>this.querySelector</code>. Only the <code>&lt;slot&gt;</code> elements themselves can be queried through the Shadow DOM, not their content.</p> From Mystery To Mastery <p>Now you know <em>why</em> you would want to use Shadow DOM, <em>when</em> you should incorporate it into your work, and <em>how</em> you can use it right now.</p> <p>But your Web Components journey can’t end here. We’ve only covered markup and scripting in this article. We have not even touched on another major aspect of Web Components: <strong>Style encapsulation</strong>. That will be our topic in another article.</p>

<p>Many products — digital and physical — are focused on “average” users — a statistical representation of the user base, which often overlooks or dismisses anything that deviates from that average, or happens to be an edge case. But people are <strong>never edge cases</strong>, and “average” users don’t really exist. We must be deliberate and intentional to ensure that our products reflect that.</p> <p>Today, roughly 10% of people are <strong>left-handed</strong>. Yet most products — digital and physical — aren’t designed with them in mind. And there is rarely a conversation about how a particular digital experience would work better for their needs. So how would it adapt, and what are the issues we should keep in mind? Well, let’s explore what it means for us.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/designing-better-ux-left-handed-people/1-ux-left-handed.jpg"></p> <p>This article is <strong>part of our ongoing series</strong> on <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/category/ux">UX</a>. You can find more details on <strong>design patterns and UX strategy</strong> in <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/">Smart Interface Design Patterns</a> 🍣 — with live UX training coming up soon. <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/">Jump to table of contents</a>.</p> Left-Handedness ≠ “Left-Only” <p>It’s easy to assume that left-handed people are usually left-handed users. However, that’s not necessarily the case. Because most products are <strong>designed with right-handed use</strong> in mind, many left-handed people have to use their right hand to navigate the physical world.</p> <p>From very early childhood, left-handed people have to rely on their right hand to use tools and appliances like scissors, openers, fridges, and so on. That’s why left-handed people tend to be <strong>ambidextrous</strong>, sometimes using different hands for different tasks, and sometimes using different hands for the same tasks interchangeably. However, only <a href="https://www.rd.com/article/ambidextrous/">1% of people use both hands equally well</a> (ambidextrous).</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/designing-better-ux-left-handed-people/2-challenges-left-handed-people.jpg"></p> <p>In the same way, right-handed people aren’t necessarily right-handed users. It’s common to be using a mobile device in <strong>both left and right hands</strong>, or both, perhaps with a preference for one. But when it comes to writing, a preference is stronger.</p> Challenges For Left-Handed Users <p>Because left-handed users are in the minority, there is less demand for left-handed products, and so typically they are <a href="https://theleftyguitarist.com/buying-guides/why-left-handed-guitars-are-more-expensive/">more expensive</a>, and also more difficult to find. Troubles often emerge with seemingly simple tools — scissors, can openers, musical instruments, rulers, microwaves and bank pens. </p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/designing-better-ux-left-handed-people/3-challenges-left-handed-people.jpg"></p> <p>For example, most <strong>scissors</strong> are designed with the top blade positioned for right-handed use, which makes cutting difficult and less precise. And in <strong>microwaves</strong>, buttons and interfaces are nearly always on the right, making left-handed use more difficult.</p> <p>Now, with <strong>digital products</strong>, most left-handed people tend to adapt to right-handed tools, which they use daily. Unsurprisingly, many use their right hand to navigate the mouse. However, it’s often <strong>quite different on mobile</strong> where the left hand is often preferred.</p> <ul> <li>Don’t make design decisions based on left/right-handedness. </li> <li>Allow customizations based on the user’s personal preferences. </li> <li>Allow users to re-order columns (incl. the Actions column). </li> <li>In forms, place action buttons next to the last user’s interaction. </li> <li>Keyboard accessibility helps everyone move faster (Esc).</li> </ul> Usability Guidelines To Support Both Hands <p>As Ruben Babu <a href="https://medium.com/@rubenbabu/inclusivity-guide-usability-design-for-left-handedness-101-2bc0265ae21e">writes</a>, we shouldn’t design a fire extinguisher that can’t be used by <strong>both hands</strong>. Think pull up and pull down, rather than swipe left or right. Minimize the distance to travel with the mouse. And when in doubt, <strong>align to the center</strong>.</p> <ul> <li>Bottom left → better for lefties, bottom right → for righties. </li> <li>With magnifiers, users can’t spot right-aligned buttons. </li> <li>On desktop, align buttons to the left/middle, not right. </li> <li>On mobile, most people switch both hands when tapping. </li> <li>Key actions → put in middle half to two-thirds of the screen.</li> </ul> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/designing-better-ux-left-handed-people/4-left-handed-oil-test.jpg"></p> <p>A simple way to test the mobile UI is by trying to use the <strong>opposite-handed UX test</strong>. For key flows, we try to complete them with your <strong>non-dominant hand</strong> and use the opposite hand to discover UX shortcomings.</p> <p>For physical products, you might try the <strong>oil test</strong>. It might be <a href="https://uxplanet.org/discover-ux-flaws-with-the-opposite-handed-ux-test-e2543223d4a3?sk=v2%2Fa6e6c84e-e7ee-4115-8ff8-36a9a15b4cfb">more effective than you might think</a>.</p> Good UX Works For Both <p>Our aim isn’t to degrade the UX of right-handed users by meeting the needs of left-handed users. The aim is to create an <strong>accessible experience for everyone</strong>. Providing a better experience for left-handed people also benefits right-handed people who have a temporary arm disability.</p> <p>And that’s an often-repeated but also often-overlooked <strong>universal principle of usability</strong>: better accessibility is better for everyone, even if it might feel that it doesn’t benefit you directly at the moment.</p> Useful Resources <ul> <li>“<a href="https://uxplanet.org/discover-ux-flaws-with-the-opposite-handed-ux-test-e2543223d4a3?sk=v2%2Fa6e6c84e-e7ee-4115-8ff8-36a9a15b4cfb">Discover Hidden UX Flaws With the Opposite-Handed UX Test</a>,” by Jeff Huang</li> <li>“<a href="https://sparkbox.com/foundry/are_right_aligned_buttons_easier_for_right_handed_people_first_click_test_usibility_ux_research">Right-Aligned Buttons Aren’t More Efficient For Right-Handed People</a>,” by Julia Y.</li> <li>“<a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/articles/accessible-tap-target-sizes/">Mobile Accessibility Target Sizes Cheatsheet</a>,” by Vitaly Friedman</li> <li>“<a href="https://uxdesign.cc/why-the-world-is-not-designed-for-left-handed-people-96bb5cf4c460?sk=v2%2F9daed92e-a991-4acd-aeba-8d228ee444da">Why The World Is Not Designed For Left-Handed People</a>,” by Elvis Hsiao</li> <li>“<a href="https://medium.com/@rubenbabu/inclusivity-guide-usability-design-for-left-handedness-101-2bc0265ae21e">Usability For Left Handedness 101</a>”, by Ruben Babu</li> <li> <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/printed-books/touch-design-for-mobile-interfaces/">Touch Design For Mobile Interfaces</a>, by Steven Hoober</li> </ul> Meet “Smart Interface Design Patterns” <p>You can find more details on <strong>design patterns and UX</strong> in <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/"><strong>Smart Interface Design Patterns</strong></a>, our <strong>15h-video course</strong> with 100s of practical examples from real-life projects — with a live UX training later this year. Everything from mega-dropdowns to complex enterprise tables — with 5 new segments added every year. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhZ3el3n-u0">Jump to a free preview</a>. Use code <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/"><strong>BIRDIE</strong></a> to <strong>save 15%</strong> off.</p> <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/indysigner/image/fetch/f_auto,q_80/w_400/https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/7cc4e1de-6921-474e-a3fb-db4789fc13dd/b4024b60-e627-177d-8bff-28441f810462.jpeg"></a>Meet <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/">Smart Interface Design Patterns</a>, our video course on interface design &amp; UX. <div><div> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/#"> Video + UX Training</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/#">Video only</a></li> </ul> <div> <h3>Video + UX Training</h3>$ 495.00 $ 699.00 <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com/enroll/3081832?price_id=3951439"> Get Video + UX Training<div></div></a><p>25 video lessons (15h) + <a href="https://smashingconf.com/online-workshops/workshops/vitaly-friedman-impact-design/">Live UX Training</a>.<br>100 days money-back-guarantee.</p> </div> <div> <h3>Video only</h3> <div>$ 300.00$ 395.00</div> <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com/enroll/3081832?price_id=3950630"> Get the video course<div></div></a><p>40 video lessons (15h). Updated yearly.<br>Also available as a <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com/enroll/3082557?price_id=3951421">UX Bundle with 2 video courses.</a></p> </div> </div></div>

<p>JavaScript event listeners are very important, as they exist in almost every web application that requires interactivity. As common as they are, it is also essential for them to be managed properly. Improperly managed event listeners can lead to memory leaks and can sometimes cause performance issues in extreme cases.</p> <p>Here’s the real problem: <strong>JavaScript event listeners are often not removed after they are added.</strong> And when they are added, they do not require parameters most of the time — except in rare cases, which makes them a little trickier to handle. </p> <p>A common scenario where you may need to use parameters with event handlers is when you have a dynamic list of tasks, where each task in the list has a “Delete” button attached to an event handler that uses the task’s ID as a parameter to remove the task. In a situation like this, it is a good idea to remove the event listener once the task has been completed to ensure that the deleted element can be successfully cleaned up, a process known as <a href="https://javascript.info/garbage-collection">garbage collecti</a><a href="https://javascript.info/garbage-collection">on</a>. </p> A Common Mistake When Adding Event Listeners <p>A very common mistake when adding parameters to event handlers is calling the function with its parameters inside the <code>addEventListener()</code> method. This is what I mean:</p> <pre><code>button.addEventListener('click', myFunction(param1, param2)); </code></pre> <p>The browser responds to this line by immediately calling the function, irrespective of whether or not the click event has happened. In other words, the function is invoked right away instead of being deferred, so it never fires when the click event actually occurs.</p> <p>You may also receive the following console error in some cases:</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/handling-javascript-event-listeners-parameters/1-uncaught-typeerror.png"></p> <p>This error makes sense because the second parameter of the <code>addEventListener</code> method <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/EventTarget/addEventListener#listener">can only accept</a> a JavaScript function, an object with a <code>handleEvent()</code> method, or simply <code>null</code>. A quick and easy way to avoid this error is by changing the second parameter of the <code>addEventListener</code> method to an arrow or anonymous function.</p> <pre><code>button.addEventListener('click', (event) =&gt; { myFunction(event, param1, param2); // Runs on click }); </code></pre> <p>The only hiccup with using arrow and anonymous functions is that they cannot be removed with the traditional <code>removeEventListener()</code> method; you will have to make use of <code>AbortController</code>, which may be overkill for simple cases. <code>AbortController</code> shines when you have multiple event listeners to remove at once.</p> <p>For simple cases where you have just one or two event listeners to remove, the <code>removeEventListener()</code> method still proves useful. However, in order to make use of it, you’ll need to store your function as a reference to the listener.</p> Using Parameters With Event Handlers <p>There are several ways to include parameters with event handlers. However, for the purpose of this demonstration, we are going to constrain our focus to the following two:</p> <h3>Option 1: Arrow And Anonymous Functions</h3> <p>Using arrow and anonymous functions is the fastest and easiest way to get the job done.</p> <p>To add an event handler with parameters using arrow and anonymous functions, we’ll first need to call the function we’re going to create inside the arrow function attached to the event listener:</p> <pre><code>const button = document.querySelector("#myButton"); button.addEventListener("click", (event) =&gt; { handleClick(event, "hello", "world"); }); </code></pre> <p>After that, we can create the function with parameters:</p> <pre><code>function handleClick(event, param1, param2) { console.log(param1, param2, event.type, event.target); } </code></pre> <p>Note that with this method, removing the event listener requires the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/AbortController"><code>AbortController</code></a>. To remove the event listener, we create a new <code>AbortController</code> object and then retrieve the <code>AbortSignal</code> object from it:</p> <pre><code>const controller = new AbortController(); const { signal } = controller; </code></pre> <p>Next, we can pass the <code>signal</code> from the <code>controller</code> as an option in the <code>removeEventListener()</code> method:</p> <pre><code>button.addEventListener("click", (event) =&gt; { handleClick(event, "hello", "world"); }, { signal }); </code></pre> <p>Now we can remove the event listener by calling <code>AbortController.abort()</code>:</p> <pre><code>controller.abort() </code></pre> <h3>Option 2: Closures</h3> <p>Closures in JavaScript are another feature that can help us with event handlers. Remember the mistake that produced a type error? That mistake can also be corrected with closures. Specifically, with closures, a function can access variables from its outer scope.