Your mood and energy levels change throughout the day. So, why shouldn’t your phone and desktop wallpaper be just as dynamic?
Imagine starting your day with a vibrant sunrise scene on your desktop, transitioning to a minimalist design during work hours, and winding down with a calming twilight landscape in the evening. Different modes of wallpaper could signal work or play, helping you shift gears mentally. And you’d be able to enjoy a fresh look every few hours without lifting a finger.
Microsoft Designer’s free wallpaper maker makes it easy to do just that. By combining Designer’s wallpaper maker with your device’s built-in features, you can design a series of time-sensitive wallpapers that rotate with the time of day, effortlessly matching your mood and circadian rhythm.
What are time-sensitive wallpapers?
Time-sensitive wallpapers or dynamic wallpapers are phone and/or desktop wallpapers that change based on the time of day.
While some advanced systems offer built-in dynamic wallpapers that shift gradually, we're going to focus on a method that's accessible to everyone: creating a set of wallpapers with Microsoft Designer and using your device's native features to rotate them at set intervals.
Here's how it works in a nutshell:
- You create multiple wallpapers for different times of the day using Microsoft Designer.
- You save these wallpapers in a dedicated folder on your device.
- You set up your device to cycle through these wallpapers at specific times.
The result? A dynamic desktop or mobile background that evolves with your daily routine.
Planning your time-sensitive wallpaper set
Before we jump into the creation process, let’s plan our dynamic wallpaper set. Here's how to approach it:
1. Decide on your time intervals
First, determine how many different wallpapers you want in your rotation. A common approach is to create four wallpapers for different parts of the day:
- Morning (6 AM - 11 AM)
- Afternoon (11 AM - 5 PM)
- Evening (5 PM - 10 PM)
- Night (10 PM - 6 AM)
That said, feel free to adjust these times or add more intervals based on your personal schedule and preferences. It’s all about what works best for you!
2. Choose themes or moods for each time period
Next, think about the mood or theme you want to convey during each time period. For example:
Morning: Energizing and inspiring
Afternoon: Focused and productive
Evening: Relaxing and wind-down
Night: Calming and restful
3. Consider color psychology
Colors can significantly influence your mood and mindset. Here's a quick guide to colors and their potential effects:
Energizing colors
🔴 Red: Stimulates energy and excitement.
🟠 Orange: Promotes enthusiasm and creativity.
🟡 Yellow: Enhances optimism and mental clarity.
Focusing and calming colors
🔵 Blue: Calms the mind and aids concentration.
🟢 Green: Balances and promotes harmony.
Balancing colors
🟣 Purple: Stimulates problem-solving and creativity.
🟤 Brown: Grounding, earthy and stable.
Consider incorporating these colors into your wallpapers to evoke the mood you're aiming for in each time period.
Creating your wallpapers with Microsoft Designer
Now that you've planned out your time-sensitive wallpaper set, it's time to bring your vision to life with Microsoft Designer's wallpaper maker. This powerful tool allows you to create stunning, personalized wallpapers with just a few simple steps.
1. From the Microsoft Designer home screen, locate Create with AI and select Wallpapers.
2. Craft a prompt for the first time period in your series (we list some ideas in the next section!).
3. Select the appropriate size for your device (vertical, horizontal, or square).
4. Hit Generate and wait for Designer to return a few wallpaper options.
Optional: If you're not satisfied with the result, try regenerating or slightly modifying your prompt.
5. Select your favorite result. Select Edit to use Designer’s built-in editing features to adjust colors, add text, or incorporate additional elements if desired. Otherwise, hit Download to save the image to your device.
Extra tips:
- Create a dedicated folder on your computer or phone to store all your time-sensitive wallpapers.
- Name each wallpaper clearly, including the time period it's meant for (e.g., "Morning_Sunrise.jpg", "Afternoon_Focus.jpg", etc.).
Example prompts and ideas for each time interval
The key to creating great wallpapers with Microsoft Designer is crafting effective prompts. Here are some tips and examples for each time interval:
Note: We’ve used a papercraft style across the entire example set below to build some consistency into our wallpaper series. You don’t have to choose this style! See the next section, “Maintain cohesion across your wallpaper set,” for tips.
Morning wallpaper
Tip: Use words like "energizing," "fresh," and "inspiring" in your prompt.
Prompt: A vibrant sunrise scene with warm orange and yellow tones, featuring silhouettes of trees and a few early birds in flight. Papercraft style.
The results:
Afternoon wallpaper
Tip: Incorporate words like "vibrant," "organized," or "clear" to set the right tone.
Prompt: Minimalist geometric shapes with a calming but vibrant blue gradient, papercraft style.
The results:
Evening wallpaper
Tip: Use descriptors like "relaxing," "soothing," and "tranquil" in your prompt.
Prompt: Papercraft of a serene twilight landscape with a gradient from deep blue to purple, showing a crescent moon and the first stars appearing.
The results:
Night wallpaper
Tip: Include words like "calming," "peaceful," and "restful" to create the right ambiance.
Prompt: A dark, starry night sky with a silhouette of a forest, using deep blues and blacks with twinkling stars. Papercraft style.
The results:
Maintain cohesion across your wallpaper set
Follow these tips to create a seamless experience as your wallpapers changes throughout the day:
- Use a consistent color palette. While each wallpaper should have its own mood, try to use colors that transition well from one to the next.
