Using Keynote to create wallpapers for iPhone 6+
Creating wallpapers for iPhone 6+ is easy from the device, just find an image you like, save it, then go to Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper. However, if you want to create wallpapers that take into account some of the specific design elements of either the lock screen or the home screen, you can use this shared Keynote Presentation.
In order to make best use of this presentation, you'll need to make sure that both "Show guides at object center" and "Show guides at object edges" are selected under Rulers in Preferences. Also, as this is designed for the precise location of the screen objects, you will need to do one of the following when setting an image created from this presentation:
- Turn off Perspective Zoom while setting the image, then pinch the image smaller. This will properly center the image. OR
- Enable Reduce Motion (Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion) enabling Reduce Motion automatically disables Perspective Zoom
Parts of the iOS interface uses motion to give a sense of space and removing those motions can be disorienting. Choose the option that best suits you. Option 2 also defeats the DockPeek effect (described below).
This presentation comes with 4 Masters:
Home Set Up, Home + Name Set Up, Lock Set Up and Export.
Home Set Up:
This is for creating wallpapers that focus on the outline of each possible icon location. The objects on the Master slide are there to help you to align your design elements. On Side 2, there's an example of a neon-tube design that rings each icon location.
Home + Name Set Up:
This is for creating wallpapers that have design elements in between the icons vertically. The larger boxes include spacing for the Name of the application below the icon. Anything you put in this gap will visually look centered between one icon, it's name, and the icon below it. Slide 4 shows an example where the neon tubes rest between each row of icons.
Lock Set Up:
This is for creating wallpapers that focus on the design elements of the Lock screen. It includes locations for:
Status Bar and widget for grabbing the Notification Center
The Time plus Date and Battery capacity area
The stripe where > slide to unlock displays, including a subsection of that stripe which fits just the "slide to unlock" and "try again" text
And the Continuity badge, the widget for grabbing the Control Center and the "launch Camera from unlock" badge
Slide 9 includes an example where a design element wraps around the time/date and the slide to unlock text
Export:
Once you've created the design you like, change the Master of the slide you're working on to "Export". That will remove all of the background slide elements prior to exporting the slide as an image. When you Export, be sure to select just the slide you want exported. If not, it will create all of the slides, and you'll have to delete the extras.
On slides 5-7, I've includes some helper shapes.
Slide 5: A set of properly shaped rounded rectangles that are very close to the actual shape of the onscreen icons.
Slide 6: The shapes "subtracted" from a screen sized rectangle. You can use this shape to mask an image or as a color highlight or drop shadow target.
Slide 7: The shapes "united" to form one shape. This can be used with the Advanced gradient fill (and the prior slides) for different effects.
Landscape Mask:
On slide 10, I've included a Landscape orientation mask shape. If you're creating a design and you want to make sure that the central elements are included even when the iPhone 6+ is in Landscape orientation, you can use this shape as a guide. Anything not covered by the shape is viewable in both orientations.
DockPeek:
On slide 11, I've added a DockPeek mask shape. You can use this shape as a guide to place graphic design elements that will be obscured by the dock normally but will be displayed when the view is zoomed (as when viewing a folder of icons). Slide 12 includes a sample design which takes advantage of the DockPeek effect to reveal a key portion of an optical illusion.