</p> <p>In other words, we can access the parameters we need in the event handler from the outer function:</p> <div> <pre><code>function createHandler(message, number) { // Event handler return function (event) { console.log(<code>${message} ${number} - Clicked element:</code>, event.target); }; } const button = document.querySelector("#myButton"); button.addEventListener("click", createHandler("Hello, world!", 1)); } </code></pre> </div> <p>This establishes a function that returns another function. The function that is created is then called as the second parameter in the <code>addEventListener()</code> method so that the inner function is returned as the event handler. And with the power of closures, the parameters from the outer function will be made available for use in the inner function.</p> <p>Notice how the <code>event</code> object is made available to the inner function. This is because the inner function is what is being attached as the event handler. The event object is passed to the function automatically because it’s the event handler.</p> <p>To remove the event listener, we can use the <code>AbortController</code> like we did before. However, this time, let’s see how we can do that using the <code>removeEventListener()</code> method instead.</p> <p>In order for the <code>removeEventListener</code> method to work, a reference to the <code>createHandler</code> function needs to be stored and used in the <code>addEventListener</code> method:</p> <div> <pre><code>function createHandler(message, number) { return function (event) { console.log(<code>${message} ${number} - Clicked element:</code>, event.target); }; } const handler = createHandler("Hello, world!", 1); button.addEventListener("click", handler); </code></pre> </div> <p>Now, the event listener can be removed like this:</p> <pre><code>button.removeEventListener("click", handler); </code></pre> Conclusion <p>It is good practice to always remove event listeners whenever they are no longer needed to prevent memory leaks. Most times, event handlers do not require parameters; however, in rare cases, they do. Using JavaScript features like closures, <code>AbortController</code>, and <code>removeEventListener</code>, handling parameters with event handlers is both possible and well-supported.</p>

<p>A few years ago, I was in a design review at a fintech company, polishing the expense management flows. It was a routine session where we reviewed the logic behind content and design decisions.</p> <p>While looking over the statuses for submitted expenses, I noticed a label saying ‘In approval’. I paused, re-read it again, and asked myself:</p> <blockquote>“Where is it? Are the results in? Where can I find them? Are they sending me to the app section called “Approval”?”</blockquote> <p>This tiny label made me question what was happening with <strong>my money</strong>, and this feeling of uncertainty was quite anxiety-inducing.</p> <p>My team, all native English speakers, did not flinch, even for a second, and moved forward to discuss other parts of the flow. I was the only non-native speaker in the room, and while the label made perfect sense to them, it still felt off to me.</p> <p>After a quick discussion, we landed on ‘Pending approval’ — the simplest and widely recognised option internationally. More importantly, this wording makes it clear that there’s an approval process, and it hasn’t taken place yet. There’s no need to go anywhere to do it.</p> <p>Some might call it nitpicking, but that was exactly the moment I realised how invisible — yet powerful — the non-native speaker’s perspective can be. </p> <p>In a reality where user testing budgets aren’t unlimited, designing with familiar language patterns from the start helps you prevent costly confusions in the user journey.</p> <p>Those same confusions often lead to:</p> <ul> <li>Higher rate of customer service queries,</li> <li>Lower adoption rates,</li> <li>Higher churn,</li> <li>Distrust and confusion.</li> </ul> As A Native Speaker, You Don’t See The Whole Picture <p>Global products are often designed with English as their primary language. This seems logical, but here’s the catch:</p> <blockquote> <a href="https://americantesol.com/tesol-report.html">Roughly 75% of English-speaking users are not native speakers</a>, which means 3 out of every 4 users.</blockquote> <p>Native speakers often write on instinct, which works much like autopilot. This can often lead to overconfidence in content that, in reality, is too culturally specific, vague, or complex. And that content may not be understood by 3 in 4 people who read it.</p> <p>If your team shares the same native language, <strong>content clarity remains assumed by default rather than proven through pressure testing</strong>.</p> <p>The price for that is the <strong>accessibility</strong> of your product. A <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7757700/#s016">study by National Library of Medicine</a> found that US adults who had proficiency in English but did not use it as their primary language were significantly less likely to be insured, even when provided with the same level of service as everyone else.</p> <p>In other words, they did not finish the process of securing a healthcare provider — a process that’s vital to their well-being, in part, due to unclear or inaccessible communication.</p> <p>If people abandon the process of getting something as vital as healthcare insurance, it’s easy to imagine them dropping out during checkout, account setup, or app onboarding.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/why-non-native-content-designers-improve-global-ux/1-clarity-zone-visualised.png"></p> <p>Non-native content designers, by contrast, do not write on autopilot. Because of their experience learning English, they’re much more likely to tune into nuances, complexity, and cultural exclusions that natives often overlook. That’s the key to designing for everyone rather than 1 in 4.</p> Non-native Content Designers Make Your UX Global <h3>Spotting The Clutter And Cognitive Load Issues</h3> <p>When a non-native speaker has to pause, re-read something, or question the meaning of what’s written, they quickly identify it as a friction point in the user experience. </p> <p><strong>Why it’s important</strong>: Every extra second users have to spend understanding your content makes them more likely to abandon the task. This is a high price that companies pay for not prioritising clarity.</p> <p>Cognitive load is not just about complex sentences but also about the speed. There’s plenty of research <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368711420_Do_Non-native_Speakers_Read_Differently_Predicting_Reading_Times_with_Surprisal_and_Language_Models_of_Native_and_Non-native_Eye_Tracking_Data">confirming that non-native speakers read more slowly than native speakers</a>. This is especially important when you work on the visibility of system status — time-sensitive content that the user needs to scan and understand quickly.</p> <p>One example you can experience firsthand is an ATM displaying a number of updates and instructions. Even when they’re quite similar, it still overwhelms you when you realise that you missed one, not being able to finish reading.</p> <p>This kind of rapid-fire updates can increase frustration and the chances of errors.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/why-non-native-content-designers-improve-global-ux/2-atm-flashing-messages.png"></p> <h3>Always Advocating For Plain English</h3> <p>They tend to review and rewrite things more often to find the easiest way to communicate the message. What a native speaker may consider clear enough might be dense or difficult for a non-native to understand.</p> <p><strong>Why it’s important</strong>: Simple content better scales across countries, languages, and cultures.</p> <h3>Catching Culture-specific Assumptions And References</h3> <p>When things do not make sense, non-native speakers challenge them. Besides the idioms and other obvious traps, native speakers tend to fall into considering their life experience to be shared with most English-speaking users.</p> <p>Cultural differences might even exist within one globally shared language. Have you tried saying ‘soccer’ instead of ‘football’ in a conversation with someone from the UK? These details may not only cause confusion but also upset people.</p> <p><strong>Why it’s important</strong>: Making sure your product is free from culture-specific references makes your product more inclusive and safeguards you from alienating your users.</p> <h3>They Have Another Level Of Empathy For The Global Audience</h3> <p>Being a non-native speaker themselves, they have experience with products that do not speak clearly to them. They’ve been in the global user’s shoes and know how it impacts the experience.</p> <p><strong>Why it’s important</strong>: Empathy is a key driver towards design decisions that take into account the diverse cultural and linguistic background of the users. </p> How Non-native Content Design Can Shape Your Approach To Design <p>Your product won’t become better overnight simply because you read an inspiring article telling you that you need to have a more diverse team. I get it. So here are concrete changes that you can make in your design workflows and hiring routines to make sure your content is accessible globally.</p> <h3>Run Copy Reviews With Non-native Readers</h3> <p>When you launch a new feature or product, it’s a standard practice to run QA sessions to review visuals and interactions. When your team does not include the non-native perspective, the content is usually overlooked and considered fine as long as it’s grammatically correct. </p> <p>I know, having a dedicated localisation team to pressure-test your content for clarity is a privilege, but you can always start small.</p> <p>At one of my previous companies, we established a <strong>‘clarity heroes council’</strong> — a small team of non-native English speakers with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. During our reviews, they often asked questions that surprised us and highlighted where clarity was missing:</p> <ul> <li>What’s a “grace period”?</li> <li>What will happen when I tap “settle the payment”?</li> </ul> <p>These questions flag potential problems and help you save both money and reputation by avoiding thousands of customer service tickets.</p> <h3>Review Existing Flows For Clarity</h3> <p>Even if your product does not have major releases regularly, it accumulates small changes over time. They’re often plugged in as fixes or small improvements, and can be easily overlooked from a QA perspective.</p> <p>A good start will be a regular look at the flows that are critical to your business metrics: onboarding, checkout, and so on. Fence off some time for your team quarterly or even annually, depending on your product size, to come together and check whether your key content pieces serve the global audience well. </p> <p>Usually, a proper review is conducted by a team: a product designer, a content designer, an engineer, a product manager, and a researcher. The idea is to go over the flows, research insights, and customer feedback together. For that, having a non-native speaker on the audit task force will be essential. </p> <p>If you’ve never done an audit before, try <a href="https://www.figma.com/community/file/1489250366825103388">this template</a> as it covers everything you need to start.</p> <h3>Make Sure Your Content Guidelines Are Global-ready</h3> <p>If you haven’t done it already, make sure your voice &amp; tone documentation includes details about the level of English your company is catering to. </p> <p>This might mean working with the brand team to find ways to make sure your brand voice comes through to all users without sacrificing clarity and comprehension. Use examples and showcase the difference between sounding smart or playful vs sounding clear. </p> <p>Leaning too much towards brand personality is where cultural differences usually shine through. As a user, you might’ve seen it many times. Here’s a banking app that wanted to seem relaxed and relatable by introducing ‘Dang it’ as the only call-to-action on the screen.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/why-non-native-content-designers-improve-global-ux/3-confusing-ctas.png"></p> <p>However, users with different linguistic backgrounds might not be familiar with this expression. Worse, they might see it as an action, leaving them unsure of what will actually happen after tapping it.</p> <p>Considering how much content is generated with AI today, your guidelines have to account for both tone and clarity. This way, when you feed these requirements to the AI, you’ll see the output that will not just be grammatically correct but also easy to understand.</p> <h3>Incorporate Global English Heuristics Into Your Definition Of Success</h3> <p>Basic heuristic principles are often documented as a part of overarching guidelines to help UX teams do a better job. The <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/">Nielsen Norman Group usability heuristics</a> cover the essential ones, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t introduce your own. To complement this list, add this principle:</p> <p>Aim for global understanding: Content and design should communicate clearly to any user regardless of cultural or language background.</p> <p>You can suggest criteria to ensure it’s clear how to evaluate this:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Action transparency</strong>: Is it clear what happens next when the user proceeds to the next screen or page?</li> <li> <strong>Minimal ambiguity</strong>: Is the content open to multiple interpretations?</li> <li> <strong>International clarity</strong>: Does this content work in a non-Western context?</li> </ul> <h3>Bring A Non-native Perspective To Your Research, Too</h3> <p>This one is often overlooked, but <strong>collaboration between the research team and non-native speaking writers</strong> is super helpful. If your research involves a survey or interview, they can help you double-check whether there is complex or ambiguous language used in the questions unintentionally. </p> <p><a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.5555/2835531.2835535?utm_source=chatgpt.com">In a study by the Journal of Usability Studies</a>, 37% of non-native speakers did not manage to answer the question that included a word they did not recognise or could not recall the meaning of. The question was whether they found the system to be “cumbersome to use”, and the consequences of getting unreliable data and measurements on this would have a negative impact on the UX of your product.