- Maintain a similar style. A great way to maintain cohesion is to pick a specific style and stick to it. Papercraft, watercolor, minimalism, abstract, you name it—whatever style you start with, keep it going throughout your set.
- Create subtle links between designs. Use recurring elements (like a particular shape or motif) across your wallpapers to create a sense of continuity.
Modify the same prompt throughout the day
Another fun and creative way to maintain consistency across your wallpaper set is to pick one specific setting or scene and show how it changes throughout the day. To do this, adjust the same prompt to capture different times of day and and different types of light. For example:
Prompt (morning wallpaper): A whimsical morning sunrise scene featuring woodland creatures like deer, foxes, rabbits, and birds, illustrated in a vibrant folk art style. Bold colors.
The results:
Prompt (afternoon wallpaper): A whimsical scene featuring woodland creatures like deer, foxes, rabbits, and birds, illustrated in a vibrant folk art style. Bold colors, bright and sunny.
The results:
Prompt (night wallpaper): A whimsical night scene featuring woodland creatures like deer, foxes, rabbits, and birds, illustrated in a vibrant folk art style. Bold colors. Include stars in the night sky.
The results:
Setting up time-sensitive rotation on your device
Congrats! You've now created a beautiful set of time-sensitive wallpapers using Microsoft Designer. Next, we'll show you how to set up these wallpapers to rotate automatically on different devices. The exact process will vary depending on your device and operating system, so we'll cover the most common options:
For Windows 10 and 11 Users
1. Right-click on your desktop and select Personalize.
2. In the Background section, click on the dropdown menu and select Slideshow.
3. Click Browse and select the folder where you saved your wallpapers.
4. Under Change picture every, select how often you want the wallpaper to rotate. For our time-sensitive setup, choose a time that aligns with your wallpaper schedule (e.g., every 6 hours for a four-wallpaper set).
5. Make sure Shuffle is turned off to ensure your wallpapers display in the correct order.
Pro Tip: To ensure your wallpapers change at specific times, name them in alphabetical order corresponding to the time of day (e.g., "1_Morning.jpg", "2_Afternoon.jpg", etc.).
For macOS 14+ users
1. Open System Preferences, then select Wallpaper.
2. Select Add Folder or Album at the top and add the album where you’ve stored your wallpapers.
3. Your folder will appear at the bottom under the other wallpaper options. Select it.
4. Under Shuffle, select how often you want your wallpapers to rotate. (Slightly confusing: In this case, we want Shuffle. Leave the Randomly box unchecked so your wallpapers rotate in order).
For iOS users
iOS doesn't support automatic wallpaper changes, but you can use the Shortcuts app to create a workaround.
Preliminary: In the Photos app, create an album for each of your dynamic wallpaper designs. (If you have a lot of them, you can also just use one album and cycle through them. Individual albums will let us run each wallpaper at a specific time).
1. Open the Shortcuts app and create a new shortcut.
2. Select Add Action, then search for “find photos” and select it.
3. Select Add Filter.
4. Where it says, “Album is,” tap on Recents and switch it to your first wallpaper album.
5. Toggle on the Limit button and switch it to “Get 1 photo.”
6. Select Done.
7. Navigate to the Automation tab and select Create Personal Automation.
8. Select Time of Day and enter the time you want your first wallpaper to trigger. Hit Next.
9. Select Add Action and search for “run shortcut.” Open Run Shortcut and tap the word “Shortcut,” then select the shortcut you made for your first wallpaper. Select Next.
10. Switch the “Ask before running” toggle to the Off position. This stops you from getting a notification every time the wallpaper changes. Select Done.
11. Repeat for each wallpaper and time slot.
For Android users
Many Android devices have a built-in feature for wallpaper rotation:
- Long-press on your home screen and select Wallpapers or Wallpaper settings.
- Look for an option like Wallpaper rotation or Auto-change wallpaper.
- Select the folder containing your wallpapers.
- Set the rotation interval to match your desired schedule.
If your device doesn't have this feature, you look for a third-party wallpaper app from the Google Play store—search for “wallpaper changer.”
Tips and troubleshooting
- Consider how each wallpaper will transition into the next. To ensure smooth transitions between wallpapers, try to maintain similar color schemes or gradually shift colors from one wallpaper to the next.
- Create variants for different screen sizes. If you're using the same wallpaper across your mobile and desktop devices, consider creating vertical and horizontal variants of each wallpaper so they’re optimized for each device’s aspect ratio.
- Monitor your mobile battery life. On mobile devices, be mindful that frequent wallpaper changes might have a minor impact on battery life. Adjust your schedule accordingly if you notice any significant drain.
- Make seasonal adjustments as needed. Remember to update your wallpaper rotation times with the changing seasons, especially if you've incorporated sunrise/sunset themes.
Stay inspired throughout the day with Microsoft Designer
You now know how to create dynamic wallpapers using Microsoft Designer’s wallpaper maker and your device’s built-in settings. The only thing left to do is play! Pick a theme or style for your first wallpaper set and start experimenting with prompts to see your vision through.
Don’t hold back or second-guess yourself—the more wallpapers you create, the more you’ll learn about the styles and strategies that work best for you. You can always make multiple slideshows or add more images and time intervals to the one you’re currently working on.
Give the wallpaper maker a try today and create the perfect wallpaper for every mood and time of day!