How to make iOS 14 aesthetic with custom app icons

iOS 14’s most popular feature has quickly become the all-new widgets that can give your iPhone a personalized touch. However, going further than that, custom iOS 14 aesthetics have become a huge trend. We’ve already covered how to create ultra-customized widgets with Widgetsmith. The other big part is making your app icons tie everything together. Follow along for how to make an iOS 14 aesthetic with custom app icons.

Going for an iOS 14 aesthetic can create a really unique look for your iPhone‘s home screen. There are a couple of ways to go about it: you can find the icons/images you want to use yourself or you can buy an icon set that has the aesthetic you’re looking for. We’ll cover some of the options below as well as the full process of using the Shortcuts app to actually create your new custom app icons.

Also, be sure to check out our hands-on tutorial walking through creating custom iOS 14 widgets with Widgetsmith:

How to make iOS 14 aesthetic with custom app icons

One option is to search the web for the app icon(s) you want, for example, “clock icons” or “clock icons aesthetic”
In the example below I’m using the free images available at icons8.com. On iPhone, you can long-press on images and choose the Add to Photos option.
A faster way to create your iOS 14 aesthetic is to buy an icon set and save them all to the Photos app or the Files app on your iPhone.
Popular options are rapidly showing up on Etsy and Pinterest with many of them ranging from $5-$15.
Now that you have new icons/images you’d like to use, open the Shortcuts app (free from Apple if you don’t already have it)
Tap the “+” icon in the top right corner — Tap Add Action — Search for Open App, and tap it — and then tap Choose highlighted in blue
Now choose the app you’re creating a custom icon for
After picking the app, tap the three-dot icon in the top right corner — tap Shortcut Name at the top and enter one — now tap Add to Home Screen
Tap Shortcut Name again and enter what you’d like (could be the same as the original app or your own custom name
Now tap the icon to the left of the name you just entered — now tap Choose Photo (or Choose File if you downloaded an icon to your iPhone)
Now find and tap the icon or photo you’d like to use
You can adjust it in the frame to make sure it’s centered or zoom in by pinching and dragging — tap Add in the top right corner — now tap Done
Now head to your home screen or last app page to see the new app shortcut with your custom icon
Press and hold the app to enter jiggle mode to move it wherever you’d like
Head back to the Shortcuts app, and tap Done two times to get back to the main screen
Repeat the process for all the apps you’d like — you can also tap the three-dot icon on any you’ve already done to change the icon or name

Something to keep in mind when you make an iOS 14 aesthetic with the Shortcuts app/custom icons, when you tap them to launch an app you will briefly see the Shortcuts app on your iPhone before it opens the app linked to it. It’s a bit clunky, but it’s the price we have to pay for a custom iOS 14 aesthetic (at least as long as Apple doesn’t allow changing icons of the actual apps).