</p> <p><a href="https://uxpajournal.org/cultural-linguistic-usability-testing/">Another study by UX Journal of User Experience</a> highlights how important clarity is in surveys. While most people in their study interpreted the question <em>“How do you feel about … ?”</em> as <em>“What’s your opinion on …?”</em>, some took it literally and proceeded to describe their emotions instead.</p> <p>This means that even familiar terms can be misinterpreted. To get precise research results, it’s worth defining key terms and concepts to ensure common understanding with participants.</p> <h3>Globalise Your Glossary</h3> <p>At Klarna, we often ran into a challenge of inconsistent translation for key terms. A well-defined English term could end up having from three to five different versions in Italian or German. Sometimes, even the same features or app sections could be referred to differently depending on the market — this led to user confusion. </p> <p>To address this, we introduced a shared term base — a controlled vocabulary that included:</p> <ul> <li>English term,</li> <li>Definition,</li> <li>Approved translations for all markets,</li> <li>Approved and forbidden synonyms.</li> </ul> <p>Importantly, the term selection was dictated by user research, not by assumption or personal preferences of the team.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/why-non-native-content-designers-improve-global-ux/4-controlled-vocabulary-example.jpg"></p> <p>If you’re unsure where to begin, <a href="https://www.notion.com/templates/term-base-controlled-vocabulary-for-product-content">use this product content vocabulary template for Notion</a>. Duplicate it for free and start adding your terms.</p> <p>We used a similar setup. Our new glossary was shared internally across teams, from product to customer service. Results? Reducing the support tickets related to unclear language used in UI (or directions in the user journey) by 18%. This included tasks like finding instructions on how to make a payment (especially with the least popular payment methods like bank transfer), where the late fee details are located, or whether it’s possible to postpone the payment. And yes, all of these features were available, and the team believed they were quite easy to find.</p> <p>A glossary like this can live as an add-on to your guidelines. This way, you will be able to quickly get up to speed new joiners, keep product copy ready for localisation, and defend your decisions with stakeholders.</p> <h3>Approach Your Team Growth With An Open Mind</h3> <p>‘Looking for a native speaker’ still remains a part of the job listing for UX Writers and content designers. There’s no point in assuming it’s intentional discrimination. It’s just a misunderstanding that stems from not fully accepting that our <strong>job is more about building the user experience than writing texts that are grammatically correct</strong>. </p> <p>Here are a few tips to make sure you hire the best talent and treat your applicants fairly:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Remove the ‘native speaker’ and ‘fluency’ requirement.</strong></li> </ul> <p>Instead, focus on the core part of our job: add ‘clear communicator’, ‘ability to simplify’, or ‘experience writing for a global audience’.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Judge the work, not the accent.</strong></li> </ul> <p>Over the years, there have been plenty of studies confirming that the accent bias is real — people having an unusual or foreign accent are considered less hirable. While some may argue that it can have an impact on the efficiency of internal communications, it’s not enough to justify the reason to overlook the good work of the applicant. </p> <p>My personal experience with the accent is that it mostly depends on the situation you’re in. When I’m in a friendly environment and do not feel anxiety, my English flows much better as I do not overthink how I sound. Ironically, sometimes when I’m in a room with my team full of British native speakers, I sometimes default to my Slavic accent. The question is: does it make my content design expertise or writing any worse? Not in the slightest.</p> <p>Therefore, make sure you judge the portfolios, the ideas behind the interview answers, and whiteboard challenge presentations, instead of focusing on whether the candidate’s accent implies that they might not be good writers.</p> Good Global Products Need Great Non-native Content Design <p>Non-native content designers do not have a negative impact on your team’s writing. They sharpen it by helping you look at your content through the lens of your <strong>real user base</strong>. In the globalised world, linguistic purity no longer benefits your product’s user experience. </p> <p>Try these practical steps and leverage the non-native speaking lens of your content designers to design better international products.</p>

<p>Flip phones aren’t dead. On the contrary, <a href="https://www.sellcell.com/how-many-mobile-phones-are-sold-each-year/#sources-and-media-contacts">200+ million non-smartphones</a> are sold annually. That’s roughly equivalent to the number of <a href="https://increv.co/academy/iphone-users/">iPhones sold in 2024</a>. Even in the United States, <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/insights/us-feature-phone-market/">millions of flip phones</a> are sold each year. As network operators struggle to <a href="https://restofworld.org/2025/shutting-down-2g-networks-phones-obsolete/">shut down 2G service</a>, new incentives are offered to encourage device upgrades that further increase demand for budget-friendly flip phones. This is especially true across South Asia and Africa, where an iPhone is unaffordable for the vast majority of the population (it takes <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/study-shows-people-us-need-to-work-5-days-to-buy-iphone-16-how-long-do-indians-need-2603531-2024-09-20">two months of work</a> on an average Indian salary to afford the cheapest iPhone).</p> <p>Like their “smart” counterparts, flip phones (technically, this category is called “Feature Phones”) are becoming increasingly more capable. They now offer features you’d expect from a smartphone, like 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth, and the ability to run apps. If you are targeting users in South Asia and Africa, or niches in Europe and North America, there are flip phone app platforms like <a href="https://www.cloudphone.tech/">Cloud Phone</a> and <a href="https://www.kaiostech.com/">KaiOS</a>. Building for these platforms is similar to developing a Progressive Web App (PWA), with distribution managed across several app stores.</p> <blockquote> <strong>Jargon Busting</strong><br>Flip phones go by many names. Non-smartphones are jokingly called “dumb phones”. The technology industry calls this device category “feature phones”. Regionally, they are also known as button phones or basic mobiles in Europe, and keypad mobiles in India. They all share a few traits: they are budget phones with small screens and physical buttons.</blockquote> Why Build Apps For Flip Phones? <p>It’s a common misconception that people who use flip phones do not want apps. In fact, many first-time internet users are eager to discover new content and services. While this market isn’t as lucrative as Apple’s App Store, there are a few reasons why you should build for flip phones.</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Organic Growth</strong><br>You do not need to pay to acquire flip phone users. Unlike Android or IOS, where the cost per install (CPI) averages around <a href="https://www.gogochart.com/insights/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-mobile-app-cost-per-install-values/">$2.5-3.3 per install</a> according to GoGoChart, flip phone apps generate substantial organic downloads. </li> <li> <strong>Brand Introduction</strong><br>When flip phone users eventually upgrade to smartphones, they will search for the apps they are already familiar with. This will, in turn, generate more installs on the Google Play Store and, to a lesser extent, the Apple App Store.</li> <li> <strong>Low Competition</strong><br>There are <a href="https://kaios.app/">~1,700 KaiOS apps</a> and fewer Cloud Phone widgets. Meanwhile, Google Play has over <a href="https://www.appbrain.com/stats/number-of-android-apps">1.55 million Android apps</a> to choose from. It is much easier to stand out as one in a thousand than one in a million.</li> </ul> Technical Foundations <p>Flip phones could not always run apps. It wasn’t until the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2011/jun/07/nokia-ovi-store">Ovi Store</a> (later renamed to the “Nokia Store”) launched in 2009, a year after Apple’s flagship iPhone launched, that flip phones got installable, third-party applications. At the time, apps were written for the fragmented Java 2 Mobile Edition (J2ME) runtime, available only on select Nokia models, and often required integration with poorly-documented, proprietary packages like the <a href="https://nikita36078.github.io/J2ME_Docs/docs/nokiaapi2/">Nokia UI API</a>. </p> <p>Today, flip phone platforms have <strong>rejected native runtimes in favor of standard web technologies</strong> in an effort to reduce barriers to entry and attract a wider pool of software developers. Apps running on modern flip phones are primarily written in languages many developers are familiar with — HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — and with them, a set of trade-offs and considerations.</p> <h3>Hardware</h3> <p>Flip phones are affordable because they use low-end, often outdated, hardware. On the bottom end are budget phones with a real-time operating system (RTOS) running on chips like the <a href="https://www.unisoc.com/en_us/home/TGNSJ-T107-1">Unisoc T107</a> with as little as 16MB of RAM. These phones typically support Opera Mini and Cloud Phone. At the upper end is the recently-released <a href="https://www.tcl.com/us/en/products/mobile/flip-series/flip-4-5g">TCL Flip 4</a> running KaiOS 4.0 on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4s with 1GB of RAM. </p> <p>While it is difficult to accurately compare such different hardware, Apple’s latest iPhone 16 Pro has 500x more memory (8GB RAM) and supports download speeds up to 1,000x faster than a low-end flip phone (4G LTE CAT-1).</p> <h3>Performance</h3> <p>You might think that flip phone apps are easily limited by the scarce available resources of budget hardware. This is the case for KaiOS, since apps are executed on the device. Code needs to be minified, thumbnails downsized, and performance evaluated across a range of real devices. You cannot simply test on your desktop with a small viewport.</p> <p>However, as <a href="https://tigercosmos.xyz/post/2018/09/puffin/">remote browsers</a>, both Cloud Phone and Opera Mini overcome hardware constraints by offloading computationally expensive rendering to servers. This means <strong>performance is generally comparable to modern desktops</strong>, but can lead to a few quirky and, at times, unintuitive characteristics.</p> <p>For instance, if your app fetches a 1MB file to display a data table, this does not consume 1MB of the user’s mobile data. Only changes to the screen contents get streamed to the user, consuming bandwidth. On the other hand, data is consumed by complex animations and page transitions, because each frame is at least a partial screen refresh. Despite this quirk, Opera Mini estimates it saves up to <a href="https://blogs.opera.com/africa/2021/11/free-data-mtn-south-africa/">90% of data</a> compared to conventional browsers.</p> <h3>Security</h3> <p><a href="https://www.trevorlasn.com/blog/the-problem-with-local-storage">Do not store sensitive data</a> in browser storage. This holds true for flip phones, where the security concerns are similar to those of traditional web browsers. Although apps cannot generally access data from other apps, KaiOS does not encrypt client-side data. The implications are different for remote browsers.</p> <p>Opera Mini <a href="https://help.opera.com/en/opera-mini-and-javascript/">does not support client-side storage</a> at all, while Cloud Phone <a href="https://developer.cloudfone.com/docs/reference/data-storage/#secure-cloud-storage">stores data encrypted</a> in its data centers and not on the user’s phone.</p> Design For Modern Flip Phones <h3>Simplify, Don’t Shrink-to-fit</h3> <p>Despite their staying power, these devices go largely ignored by nearly every web development framework and library. Popular front-end web frameworks like <a href="https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.0/layout/breakpoints/">Bootstrap v5</a> categorize all screens below 576px as extra small. Another popular choice, <a href="https://tailwindcss.com/docs/responsive-design">Tailwind</a>, sets the smallest CSS breakpoint — a specific width where the layout changes to accommodate an optimal viewing experience across different devices — even higher at 40em (640px). Design industry experts like <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/breakpoints-in-responsive-design/">Norman Nielsen suggest the smallest breakpoint</a>, “is intended for mobile and generally is up to 500px.” Standards like these advocate for a one-size-fits-all approach on small screens, but some small design changes can make a big difference for new internet users.</p> <p>Small screens vary considerably in size, resolution, contrast, and brightness.</p> <p>Small screen usability requires distinct design considerations — not a shrink-to-fit model. While all of these devices have a screen width smaller than the smallest common breakpoints, treating them equally would be a mistake.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/tiny-screens-big-impact-developing-web-apps-feature-phones/1-apps-shrink-poorly.png"></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/tiny-screens-big-impact-developing-web-apps-feature-phones/2-apps-shrink-well.png"></p> <p>Most <strong>websites render too large for flip phones</strong>. They use fonts that are too big, graphics that are too detailed, and sticky headers that occupy a quarter of the screen. To make matters worse, many websites <a href="https://www.htmlallthethings.com/blog-posts/how-to-disable-scrolling-in-css">disable horizontal scrolling</a> by hiding content that overflows horizontally. This allows for smooth scrolling on a touchscreen, but also makes it impossible to read text that extends beyond the viewport on flip phones.