The Many Shades Of July (2021 Desktop Wallpapers Edition)

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Cosima has been an editor at SmashingMag since 2013. Whenever she’s not writing articles for the weekly Smashing Newsletter, she’s probably working on a …

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Often, it’s the little things that inspire us and that we treasure most. The sky shining in the most beautiful colors as a seemingly endless summer day comes to an end, riding your bike through a light rain shower on a hot July afternoon, or maybe it’s a scoop of your favorite ice cream that refuels your batteries? No matter what big and small adventures July will have in store for you this year, our new batch of wallpapers is bound to cater for some inspiration along the way.

More than ten years ago, we started this wallpapers series to bring you a new selection of beautiful, unique, and inspiring wallpapers every month. It’s a community effort, made possible by artists and designers from all across the globe who challenge their creative skills to cater for some good vibes on your screens. And, well, it wasn’t any different this time around.

In this post, you’ll find their wallpapers for July 2021. All of them come in versions with and without a calendar and can be downloaded for free. A huge thank-you to everyone who submitted their artworks — we sincerely appreciate it! As a little bonus goodie, we also compiled some favorites from past July editions at the end of this post. Maybe you’ll discover one of your almost-forgotten favorites in there, too? Happy July!

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Against The Current

“‘I don’t care that they stole my idea. I care that they don’t have any of their own.’ July 10th marks 165 years since the birth of Nikola Tesla, inventor, engineer, and futurist who helped shape the world as we know it today. Tesla’s inventions brought electricity to all corners of the world, paved the way for wireless communication, and revolutionized energy production. But underneath all the discoveries and the good they brought, Tesla’s life is shrouded in mystery. His dream of free wireless energy, research on understanding the aether, and the enigmatic disappearance of his records leaves many questions unanswered.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Less Busy Work, More Fun!

Sun At Dawn

Ocean Full Of Stars

“I wanted to make something that reminded me of summer but I wanted to keep that dark and cozy vibe, so I decided to go with a whale swimming through space. Summer for me is a time to be free from responsibilities like school and to just hang around, which is what I wanted to make.” — Designed by Ilse van Dinther from the Netherlands.

Artemis And Athena

4th Of July And Apollo 11

“I’m a huge space nerd and wanted to celebrate the Apollo 11 moon landing in tandem with Independence Day.” — Designed by Jelle Guit from the Netherlands.

Colorful Summer

4th Of July

Bentley Bentayga Speed

How do we make design systems work? In his upcoming Smashing workshop on Successful Design Systems, Brad Frost explains how to plan, execute and maintain a successful design system at your organization. Online, and live. June 29 – July 13, 2021.

Oldies But Goodies

To make your July even more colorful, we compiled some wallpaper goodies from past years’ editions below. Please note that these designs don’t come with a calendar.

Riding In The Drizzle

“Rain has come, showering the existence with new seeds of life. Everywhere life is blooming, as if they were asleep and the falling music of raindrops have awakened them. Feel the drops of rain. Feel this beautiful mystery of life. Listen to its music, melt into it.” — Designed by DMS Software from India.

Strive For Progress, Not Perfection

“I created this wallpaper as a daily reminder that it’s better to take one small step towards my goal every day than to do nothing at all out of fear that it won’t be perfect. I hope you enjoy it and it helps you keep motivated every day!” — Designed by Andrew from the United States.

Taste Like Summer!

“In times of clean eating and the world of superfoods there is one vegetable missing. An old, forgotten one. A flower actually. Rare and special. Once it had a royal reputation (I cheated a bit with the blue). The artichocke — this is my superhero in the garden! I am a food lover — you too? Enjoy it — dip it!” — Designed by Alexandra Tamgnoué from Germany.

Day Turns To Night

July Rocks!

Alentejo Plain

“Based in the Alentejo region, in the south of Portugal, where there are large plains used for growing wheat. It thus represents the extensions of the fields of cultivation and their simplicity. Contrast of the plain with the few trees in the fields. Storks that at this time of year predominate in this region, being part of the Alentejo landscape and mentioned in the singing of Alentejo.” — Designed by José Guerra from Portugal.

“Since I’m a big fan of Mid-Century Modern design, I changed George Nelson’s Starburst clock with 12 points — a fitting schematic of the sun with a spot-on summertime color palette — into a ‘sundial calendar’ with 31 points, one for each day of July. Illustrator’s Polar Grid tool helped get the spacing just right, and I retained the construction lines because the extra layer appealed to me. The warm yellow background is borrowed from his Kangaroo chair, and the typographic choice references the cover of Pentagram’s monograph, ‘George Nelson On Design.’” — Designed by Brian Frolo from Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Ice Cream vs. Hot Dog

“It’s both ‘National Ice Cream Month’ and ‘National Hot Dog Month’ over in the US, which got me thinking — which is better? With this as your wallpaper, you can ponder the question all month!” — Designed by James Mitchell from the UK.

Night Sky Magic

“The wallpaper which I created consists of my personal sketches of Polish herbs and flowers. I wanted it to be light and simple with a hint of romantic feeling. I hope you’ll enjoy it!” — Designed by Beata Kurek from Poland.

An Intrusion Of Cockroaches

“Ever watched Joe’s Apartment when you were a kid? Well, that movie left a soft spot in my heart for the little critters. Don’t get me wrong: I won’t invite them over for dinner, but I won’t grab my flip flop and bring the wrath upon them when I see one running in the house. So there you have it… three roaches… bringing the smack down on that pesky human… ZZZZZZZAP!!” — Designed by Wonderland Collective from South Africa.

Summer Never Ends!

“July is a very special month to me — it’s the month of my birthday and of the best cherries.” — Designed by Igor Izhik from Canada.

“July often brings summer heat and we all wish for something cold to take it away… If you take a closer look, you will see an ice cream melting from the sunset. Bon appetite!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

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