</p> <p>The table below includes physical display size, resolution, and examples to better understand the diversity of small screens across flip phones and budget smartphones.</p> <table> <thead><tr> <th>Resolution</th> <th>Display Size</th> <th>Pixel Size</th> <th>Example</th> </tr></thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>QQVGA</td> <td>1.8”</td> <td>128×160</td> <td><a href="https://vietteltelecom.vn/tmdt-device/sumo-4g-v1">Viettel Sumo 4G V1</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>QVGA</td> <td>2.4”</td> <td>240×320</td> <td><a href="https://www.hmd.com/en_int/nokia-235-4g-2024?sku=1GF026GPG3L01">Nokia 235 4G</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>QVGA (Square)</td> <td>2.4”</td> <td>240×240</td> <td><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/1j7gsxk/frog_pocket_2_mwc_barcelona_2025/?tl=it">Frog Pocket2</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>HVGA (480p)</td> <td>2.8-3.5”</td> <td>320×480</td> <td><a href="https://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_9720-5625.php">BlackBerry 9720</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>VGA</td> <td>2.8-3.5”</td> <td>480×640</td> <td><a href="https://www.t-mobile.com/support/tutorials/device/cat/s22-flip/specifications">Cat S22</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>WVGA</td> <td>2.8-3.5”</td> <td>480×800</td> <td><a href="https://www.gsmarena.com/hp_pre_3-3770.php">HP Pre 3</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>FWVGA+</td> <td>5”</td> <td>480×960</td> <td><a href="https://www.alcatelmobile.com/product/smartphone/alcatel1/alcatel-1/">Alcatel 1</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><strong>Note</strong>: <em>Flip phones have small screens typically between 1.8”–2.8” with a resolution of 240x320 (QVGA) or 128x160 (QQVGA). For comparison, an Apple Watch Series 10 has a 1.8” screen with a resolution of 416x496. By modern standards, flip phone displays are small with low resolution, pixel density, contrast, and brightness.</em></p> Develop For Small Screens <p>Add custom, named breakpoints to your framework’s defaults, rather than manually using media queries to override layout dimensions defined by classes.</p> <h4>Bootstrap v5</h4> <p>Bootstrap defines a map, <code>$grid-breakpoints</code>, in the <strong>_variables.scss</strong> Sass file that contains the default breakpoints from SM (576px) to XXL (1400px). Use the <code>map-merge()</code> function to extend the default and add your own breakpoint.</p> <pre><code>@import "node_modules/bootstrap/scss/functions"; $grid-breakpoints: map-merge($grid-breakpoints, ("xs": 320px)); </code></pre> <h4>Tailwind v4</h4> <p>Tailwind allows you to extend the default theme in the <strong>tailwind.config.js</strong> configuration file. Use the <code>extend</code> key to define new breakpoints.</p> <pre><code>const defaultTheme = require('tailwindcss/defaultTheme') module.exports = { theme: { extend: { screens: { "xs": "320px", ...defaultTheme.screens, }, }, }, }; </code></pre> The Key(board) To Success <p>Successful flip phone apps support keyboard navigation using the directional pad (D-pad). This is the same navigation pattern as TV remotes: four arrow keys (up, down, left, right) and the central button. To build a great flip phone-optimized app, provide a <strong>navigation scheme</strong> where the user can quickly learn how to navigate your app using these limited controls. Ensure users can navigate to all visible controls on the screen.</p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/tiny-screens-big-impact-developing-web-apps-feature-phones/3-navigating-podlp.gif"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/tiny-screens-big-impact-developing-web-apps-feature-phones/3-navigating-podlp.gif"></a>Navigating PodLP using d-pad (left) and a virtual cursor (right). <p>Although some flip phone platforms support spatial navigation using an emulated cursor, it is not universally available and creates a worse user experience. Moreover, while apps that support keyboard navigation will work with an emulated cursor, this isn’t necessarily true the other way around. Opera Mini Native only offers a virtual cursor, Cloud Phone only offers spatial navigation, and KaiOS <a href="https://developer.kaiostech.com/docs/getting-started/main-concepts/emulated-cursor/">supports both</a>.</p> <p>If you develop with <strong>keyboard accessibility</strong> in mind, supporting flip phone navigation is easy. As general guidelines, <a href="https://theadminbar.com/accessibility-weekly/focus-outlines/">never remove a focus outline</a>. Instead, override default styles and use <a href="https://dev.to/hybrid_alex/better-css-outlines-with-box-shadows-1k7j">box shadows</a> to match your app’s color scheme while fitting appropriately. Autofocus on the first item in a sequence — list or grid — but be careful to avoid <a href="https://www.boia.org/blog/avoid-keyboard-traps-to-make-your-site-more-accessible">keyboard traps</a>. Finally, make sure that the lists scroll the newly-focused item completely into view.</p> <h3>Don’t Make Users Type</h3> <p>If you have ever been frustrated typing a long message on your smartphone, only to have it accidentally erased, now imagine that frustration when you typed the message using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_%28predictive_text%29">T9</a> on a flip phone. Despite advancements in predictive typing, it’s a chore to fill forms and compose even a single 180-character Tweet with just nine keys.</p> <blockquote>Whatever you do, don’t make flip phone users type!</blockquote> <p>Fortunately, it is easy to adapt designs to require less typing. <strong>Prefer numbers whenever possible.</strong> Allow users to register using their phone number (which is easy to type), send a PIN code or one-time password (OTPs) that contains only numbers, and look up address details from a postal code. Each of these saves tremendous time and avoids frustration that often leads to user attrition.</p> <p>Alternatively, integrate with single-sign-on (SSO) providers to “Log in with Google,” so users do not have to retype passwords that security teams require to be at least eight characters long and contain a letter, number, and symbol. Just keep in mind that many new internet users won’t have an email address. They may not know how to access it, or their phone might not be able to access emails.</p> <p>Finally, allow users to <strong>search by voice</strong> when it is available. As difficult as it is typing English using T9, it’s much harder typing a language like Tamil, which has over 90M speakers across South India and Sri Lanka. Despite decades of advancement, technologies like auto-complete and predictive typing are seldom available for such languages. While imperfect, there are AI models like <a href="https://huggingface.co/vasista22/whisper-tamil-medium">Whisper Tamil</a> that can perform speech-to-text, thanks to researchers at universities like the <a href="https://asr.iitm.ac.in/">Speech Lab at IIT Madras</a>. </p> Flip Phone Browsers And Operating Systems <p>Another challenge with developing web apps for flip phones is their <strong>fragmented ecosystem</strong>. Various companies have used different approaches to allow websites and apps to run on limited hardware. There are at least three major web-based platforms that all operate differently:</p> <ol> <li> <a href="https://developer.cloudfone.com/">Cloud Phone</a> is the most recent solution, launched in December 2023, using a modern <a href="https://www.puffin.com/">Puffin</a> (Chromium) based remote browser that serves as an app store.</li> <li> <a href="https://www.kaiostech.com/">KaiOS</a>, launched in 2016 using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_OS">Firefox OS</a> as its foundation, is a mobile operating system where the entire system is a web browser.</li> <li> <a href="https://www.opera.com/mobile/basic-phones">Opera Mini</a> Native is by far the oldest, launched in 2005 as an ad-supported remote browser that still uses the decade-old, discontinued <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presto_(browser_engine">Presto engine</a>).</li> </ol> <p>Although both platforms are remote browsers, there are significant differences between <a href="https://developer.cloudfone.com/blog/cloud-phone-vs.-opera-mini/">Cloud Phone and Opera Mini</a> that are not immediately apparent.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/tiny-screens-big-impact-developing-web-apps-feature-phones/4-flip-phones.jpg"></p> <table> <thead><tr> <th>Platform</th> <th>Cons</th> <th>Pros</th> </tr></thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><strong>Cloud Phone</strong></td> <td><ul> <li>Missing features like WebPush</li> <li>No offline support</li> <li>Monetization not provided</li> </ul></td> <td><ul> <li>Modern Chromium v128+ engine</li> <li>Rich multimedia support</li> <li>No optimizations needed</li> <li>Actively developed</li> <li>100+ models launched in 2024</li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>KaiOS</strong></td> <td><ul> <li>Outdated Gecko engine</li> <li>Hardware constrained</li> <li>Few models released in 2024</li> <li> <a href="https://kaiads.com/">KaiAds</a> integration required</li> <li>Two app stores</li> </ul></td> <td><ul> <li>Full offline support</li> <li>APIs for low-level integration</li> <li>Apps can be <a href="https://developer.kaiostech.com/docs/development/packaged-or-hosted/">packaged or hosted</a> </li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Opera Mini Native</strong></td> <td><ul> <li>Discontinued Presto engine</li> <li>~2.5s async execution limit</li> <li>Limited ES5 support</li> <li>No multimedia support</li> <li>No app store Last updated in 2020</li> </ul></td> <td><ul> <li>Preinstalled on hundreds of millions of phones</li> <li>Partial offline support</li> <li>Stable, cross-platform</li> </ul></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Flip phones have come a long way, but each platform supports different capabilities. You may need to remove or scale back features based on what is supported. It is best to target <strong>the lowest common denominator</strong> that is feasible for your application.</p> <p>For information-heavy news websites, wikis, or blogs, Opera Mini’s outdated technology works well enough. For video streaming services, both Cloud Phone and KaiOS work well. Conversely, remote browsers like Opera Mini and Cloud Phone cannot handle high frame rates, so only KaiOS is suitable for real-time interactive games. Just like with design, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to flip phone development. Even though all platforms are web-based, they require different tradeoffs.</p> Tiny Screens, Big Impact <p>The flip phone market is growing, particularly for 4G-enabled models. Reliance’s JioPhone is among the most successful models, selling more than <a href="https://kalingatv.com/business/reliance-jio-has-now-sold-135-million-units-of-jiophone-devices/">135 million units</a> of its flagship KaiOS-enabled phone. The company plans to increase 4G flip phone rollout steadily as it migrates India’s 250 million 2G users to 4G and 5G.</p> <p>Similar campaigns are underway across emerging markets, like <a href="https://www.telecoms.com/public-cloud/vodacom-south-africa-launches-14-cloud-based-smartphone">Vodacom’s $14 Mobicel S4</a>, a Cloud phone-enabled device in South Africa, and <a href="https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/companies/viettel-to-gift-4g-phones-to-700-000-2g-subscribers-4795412.html">Viettel’s gifting 700,000 4G flip phones</a> to current 2G subscribers to upgrade users in remote and rural areas.</p> <p>Estimates of the total active flip phone market size are difficult to come by, and harder still to find a breakdown by platform. KaiOS claims to enable “<a href="https://www.kaiostech.com/developers/">over 160 million phones worldwide</a>,” while “<a href="https://www.opera.com/mobile/basic-phones">over 300 million people use Opera Mini</a> to stay connected.” Just a year after launch, Cloud Phone states that, “<strong><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/02/cloudmosa_cloudphone_4g_feature_phone/">one million Cloud Phone users</a></strong> already access the service from 90 countries.” By most estimates, there are already hundreds of millions of web-enabled flip phone users eager to discover new products and services.</p> Conclusion <p>Hundreds of millions still rely on flip phones to stay connected. Yet, these users go largely ignored even by products that target emerging markets. <strong>Modern software development often prioritizes the latest and greatest</strong> over finding ways to affordably serve more than <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2023-09-12-universal-and-meaningful-connectivity-by-2030.aspx">2.6 billion unconnected people</a>. If you are not designing for small screens using <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2025/04/what-mean-site-be-keyboard-navigable/">keyboard navigation</a>, you’re shutting out an entire population from accessing your service. </p> <p><a href="https://www.htmlallthethings.com/blog-posts/why-feature-phones-are-important-in-2025">Flip phones still matter in 2025</a>. With ongoing network transitions, millions will upgrade, and millions more will connect for the first time using 4G flip phones. This creates an opportunity to put your app into the hands of the newly connected. And thanks to modern remote browser technology, it is now easier than ever to build and launch your app on flip phones without costly and time-consuming optimizations to function on low-end hardware.</p>

<p>So you need to <strong>design a new AI feature</strong> for your product. How would you start? How do you design flows and interactions? And how do you ensure that that new feature doesn’t get abandoned by users after a few runs?</p> <p>In this article, I’d love to share <strong>a very simple but systematic approach</strong> to how I think about designing AI experiences. Hopefully, it will help you get a bit more clarity about how to get started.</p> <p>This article is <strong>part of our ongoing series</strong> on <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/category/ux">UX</a>. You can find more details on <strong>design patterns and UX strategy</strong> in <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/">Smart Interface Design Patterns</a> 🍣 — with live UX training coming up soon. <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/">Jump to table of contents</a>.</p> The Receding Role of AI Chat <p>One of the key recent shifts is a slow move away from traditional <strong>“chat-alike” AI interfaces</strong>. As Luke Wroblewski <a href="https://lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?2105">wrote</a>, when agents can use multiple tools, call other agents and run in the background, users <em>orchestrate</em> AI work more — there’s a lot less chatting back and forth.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/1-ai-experience-paradigm.jpg"></p> <p>In fact, chatbots are <strong>rarely a great experience paradigm</strong> — mostly because the burden of articulating intent efficiently lies on the user. But in practice, it’s remarkably difficult to do well and very time-consuming.</p> <p>Chat doesn’t go away, of course, but it’s being complemented with <strong>task-oriented UIs</strong> — temperature controls, knobs, sliders, buttons, semantic spreadsheets, infinite canvases — with AI providing predefined options, presets, and templates.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/2-agentic-ai-design-patterns.jpg"></p> <p>There, AI emphasizes the work, the plan, the tasks — the outcome, instead of the chat input. The results are experiences that truly <strong>amplify value for users</strong> by sprinkling a bit of AI in places where it delivers real value to real users.</p> <p>To design better AI experiences, we need to study <strong>5 key areas</strong> that we need to shape.</p> Input UX: Expressing Intent <p><strong>Conversational AI</strong> is a <strong>very slow</strong> way of helping users express and articulate their intent. Usability tests <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/accordion-editing-apple-picking/">show</a> that users often get lost in editing, reviewing, typing, and re-typing. It’s painfully slow, often taking 30-60 seconds for input.</p> <p>As it turns out, people have a hard time expressing their intent well. In fact, instead of writing prompts manually, it's a good idea to <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/prompt-engineering-is-dead">ask AI to write a prompt</a> to feed itself.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/3-flora-ai.jpg"></p> <p>With <a href="https://www.florafauna.ai/">Flora AI</a>, users can still write prompts, but they <strong>visualize their intent</strong> with nodes by connecting various sources visually. Instead of elaborately explaining to AI how we need the pipeline to work, we attach nodes and commands on a canvas.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/4-illustration-output-ux.jpg"></p> <p>With input for AI, being precise is slow and challenging. Instead, we can <strong>abstract away</strong> the object we want to manipulate, and give AI precise input by moving that abstracted object on a canvas. That’s what <a href="https://www.krea.ai/">Krea.ai</a> does.</p> <p>In summary, we can <strong>minimize the burden of typing</strong> prompts manually — with AI-generated pre-prompts, prompt extensions, query builders, and also voice input.</p> Output UX: Displaying Outcomes <p>AI output doesn't have to be merely plain text or a list of bullet points. It must be <strong>helpful to drive people to insights</strong>, faster. For example, we could visualize output by creating additional explanations based on the user’s goal and motivations.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/5-illustration-output-ux.jpg"></p> <p>For example, Amelia Wattenberger <a href="https://wattenberger.com/thoughts/boo-chatbots">visualized AI output</a> for her text editor PenPal by adding <strong>style lenses</strong> to explore the content from. The output could be visualized in sentence lengths and scales <em>Sad — Happy</em>, <em>Concrete — Abstract</em>, and so on.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/6-aino-ai.jpg"></p> <p>The outcome could also be visualized on a map, which, of course, is expected for an <a href="https://www.aino.world/">AI GIS analyst</a>. Also, users can <strong>access individual data layers</strong>, turn them on and off, and hence explore the data on the map.</p> <p>We can also use <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/accordion-editing-apple-picking/">forced ranking</a> and prioritizations to <strong>suggest best options</strong> and avoid choice paralysis — even if a user asks for top 10 recommendations. We can think about ways to present results as a data table, or a dashboard, or a visualization on a map, or as a structured JSON file, for example.</p> Refinement UX: Tweaking Output <p>Users often need to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/accordion-editing-apple-picking/">cherry-pick</a> some bits from the AI output and bring them together in a new place — and often they need to <strong>expand on one section</strong>, synthesize bits from another section, or just refine the outcome to meet their needs.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/7-adobe-firefly.jpg"></p> <p>Refinement is usually <strong>the most painful part of the experience</strong>, with many fine details being left to users to explain elaborately. But we can use good old-fashioned UI controls like knobs, sliders, buttons, and so on to improve that experience, similar to how Adobe Firefly does it (image above).</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/8-illustration-output-ux.jpg"></p> <p>We can also use presets, bookmarks, and allow users to <strong>highlight specific parts of the outcome</strong> that they’d like to change — with contextual prompts acting on highlighted parts of the output, rather than global prompts.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/9-illustration-output-ux.jpg"></p> AI Actions: Tasks To Complete <p>With AI agents, we can now also <strong>allow users to initiate tasks</strong> that AI can perform on their behalf, such as scheduling events, planning, and deep research. We could also ask to <strong>sort results or filter them</strong> in a specific way.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/10-illustration-output-ux.jpg"></p> <p>But we can also add features to help users use AI output better — e.g., by visualizing it, making it shareable, allowing <strong>transformations</strong> between formats, or also posting to Slack, Jira, and so on.</p> AI Integration: Where Work Happens <p>Many AI interactions are locked within a specific product, but good AI experiences happen <strong>where the actual work happens</strong>. It would be quite unusual to expect a dedicated section for <em>Autocomplete</em>, for example, but we do so for AI features.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/11-illustration-ai-integration-ux.png"></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/design-patterns-ai-interfaces/12-dovetail.jpg"></p> <p>The actual boost in productivity comes when users rely on AI as a co-pilot or little helper in the <strong>tools they use daily for work</strong>. It’s seamless integrations into Slack, Teams, Jira, GitHub, and so on — the tools that people use anyway. <a href="https://www.diabrowser.com/">Dia Browser</a> and <a href="https://dovetail.com/">Dovetail</a> are great examples of it in action.</p> Wrapping Up <p>Along these five areas, we can explore ways to <strong>minimize the cost of interaction</strong> with a textbox, and allow users to interact with the points of interest directly, by tapping, clicking, selecting, highlighting, and bookmarking.</p> <p>Many products are obsessed with being AI-first. But you might be way better off by being <strong>AI-second</strong> instead. The difference is that we focus on user needs and sprinkle a bit of AI across customer journeys where it actually adds value.</p> <p>And AI products don’t have to be AI-only. There is a lot of value in mapping into the mental models that people have adopted over the years, and <strong>enhance them with AI</strong>, similar to how we do it with browsers’ autofill, rather than leaving users in front of a frightening and omnipresent text box.</p> Useful Resources <ul> <li> <a href="https://uxdesign.cc/where-should-ai-sit-in-your-ui-1710a258390e">Where Should AI Sit In Your UI?</a>, by Sharang Sharma</li> <li> <a href="https://shapeof.ai/">Shape of AI: Design Patterns</a>, by Emily Campbell</li> <li> <a href="https://www.aiuxpatterns.com/">AI UX Patterns</a>, by Luke Bennis</li> <li> <a href="https://catalogue.projectsbyif.com/">Design Patterns For Trust With AI</a>, via Sarah Gold</li> <li> <a href="https://pair.withgoogle.com/guidebook/patterns">AI Guidebook Design Patterns</a>, by Google</li> <li> <a href="https://lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?2093">Usable Chat Interfaces to AI Models</a>, by Luke Wroblewski</li> <li> <a href="https://lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?2105">The Receding Role of AI Chat</a>, by Luke Wroblewski</li> <li> <a href="https://lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?2106">Agent Management Interface Patterns</a>, by Luke Wroblewski</li> <li> <a href="https://uxdesign.cc/designing-for-ai-engineers-what-ui-patterns-and-principles-you-need-to-know-8b16a5b62a61">Designing for AI Engineers</a>, by Eve Weinberg</li> </ul> Meet “Smart Interface Design Patterns” <p>You can find more details on <strong>design patterns and UX</strong> in <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/"><strong>Smart Interface Design Patterns</strong></a>, our <strong>15h-video course</strong> with 100s of practical examples from real-life projects — with a live UX training later this year. Everything from mega-dropdowns to complex enterprise tables — with 5 new segments added every year. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhZ3el3n-u0">Jump to a free preview</a>. Use code <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/"><strong>BIRDIE</strong></a> to <strong>save 15%</strong> off.</p> <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/indysigner/image/fetch/f_auto,q_80/w_400/https://archive.smashing.media/assets/344dbf88-fdf9-42bb-adb4-46f01eedd629/7cc4e1de-6921-474e-a3fb-db4789fc13dd/b4024b60-e627-177d-8bff-28441f810462.jpeg"></a>Meet <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/">Smart Interface Design Patterns</a>, our video course on interface design &amp; UX. <div><div> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/#"> Video + UX Training</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/#">Video only</a></li> </ul> <div> <h3>Video + UX Training</h3>$ 495.00 $ 699.00 <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com/enroll/3081832?price_id=3951439"> Get Video + UX Training<div></div></a><p>25 video lessons (15h) + <a href="https://smashingconf.com/online-workshops/workshops/vitaly-friedman-impact-design/">Live UX Training</a>.<br>100 days money-back-guarantee.</p> </div> <div> <h3>Video only</h3> <div>$ 300.00$ 395.00</div> <a href="https://smart-interface-design-patterns.thinkific.com/enroll/3081832?price_id=3950630"> Get the video course<div></div></a><p>40 video lessons (15h). 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<p>New technologies and innovative concepts frequently enter the product development lifecycle, promising to revolutionize user experiences. However, even the most ingenious ideas risk failure without a fundamental grasp of user interaction with these new experiences. </p> <p>Consider the plight of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Glove">Nintendo Power Glove</a>. Despite being a commercial success (selling over 1 million units), its release in late 1989 was followed by its discontinuation less than a full year later in 1990. The two games created solely for the Power Glove sold poorly, and there was little use for the Glove with Nintendo’s already popular traditional console games.</p> <p>A large part of the failure was due to audience reaction once the product (which allegedly was developed in 8 weeks) was <strong>cumbersome</strong> and <strong>unintuitive</strong>. Users found <a href="https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/nintendo-power-glove.htm">syncing the glove</a> to the moves in specific games to be extremely frustrating, as it required a process of coding the moves into the glove’s preset move buttons and then remembering which buttons would generate which move. With the more modern success of Nintendo’s WII and other movement-based controller consoles and games, we can see the Power Glove was a concept ahead of its time. </p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/unmasking-magic-wizard-oz-method-ux-research/1-nintendo-nes-power-glove.jpg"></p> <p>If Power Glove’s developers wanted to conduct effective research prior to building it out, they would have needed to look beyond traditional methods, such as surveys and interviews, to understand how a user might truly interact with the Glove. How could this have been done without a functional prototype and slowing down the overall development process?</p> <p>Enter the <strong>Wizard of Oz method</strong>, a potent tool for bridging the chasm between abstract concepts and tangible user understanding, as one potential option. This technique simulates a fully functional system, yet a human operator (“the Wizard”) discreetly orchestrates the experience. This allows researchers to gather <strong>authentic user reactions and insights</strong> without the prerequisite of a fully built product.</p> <p>The Wizard of Oz (WOZ) method is named in tribute to the similarly named book by Frank L. Baum. In the book, the Wizard is simply a man hidden behind a curtain, manipulating the reality of those who travel the land of Oz. Dorothy, the protagonist, exposes the Wizard for what he is, essentially an illusion or a con who is deceiving those who believe him to be omnipotent. Similarly, WOZ takes technologies that may or may not currently exist and emulates them in a way that should convince a research participant they are using an existing system or tool. </p> <p>WOZ enables the <strong>exploration of user needs</strong>, <strong>validation of nascent concepts</strong>, and <strong>mitigation of development risks</strong>, particularly with complex or emerging technologies. </p> <p>The product team in our above example might have used this method to have users simulate the actions of wearing the glove, programming moves into the glove, and playing games without needing a fully functional system. This could have uncovered the illogical situation of asking laypeople to code their hardware to be responsive to a game, show the frustration one encounters when needing to recode the device when changing out games, and also the cumbersome layout of the controls on the physical device (even if they’d used a cardboard glove with simulated controls drawn in crayon on the appropriate locations.</p> <p>Jeff Kelley <a href="https://uxpajournal.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/pdf/JUS_Kelley_May2018.pdf">credits himself</a> (PDF) with coining the term WOZ method in 1980 to describe the research method he employed in his dissertation. However, Paula Roe <a href="https://www.telefonica.com/en/communication-room/blog/wizard-oz-technique-relation-artificial-intelligence/">credits Don Norman and Allan Munro</a> for using the method as early as 1973 to conduct testing on an airport automated travel assistant. Regardless of who originated the method, both parties agree that it gained prominence when IBM later used it to conduct studies on a speech-to-text tool known as <em>The Listening Typewriter</em> (see Image below).</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/unmasking-magic-wizard-oz-method-ux-research/2-wizard-of-oz-testing.png"></p> <p>In this article, I’ll cover the core principles of the WOZ method, explore advanced applications taken from practical experience, and demonstrate its unique value through real-world examples, including its application to the field of agentic AI. UX practitioners can use the WOZ method as another tool to <strong>unlock user insights</strong> and <strong>craft human-centered products and experiences</strong>.</p> The Yellow Brick Road: Core Principles And Mechanics <p>The WOZ method operates on the premise that users believe they are interacting with an autonomous system while a human wizard manages the system’s responses behind the scenes. This individual, often positioned remotely (or off-screen), interprets user inputs and generates outputs that mimic the anticipated functionality of the experience.</p> <h3>Cast Of Characters</h3> <p>A successful WOZ study involves several key roles:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>The User</strong><br>The participant who engages with what they perceive as the functional system.</li> <li> <strong>The Facilitator</strong><br>The researcher who guides the user through predefined tasks and observes their behavior and reactions.</li> <li> <strong>The Wizard</strong><br>The individual manipulates the system’s behavior in real-time, providing responses to user inputs.</li> <li> <strong>The Observer (Optional)</strong><br>An additional researcher who observes the session without direct interaction, allowing for a secondary perspective on user behavior.</li> </ul> <h3>Setting The Stage For Believability: Leaving Kansas Behind</h3> <p>Creating a <strong>convincing illusion</strong> is key to the success of a WOZ study. This necessitates careful planning of the research environment and the tasks users will undertake. Consider a study evaluating a new voice command system for smart home devices. The research setup might involve a physical mock-up of a smart speaker and predefined scenarios like <em>“Play my favorite music”</em> or <em>“Dim the living room lights.”</em> The wizard, listening remotely, would then trigger the appropriate responses (e.g., playing a song, verbally confirming the lights are dimmed).</p> <p>Or perhaps it is a screen-based experience testing a new AI-powered chatbot. You have users entering commands into a text box, with another member of the product team providing responses simultaneously using a tool like Figma/Figjam, Miro, Mural, or other cloud-based software that allows multiple users to collaborate simultaneously (the author has no affiliation with any of the mentioned products).</p> <h4>The Art Of Illusion</h4> <p>Maintaining the illusion of a genuine system requires the following:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Timely and Natural Responses</strong><br>The wizard must react to user inputs with minimal delay and in a manner consistent with expected system behavior. Hesitation or unnatural phrasing can break the illusion.</li> <li> <strong>Consistent System Logic</strong><br>Responses should adhere to a predefined logic. For instance, if a user asks for the weather in a specific city, the wizard should consistently provide accurate information.</li> <li> <strong>Handling the Unexpected</strong><br>Users will inevitably deviate from planned paths. The wizard must possess the adaptability to respond plausibly to unforeseen inputs while preserving the perceived functionality.</li> </ul> <h4>Ethical Considerations</h4> <p><strong>Transparency is crucial</strong>, even in a method that involves a degree of deception. Participants should always be debriefed after the session, with a clear explanation of the Wizard of Oz technique and the reasons for its use. <strong>Data privacy</strong> must be maintained as with any study, and participants should feel comfortable and respected throughout the process.</p> <h4>Distinguishing The Method</h4> <p>The WOZ method occupies a unique space within the UX research toolkit:</p> <ul> <li>Unlike <strong>usability testing</strong>, which evaluates existing interfaces, Wizard of Oz explores concepts before significant development.</li> <li>Distinct from <strong>A/B testing</strong>, which compares variations of a product’s design, WOZ assesses entirely new functionalities that might otherwise lack context if shown to users.</li> <li>Compared to traditional <strong>prototyping</strong>, which often involves static mockups, WOZ offers a dynamic and interactive experience, enabling observation of real-time user behavior with a simulated system.</li> </ul> <p>This method proves particularly valuable when exploring truly <strong>novel interactions</strong> or <strong>complex systems</strong> where building a fully functional prototype is premature or resource-intensive. It allows researchers to answer fundamental questions about user needs and expectations before committing significant development efforts.</p> <p>Let’s move beyond the foundational aspects of the WOZ method and explore some more advanced techniques and critical considerations that can elevate its effectiveness.</p> <h4>Time Savings: WOZ Versus Crude Prototyping</h4> <p>It’s a fair question to ask whether WOZ is truly a time-saver compared to even cruder prototyping methods like paper prototypes or static digital mockups.</p> <p>While paper prototypes are incredibly fast to create and test for basic flow and layout, they fundamentally lack dynamic responsiveness. Static mockups offer visual fidelity but cannot simulate complex interactions or personalized outputs.</p> <p>The true time-saving advantage of the WOZ emerges when testing novel, complex, or AI-driven concepts. It allows researchers to evaluate <strong>genuine user interactions and mental models in a seemingly live environment</strong>, collecting rich behavioral data that simpler prototypes cannot. This fidelity in simulating a <strong>dynamic experience</strong>, even with a human behind the curtain, often reveals critical usability or conceptual flaws far earlier and more comprehensively than purely static representations, ultimately preventing costly reworks down the development pipeline.</p> <h3>Additional Techniques And Considerations</h3> <p>While the core principle of the WOZ method is straightforward, its true power lies in <strong>nuanced application</strong> and <strong>thoughtful execution</strong>. Seasoned practitioners may leverage several advanced techniques to extract richer insights and address more complex research questions.</p> <h4>Iterative Wizardry</h4> <p>The WOZ method isn’t necessarily a one-off endeavor. Employing it in <strong>iterative cycles</strong> can yield significant benefits. Initial rounds might focus on broad concept validation and identifying fundamental user reactions. Subsequent iterations can then refine the simulated functionality based on previous findings.</p> <p>For instance, after an initial study reveals user confusion with a particular interaction flow, the simulation can be adjusted, and a follow-up study can assess the impact of those changes. This iterative approach allows for a more agile and user-centered exploration of complex experiences.</p> <h4>Managing Complexity</h4> <p>Simulating complex systems can be difficult for one wizard. Breaking complex interactions into smaller, manageable steps is crucial. Consider researching a multi-step onboarding process for a new software application. Instead of one person trying to simulate the entire flow, different aspects could be handled sequentially or even by multiple team members coordinating their responses.</p> <p><strong>Clear communication protocols</strong> and <strong>well-defined responsibilities</strong> are essential in such scenarios to maintain a seamless user experience.</p> <h4>Measuring Success Beyond Observation</h4> <p>While qualitative observation is a cornerstone of the WOZ method, defining <strong>clear metrics</strong> can add a layer of rigor to the findings. These metrics should match research goals. For example, if the goal is to assess the intuitiveness of a new navigation pattern, you might track the number of times users express confusion or the time it takes them to complete specific tasks.</p> <p>Combining these quantitative measures with qualitative insights provides a more comprehensive understanding of the user experience.</p> <h4>Integrating With Other Methods</h4> <p>The WOZ method isn’t an island. Its effectiveness can be amplified by integrating it with other research techniques. Preceding a WOZ study with user interviews can help establish a deeper understanding of user needs and mental models, informing the design of the simulated experience. Following a WOZ study, surveys can gather broader quantitative feedback on the concepts explored. For example, after observing users interact with a simulated AI-powered scheduling tool, a survey could gauge their overall trust and perceived usefulness of such a system.</p> <h4>When Not To Use WOZ</h4> <p>WOZ, as with all methods, has limitations. A few examples of scenarios where other methods would likely yield more reliable findings would be:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Detailed Usability Testing</strong><br>Humans acting as wizards cannot perfectly replicate the exact experience a user will encounter. WOZ is often best in the <strong>early stages</strong>, where prototypes are rough drafts, and your team is looking for guidance on a solution that is up for consideration. Testing on a more detailed wireframe or prototype would be preferable to WOZ when you have entered the detailed design phase.</li> <li> <strong>Evaluating extremely complex systems with unpredictable outputs</strong><br>If the system’s responses are extremely varied, require sophisticated real-time calculations that exceed human capacity, or are intended to be genuinely unpredictable, a human may struggle to simulate them convincingly and consistently. This can lead to fatigue, errors, or improvisations that don’t reflect the intended system, thereby compromising the validity of the findings.</li> </ul> <h3>Training And Preparedness</h3> <p>The wizard’s skill is critical to the method’s success. Training the individual(s) who will be simulating the system is essential. This training should cover:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Understanding the Research Goals</strong><br>The wizard needs to grasp what the research aims to uncover.</li> <li> <strong>Consistency in Responses</strong><br>Maintaining consistent behavior throughout the sessions is vital for user believability.</li> <li> <strong>Anticipating User Actions</strong><br>While improvisation is sometimes necessary, the wizard should be prepared for common user paths and potential deviations.</li> <li> <strong>Remaining Unbiased</strong><br>The wizard must avoid leading users or injecting their own opinions into the simulation.</li> <li> <strong>Handling Unexpected Inputs</strong><br>Clear protocols for dealing with unforeseen user actions should be established. This might involve having a set of pre-prepared fallback responses or a mechanism for quickly consulting with the facilitator.</li> </ul> <p>All of this suggests the need for practice in advance of running the actual session. We shouldn’t forget to have a number of dry runs in which we ask our colleagues or those who are willing to assist to not only participate but also think about possible responses that could stump the wizard or throw things off if the user might provide them during a live session.</p> <p>I suggest having a believable prepared error statement ready to go for when a user throws a curveball. A simple response from the wizard of <em>“I’m sorry, I am unable to perform that task at this time”</em> might be enough to move the session forward while also capturing a potentially unexpected situation your team can address in the final product design.</p> <h3>Was This All A Dream? The Art Of The Debrief</h3> <p>The debriefing session following the WOZ interaction is an additional opportunity to gather rich qualitative data. Beyond asking <em>“What did you think?”</em> effective debriefing involves sharing the purpose of the study and the fact that the experience was simulated.</p> <p>Researchers should then conduct <strong>psychological probing</strong> to understand the <em>reasons</em> behind user behavior and reactions. Asking open-ended questions like <em>“Why did you try that?”</em> or <em>“What were you expecting to happen when you clicked that button?”</em> can reveal valuable insights into user mental models and expectations.</p> <p>Exploring moments of confusion, frustration, or delight in detail can uncover key areas for design improvement. Think about the potential information the Power Gloves’ development team could have uncovered if they’d asked participants what the experience of programming the glove and trying to remember what they’d programmed into which set of keys had been.</p> Case Studies: Real-World Applications <p>The value of the WOZ method becomes apparent when examining its application in real-world research scenarios. Here is an in-depth review of one scenario and a quick summary of another study involving WOZ, where this technique proved invaluable in shaping user experiences.</p> <h3>Unraveling Agentic AI: Understanding User Mental Models</h3> <p>A significant challenge in the realm of emerging technologies lies in user comprehension. This was particularly evident when our team began exploring the potential of Agentic AI for enterprise HR software.</p> <p><a href="https://www.uipath.com/ai/agentic-ai">Agentic AI</a> refers to artificial intelligence systems that can autonomously pursue goals by making decisions, taking actions, and adapting to changing environments with minimal human intervention. <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/agentic-ai-vs-generative-ai">Unlike generative AI</a> that primarily responds to direct commands or generates content, Agentic AI is designed to understand user intent, independently plan and execute multi-step tasks, and learn from its interactions to improve performance over time. These systems often combine multiple AI models and can reason through complex problems. <a href="https://www.krasamo.com/ai-ux/">For designers</a>, this signifies a shift towards creating experiences where AI acts more like a proactive collaborator or assistant, capable of anticipating needs and taking the initiative to help users achieve their objectives rather than solely relying on explicit user instructions for every step.</p> <p>Preliminary research, including surveys and initial interviews, suggested that many HR professionals, while intrigued by the concept of AI assistance, struggled to grasp the potential functionality and practical implications of truly <em>agentic</em> systems — those capable of autonomous action and proactive decision-making. We saw they had no reference point for what agentic AI was, even after we attempted relevant analogies to current examples. </p> <p>Building a fully functional agentic AI prototype at this exploratory stage was impractical. The underlying algorithms and integrations were complex and time-consuming to develop. Moreover, we risked building a solution based on potentially flawed assumptions about user needs and understanding. The WOZ method offered a solution.</p> <h4>Setup</h4> <p>We designed a scenario where HR employees interacted with what they believed was an intelligent AI assistant capable of autonomously handling certain tasks. The facilitator presented users with a web interface where they could request assistance with tasks like <em>“draft a personalized onboarding plan for a new marketing hire”</em> or <em>“identify employees who might benefit from proactive well-being resources based on recent activity.”</em></p> <p>Behind the scenes, a designer acted as the wizard. Based on the user’s request and the (simulated) available data, the designer would craft a response that mimicked the output of an agentic AI. For the onboarding plan, this involved assembling pre-written templates and personalizing them with details provided by the user. For the well-being resource identification, the wizard would select a plausible list of employees based on the general indicators discussed in the scenario. </p> <p>Crucially, the facilitator encouraged users to <strong>interact naturally</strong>, asking <strong>follow-up questions</strong> and exploring the system’s perceived capabilities. For instance, a user might ask, <em>“Can the system also schedule the initial team introductions?”</em> The wizard, guided by pre-defined rules and the overall research goals, would respond accordingly, perhaps with a <em>“Yes, I can automatically propose meeting times based on everyone’s calendars”</em> (again, simulated). </p> <p>As recommended, we debriefed participants following each session. We began with transparency, explaining the simulation and that we had another live human posting the responses to the queries based on what the participant was saying. Open-ended questions explored initial reactions and envisioned use. Task-specific probing, like <em>“Why did you expect that?”</em> revealed underlying assumptions. We specifically addressed trust and control (<em>“How much trust...? What level of control...?”</em>). To understand mental models, we asked how users thought the “AI” worked. We also solicited improvement suggestions (<em>“What features...?”</em>).</p> <p>By focusing on the “why” behind user actions and expectations, these debriefings provided rich qualitative data that directly informed subsequent design decisions, particularly around transparency, human oversight, and prioritizing specific, high-value use cases. We also had a research participant who understood agentic AI and could provide additional insight based on that understanding.</p> <h4>Key Insights</h4> <p>This WOZ study yielded several crucial insights into user mental models of agentic AI in an HR context:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Overestimation of Capabilities</strong><br>Some users initially attributed near-magical abilities to the “AI”, expecting it to understand highly nuanced or ambiguous requests without explicit instruction. This highlighted the need for clear communication about the system’s actual scope and limitations.</li> <li> <strong>Trust and Control</strong><br>A significant theme revolved around trust and control. Users expressed both excitement about the potential time savings and anxiety about relinquishing control over important HR processes. This indicated a need for design solutions that offered transparency into the AI’s decision-making and allowed for human oversight.</li> <li> <strong>Value in Proactive Assistance</strong><br>Users reacted positively to the AI proactively identifying potential issues (like burnout risk), but they emphasized the importance of the AI providing clear reasoning and allowing human HR professionals to review and approve any suggested actions.</li> <li> <strong>Need for Tangible Examples</strong><br>Abstract explanations of agentic AI were insufficient. Users gained a much clearer understanding through these simulated interactions with concrete tasks and outcomes.</li> </ul> <h4>Resulting Design Changes</h4> <p>Based on these findings, we made several key design decisions:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Emphasis on Transparency</strong><br>The user interface would need to clearly show the AI’s reasoning and the data it used to make decisions.</li> <li> <strong>Human Oversight and Review</strong><br>Built-in approval workflows would be essential for critical actions, ensuring HR professionals retain control.</li> <li> <strong>Focus on Specific, High-Value Use Cases</strong><br>Instead of trying to build a general-purpose agent, we prioritized specific use cases where agentic capabilities offered clear and demonstrable benefits.</li> <li> <strong>Educational Onboarding</strong><br>The product onboarding would include clear, tangible examples of the AI’s capabilities in action.</li> </ul> <h3>Exploring Voice Interaction for In-Car Systems</h3> <p>In another project, we used the WOZ method to evaluate user interaction with a voice interface for controlling in-car functions. Our research question focused on the naturalness and efficiency of voice commands for tasks like adjusting climate control, navigating to points of interest, and managing media playback.</p> <p>We set up a car cabin simulator with a microphone and speakers. The wizard, located in an adjacent room, listened to the user’s voice commands and triggered the corresponding actions (simulated through visual changes on a display and audio feedback). This allowed us to identify ambiguous commands, areas of user frustration with voice recognition (even though it was human-powered), and preferences for different phrasing and interaction styles before investing in complex speech recognition technology.</p> <p>These examples illustrate the versatility and power of the method in addressing a wide range of UX research questions across diverse product types and technological complexities. By simulating functionality, we can gain invaluable insights into user behavior and expectations early in the design process, leading to more user-centered and ultimately more successful products.</p> The Future of Wizardry: Adapting To Emerging Technologies <p>The WOZ method, far from being a relic of simpler technological times, retains relevance as we navigate increasingly sophisticated and often opaque emerging technologies.</p> <p>The WOZ method’s core strength, the ability to simulate complex functionality with human ingenuity, makes it uniquely suited for exploring user interactions with systems that are still in their nascent stages.</p> <p><strong>WOZ In The Age Of AI</strong></p> <p>Consider the burgeoning field of AI-powered experiences. Researching user interaction with generative AI, for instance, can be effectively done through WOZ. A wizard could curate and present AI-generated content (text, images, code) in response to user prompts, allowing researchers to assess user perceptions of quality, relevance, and trust without needing a fully trained and integrated AI model.</p> <p>Similarly, for personalized recommendation systems, a human could simulate the recommendations based on a user’s stated preferences and observed behavior, gathering valuable feedback on the perceived accuracy and helpfulness of such suggestions before algorithmic development.</p> <p>Even autonomous systems, seemingly the antithesis of human control, can benefit from WOZ studies. By simulating the autonomous behavior in specific scenarios, researchers can explore user comfort levels, identify needs for explainability, and understand how users might want to interact with or override such systems.</p> <p><strong>Virtual And Augmented Reality</strong></p> <p>Immersive environments like virtual and augmented reality present new frontiers for user experience research. WOZ can be particularly powerful here.</p> <p>Imagine testing a novel gesture-based interaction in VR. A researcher tracking the user’s hand movements could trigger corresponding virtual events, allowing for rapid iteration on the intuitiveness and comfort of these interactions without the complexities of fully programmed VR controls. Similarly, in AR, a wizard could remotely trigger the appearance and behavior of virtual objects overlaid onto the real world, gathering user feedback on their placement, relevance, and integration with the physical environment.</p> <p><strong>The Human Factor Remains Central</strong></p> <p>Despite the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and immersive technologies, the fundamental principles of human-centered design remain as relevant as ever. Technology should serve human needs and enhance human capabilities.</p> <p>The WOZ method inherently focuses on understanding user reactions and behaviors and acts as a crucial anchor in ensuring that technological progress aligns with human values and expectations.</p> <p>It allows us to inject the <strong>“human factor”</strong> into the design process of even the most advanced technologies. Doing this may help ensure these innovations are not only technically feasible but also truly usable, desirable, and beneficial.</p> Conclusion <p>The WOZ method stands as a powerful and versatile tool in the UX researcher’s toolkit. The WOZ method’s ability to bypass limitations of early-stage development and directly elicit user feedback on conceptual experiences offers invaluable advantages. We’ve explored its core mechanics and covered ways of maximizing its impact. We’ve also examined its practical application through real-world case studies, including its crucial role in understanding user interaction with nascent technologies like agentic AI.</p> <p>The strategic implementation of the WOZ method provides a <strong>potent means of de-risking product development</strong>. By validating assumptions, uncovering unexpected user behaviors, and identifying potential usability challenges early on, teams can avoid costly rework and build products that truly resonate with their intended audience.</p> <p>I encourage all UX practitioners, digital product managers, and those who collaborate with research teams to consider incorporating the WOZ method into their research toolkit. Experiment with its application in diverse scenarios, adapt its techniques to your specific needs and don’t be afraid to have fun with it. Scarecrow costume optional.</p>

<p>This article is a sponsored by <a href="https://droip.com/">Droip</a></p> <p>Traditional WordPress page builders had their moment. Builders like Elementor, Divi, and Oxygen have been around for years. So long, in fact, that many of us just accepted their limitations as the cost of using WordPress.</p> <p>But Droip, a relatively new no-code website builder, steps in with a completely different philosophy. It is built to provide Webflow and Framer-level power in WordPress, complete design freedom, built-in performance, and no reliance on third-party plugins.</p> <p>In this review, we’re putting Droip head-to-head with traditional builders according to all the things that matter when choosing a website builder: </p> <ul> <li>Price,</li> <li>Affect on website performance,</li> <li>User-friendliness vs flexibility,</li> <li>Features,</li> <li>Theme and layout options.</li> </ul> What Is Droip? <p><a href="https://droip.com/">Droip</a> is a no-code visual website builder for WordPress, designed to bridge the gap where other page builders fall short. </p> <p>Unlike other page builders, Droip is an all-in-one solution that aims to provide everything you need to build websites without any third-party dependencies, shifting from the norm in WordPress!</p> <p>And the best part? It’s all included in your subscription, so you won’t be hit with surprise upgrades.</p> Pricing: A Smarter Investment with All Features Included <p>While most page builders upsell critical features or require multiple add-ons, Droip keeps it simple: one platform, all features, no hidden costs.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/1-droip-pricing-plans.jpg"></p> <p>It’s surprisingly affordable for the value it delivers. The Starter plan is just $34.50/year (currently at 50% off) for one site and includes all premium features. </p> <p>If you compare it with Elementor, that’s almost half the cost of Elementor Pro’s Essential plan, which starts at $60/year and still keeps several essentials behind paywalls.</p> <p>Droip also has a Lifetime plan. For a one-time payment of $299.50, you get unlimited use, forever. No renewals, no upcharges.</p> <p>All Droip Pro plans are fully featured from the start. You don’t need to stack plugins or pay extra to unlock dynamic content support, pop-up builders, or submission forms. You also get access to the entire growing template library from day one.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: <em>Explore <a href="https://droip.com/pricing/">Droip pricing</a>.</em></p> Website Performance Comparison <p>Performance directly impacts user experience, SEO, and conversion rates. So, to get a clear picture of how different page builders impact performance, we put Droip and Elementor to the test under identical conditions to see how each builder stacks up.</p> <p>We installed both on a clean WordPress setup using the default Twenty Twenty-Five theme to ensure a fair comparison. Then, we created identical layouts using comparable design elements and ran Lighthouse performance audits to measure load time, responsiveness, and Core Web Vitals.</p> <p><strong>Test Conditions:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Clean WordPress installation.</li> <li>Same theme: Twenty Twenty-Five.</li> <li>Same layout structure and design elements.</li> <li>Lighthouse is used for performance scoring.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Sample Layout</strong></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/2-website-layout-built-pperformance-testing-comparison.jpg"></p> <p><strong>Droip’s Performance</strong></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/3-droip-performance-test-scores.jpg"></p> <p><strong>Elementor’s Performance</strong></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/4-elementor-performance.jpg"></p> <p><strong>Droip’s Code Output</strong></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/5-droip-code-output.png"></p> <p><strong>Elementor’s Code Output</strong></p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/6-elementor-code-output.png"></p> <p>The difference was immediately clear. Droip generated a much cleaner DOM with significantly fewer <code>&lt;div&gt;</code>s and no unnecessary wrappers, resulting in faster load times and higher scores across all boards.</p> <p>Elementor, on the other hand, added heavily nested markup and extra scripts, even on this simple layout, which dragged down its performance.</p> <p>If clean code, fast loading, and technical efficiency are priorities for you, Droip clearly comes out ahead.</p> Exploring The Features <p>Now that we’ve seen how Droip outperforms the competition and does it at a highly competitive price, let’s dive into the features to see what makes it such a powerful all-in-one builder.</p> <h3>Freeform Visual Canvas For True Design Freedom</h3> <p>What makes Droip different from the existing page builders is its <a href="https://droip.com/editor/">freeform visual canvas</a>. </p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/7-freeform-visual-canvas.jpg"></p> <p>With Droip, you finally get the layout flexibility modern design demands and no longer need to place elements into rigid structures. </p> <p>The editor is powerful, modern, and feels more like designing in a modern interface tool like Figma.</p> <p>You can place elements exactly where you want, overlap sections, layer backgrounds, and create complex animations &amp; interactions all visually. Every element’s layout behavior is editable on canvas, giving you pixel-level control without touching code.</p> <p>The editor supports both light and dark modes for a more comfortable, focused workspace.</p> <p>If you've used Figma or Webflow, you'll feel instantly at home. If you haven't, this is the most natural way to design websites you've ever tried.</p> <h3>Instant Figma to Droip Handoff</h3> <p>Talking about Figma, if you have a design ready in Figma, you can instantly import it into Droip to a functional website with no need to rebuild from scratch.</p> <a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/8-instant-figma-droip-handoff.gif"><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/8-instant-figma-droip-handoff-800px.gif"></a>Seamless import of Figma designs directly into Droip for fast development. (<a href="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/8-instant-figma-droip-handoff.gif">Large preview</a>) <p>Your imported design comes in fully responsive by default, adapting to all screen sizes, including any custom breakpoints you define.</p> <p>And it supports unlimited breakpoints, too. You can define layout behavior exactly how you want it, and styles will cascade intelligently across smaller screens.</p> <h3>No Third-Party Plugins Needed For Dynamic Content</h3> <p>In traditional WordPress, handling dynamic content means installing the ACF or other third-party plugins.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/9-droip-native-dynamic-content-management.jpg"></p> <p>But with Droip, all of that is natively integrated. It comes with a powerful <a href="https://droip.com/content-manager/">Dynamic Content Manager</a> that lets you:</p> <ul> <li>Create custom content types and fields.</li> <li>Use reference and multi-reference relationships.</li> <li>Build dynamic templates visually.</li> <li>Add dynamic SEO to template pages.</li> <li>Apply advanced filtering to Collection elements.</li> </ul> <p>All without writing a single line of code or relying on external plugins.</p> <h3>Reusable Styling With Class-Based Editing</h3> <p>Droip also has an efficient way to manage design at scale without repetitive work.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/10-droip-css-class-management-panel.jpg"></p> <p>It uses a class-based styling system that brings structure and scalability to your design process. When you style an element, those styles are automatically saved as reusable CSS classes.</p> <p>Here’s what that means for you:</p> <ul> <li>You can create global classes for common components like buttons, cards, or headings.</li> <li>Reuse those styles across pages and projects with consistency.</li> <li>Update a class once, and every instance updates instantly.</li> <li>You can also create subclasses to make slight variations, like secondary buttons, while still inheriting styles from the parent.</li> </ul> <h3>CSS Variables For Global Styling</h3> <p>Droip takes styling even further with <a href="https://droip.com/docs/variables/">Global Variables</a>, allowing you to define design tokens like colors, fonts, spacing, and sizing that can be reused across your entire site.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/11-global-css-variables.jpg"></p> <p>You can pair these global variables with your class-based structure to:</p> <ul> <li>Maintain visual consistency;</li> <li>Update values globally with a single change;</li> <li>Easily manage themes like switching between light and dark modes with one click.</li> </ul> <p>And while Droip offers a fully visual experience, it doesn’t limit advanced users. You can write custom CSS for any class or element, and even inject JavaScript at the page or element level when needed.</p> <h3>Build Complex Interactions and Animations Visually</h3> <p>When it comes to modern animations and interactive design, Droip leaves traditional WordPress page builders far behind.</p> <p>Its fully <a href="https://droip.com/interactions/">visual interaction builder</a> lets you create dynamic, immersive experiences.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/12-visual-interaction-builder.jpg"></p> <p>You can build scroll-based animations, hover and click effects, interactive sections that respond across devices, and control visibility, motion, and behavior all within a visual interface.</p> <p>For advanced users, Droip includes a <strong>timeline-based editor</strong> where you can:</p> <ul> <li>Create multi-step animations;</li> <li>Fine-tune transitions with precise timing, easing, delays, and sequencing.</li> </ul> <p>Even text animations get special attention. </p> <p>You can animate text by character, word, or full element. Choose custom triggers (scroll, hover, load, and so on) and select from various transition styles or create your own.</p> <p>Droip's no-code website builder truly helps you move past generic and create unique animations and complex interactions.</p> <h3>Seamless Integration Management With Droip Apps</h3> <p>Droip takes the hassle out of connecting third-party tools with its intuitive <strong>Droip Apps</strong> system. You can install and manage essential integrations such as analytics, CRMs, email marketing platforms, support widgets, and more, all from within the Droip editor itself.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/13-integration-management-droip-apps.jpg"></p> <p>This centralized approach means you never have to leave your workspace. The clean, user-friendly interface guides you through the connection process visually, making setup fast and straightforward even if you’re not a technical expert.</p> <h3>Accessibility Is Core To The Experience</h3> <p>One of Droip’s standout features is its built-in focus on accessibility from day one. </p> <p>Unlike many platforms that rely on third-party plugins for accessibility, Droip integrates it directly into the core experience.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/14-accessibility-settings.jpg"></p> <p>Whether you need to enlarge editor text, reduce motion effects, use a larger cursor, or work with color-blind–friendly palettes, Droip ensures an <a href="https://droip.com/accessibility/">inclusive editing environment</a>.</p> <p>But it doesn’t stop at editor settings. Droip actively helps you follow best accessibility practices, enforcing semantic HTML, prompting for proper alt text, and supporting ARIA labels. Plus, its built-in contrast checker ensures your designs aren’t just visually appealing, they’re easy to read and use for everyone.</p> <h3>Team Collaboration Made Easy</h3> <p>Collaboration is also a core part of the experience, thoughtfully designed to support teams, clients, and developers alike. With Droip’s Role Manager, you can define exactly what each role can view, edit, or manage within the builder.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/15-droip-role-management-collaboration-tools.jpg"></p> <p>You can assign custom roles to team members based on their responsibilities, like designers, developers, content editors, clients, and so on. </p> <p>For handling client reviews, it also generates a shareable view-only link that gives clients access to preview the site without giving them edit permissions or exposing the backend. Perfect for gathering feedback and approvals while maintaining full control.</p> <h3>Built-in Quality Control</h3> <p>Before you publish your site, Droip helps ensure your site is technically sound with its built-in Page Audit tool. </p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/16-droip-quality-control.jpg"></p> <p>It automatically scans your layout for:</p> <ul> <li>Missing alt text on images,</li> <li>Broken links,</li> <li>Unassigned or duplicate classes,</li> <li>Accessibility issues,</li> <li>And more.</li> </ul> <p>So you’re not just building beautiful pages, you’re shipping fast, accessible, SEO-ready websites with confidence.</p> Theme &amp; Layout Options <p>Droip has a growing library of high-quality templates and modular layout options, so you’re never out of options.</p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/17-droip-template-library.jpg"></p> <h3>Template Kits: Full Website Packs</h3> <p>Droip’s Template Kits include complete multi-page website designs for every industry. Pick a template, update the content, and you’re ready to launch.</p> <p>New template kits are added regularly, so you're always equipped with the latest design trends. And the best part? At no additional cost. You get access to the finest designs without ever paying extra.</p> <h3>Pre-Designed Pages</h3> <p>Do you need just a landing page or a pricing page? Droip also offers standalone pre-designed pages you can drop into your project and customize instantly.</p> <h3>Pre-Made Sections</h3> <p>Prefer to build from scratch but don’t want to start with a blank canvas? It also has ready-made sections like hero banners, testimonials, pricing blocks, and FAQs. You can visually assemble your layout in minutes using these. </p> <h3>Wireframes</h3> <p>You can also map out your layout using wireframes before applying any styling. It’s a great way to get your content and structure right without distractions, perfect for planning UX and content flow.</p> How Easy Is Droip to Use? <p>If you want something dead simple and just need to build a basic site fast, there are other options like Elementor that can do that, but at the cost of power, performance, and flexibility.</p> <p>Droip, on the other hand, has a bit of a learning curve. That’s because it’s way more powerful and is built for those who care about design control, clean output, and scalability. </p> <p>If you’re someone who wants to fine-tune every pixel, build advanced layouts, and doesn’t mind a learning curve, you’ll appreciate the level of control it offers.</p> <p>Having said that, it’s not hard to use once you understand how it works. </p> <p>The learning curve, especially for complete beginners, mostly comes from understanding its powerful features like dynamic content, reusable components (called Symbols), styling logic using classes, global variables, and breakpoints, advanced interactions using custom animation timelines, etc. </p> <p>But to help you get up to speed quickly, Droip includes:</p> <ul> <li>Guided onboarding to walk you through the essentials.</li> <li>A growing <a href="https://droip.com/themes/">library of templates</a>, pages, UI components, and wireframes to kickstart your projects.</li> <li>An AI Generator that can scaffold entire pages and layouts in seconds.</li> <li>Detailed <a href="https://droip.com/docs/system-requirements/">documentation</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@DroipNoCode">video tutorials</a> (with more added regularly).</li> </ul> What Users Are Saying <p>For many users, Droip is more than just a builder. It’s the all-in-one tool WordPress has been waiting for. They are calling it the future of WordPress, a truly great alternative to tools like Framer and Webflow. </p> <p><img src="https://files.smashing.media/articles/creating-more-than-wordpress-page-builders-droip/18-droip-customer-reviews-feedback.jpg"></p> TL;DR: Why Droip Outshines Traditional Builders <ul> <li>All-in-one builder with no third-party bloat.</li> <li>Clean, performance-optimized code output.</li> <li>Figma integration + modern visual canvas.</li> <li>Dynamic content, advanced interactions, and global styling.</li> <li>One price, all features, no hidden costs.</li> </ul> Overall Verdict: Is Droip Really Better Than Alternatives? <p>After putting Droip through its paces, the answer is a clear <strong>yes</strong>. Droip not only matches traditional WordPress page builders where it counts, but it surpasses them in nearly every critical area.</p> <p>From its cleaner, faster code output and outstanding performance to its unparalleled design freedom and powerful built-in features, Droip solves many of the pain points that users have accepted for years. Its all-in-one approach eliminates the need for multiple plugins, saving time, money, and technical headaches.</p> <p>While there is a learning curve for beginners, the payoff is huge for those who want full control, scalability, and a truly modern web design experience inside WordPress.</p> <p>If you’re serious about building high-quality, scalable, and visually stunning websites, Droip isn’t just an alternative; it’s the future of WordPress site building.</p> <p>Ready to experience the difference yourself? Try <a href="https://droip.com/">Droip</a> today and start building faster, cleaner, and smarter.</p>