Reimagining Unsplash on Mobile: How I Envision Wallpapers, Photography, and Discovery on Mobile

A sneak peak into the UI✨

About Unsplash

Unsplash is widely used as a source for high-quality wallpapers and visual inspiration. For many users, it’s a daily destination for discovering images; for photographers, it’s a platform to showcase work and reach a global audience.

Disclaimer

This is a personal, self-initiated design project created for learning and exploration purposes and is not affiliated with or commissioned by Unsplash.

Why I Explored This Project?

I’ve been using Unsplash for over five years, both on the web and through third-party mobile apps. Unsplash has always been my go-to whether I’m looking for wallpapers, exploring photography for inspiration, or sharing my own work as a photographer by hobby. The experience has consistently been clean, generous, and reliable.

PC- Lance Anderson on unsplash

The existing unsplash client mobile apps are functional and do a good job, but as my use of Unsplash grew, for wallpapers, creative inspiration, and photography I found myself imagining a more cohesive and intuitive mobile experience. With such a vast and high-quality collection, I wanted to explore ways the app could better serve both users and photographers, making discovery feel more fluid and the overall experience more intentional.

What Do People Use Unsplash client Mobile Apps For?

• Discovering wallpapers for personal devices
• Finding visual inspiration for creative work
• Exploring photography styles and collections
• Following and learning from photographers

The Key Challenges I Addressed

• Image discovery on mobile is rigid and keyword-dependent
• Photographer profiles lack clear paths to opportunity
• Third party mobile UI feels functional but not engaging or inspirational
• Creators receive exposure, but limited direct support

🔍 Brainstorming

To broaden my perspective, I explored existing Unsplash client apps, popular wallpaper apps, and photography platforms. Most mobile experiences optimized for fast downloads, but very few encouraged exploration, storytelling, or meaningful creator engagement. Discovery was almost always keyword-driven, which felt restrictive given the scale and diversity of Unsplash’s content.

Competitive & Pattern Analysis

• I studied Pinterest and VSCO to understand mobile visual discovery patterns
• Focused on low-intent browsing, content hierarchy, and inspiration-driven exploration
• Identified common patterns like feeds, collections, and subtle recommendations
• Analyzed how minimal UI supports seamless discovery without breaking flow

Curated visual references

I started with a dark theme, but eventually chose not to go in that direction

Early visual exploration in dark mode

Why I did not go with dark theme for the whole experience 🌌

I chose not to design the entire Unsplash experience in dark mode because Unsplash is primarily a photography-first product where images not the interface should take visual priority. A dark theme, while visually appealing, can alter color perception and reduce the neutrality needed when viewing and evaluating photographs.

A minimal interface keeps the focus on the images, preserves color accuracy, and aligns better with Unsplash’s calm, editorial identity — making the experience feel more like a gallery than an app UI

Colors & Typography

Onboarding

You open Unsplash for the first time. No long sign-ups, no forced preferences. You’re gently welcomed and immediately invited to explore wallpapers, photography, and collections while the app quietly learns what catches your eye.

Onboarding begins in a darker, mood-driven space, designed to slow the user down and draw them into the world of photography. It sets an emotional tone first, so that when the experience opens into a lighter, image-led home, it feels intentional and grounded.

🏠Home screen and the flow

The home screen is designed to be calm, minimal, and image-first. Its primary role is to let photography speak before the interface does.

Home This is the primary discovery space. It surfaces high-quality photographs and wallpapers, allowing users to browse freely and find inspiration without a specific goal in mind.

Collections Collections act as an organizational layer. Users can save, group, and revisit images for inspiration, reference, or future use, making Unsplash feel more intentional and personal over time.

Following This section creates a more personal experience. It shows new work from photographers the user follows, helping them stay connected to creators they care about and encouraging ongoing engagement.

Search and categories

Categories act as guided entry points into Unsplash’s vast library. They help users browse by theme, style, or use-case without needing to know the exact keywords upfront.

By separating search into categorized browsing, the experience reduces friction and helps users find relevant content faster, especially when their intent is exploratory rather than specific.

Following and collections

Following surfaces work from photographers the user already follows, making it easier to revisit familiar styles and creators.

Collections provides quick access to saved images, helping users reference past inspiration while exploring new content.

Anatomy of the Bottom Navigation Bar

🌎AI-Assisted Image Discovery

To make discovery more intuitive on mobile, I introduced an AI-assisted flow that helps users find the right images faster by understanding intent, not just keywords

Unsplash’s library is vast and incredibly high in quality, which is both its biggest strength and its biggest challenge on mobile. While keyword search works well, it often requires users to already know what to search for. As someone who uses Unsplash for wallpapers, creative inspiration, and photography reference, I wanted discovery to feel more fluid and intuitive.

Allows users to describe what they’re looking for in natural language instead of relying only on keywords

Reduces friction when navigating a vast image library

💼Hiring Photographers Within the App

While Unsplash already enables hiring photographers on the web, this capability is missing from most mobile experiences. I brought this feature directly into the app by integrating a “Hire” action on photographer profiles.

In this concept, I brought the hire functionality directly into the photographer’s profile on mobile, making it a natural next step after discovery. Once users explore a photographer’s style, body of work, and credibility, they can seamlessly reach out for paid projects or collaborations without leaving the app.

While Unsplash’s web experience already allows users to connect with photographers, I wanted to thoughtfully adapt this capability for a mobile-first context. The goal was to make hiring feel natural, lightweight, and intentional not transactional or overwhelming.

In this flow, users are guided through a simple form that captures only what truly matters. They can specify their budget, choose the photography category relevant to their requirement, and add a personal note to explain context or expectations. This keeps communication clear while respecting the photographer’s time.

Contributing Back to the Community ✌️

Unsplash thrives because photographers are willing to share their work openly. This section focuses on making contribution feel just as natural on mobile as discovery.

The sharing flow is designed to be simple and respectful of the creator’s effort🌱

The sharing flow begins directly from the home screen, where a clear “+” CTA makes contributing feel accessible without interrupting browsing. Placing this action at the top level reinforces sharing as a core part of the Unsplash experience, not a secondary feature.

By lowering the barrier to contribution on mobile, the app supports a healthier creative ecosystem. Photographers can share more consistently, users benefit from fresh content, and Unsplash continues to grow as a community-driven platform built on generosity and creativity.

Scope of the Case Study

This case study explores a conceptual, mobile-first Unsplash experience, with a focus on how people discover, engage with, and contribute photography on mobile.

• 📱 Emphasis on discovery, inspiration, and creator support
• 🎨 Focused on UX flows, interaction design, and visual direction

The goal is to showcase design thinking and product reasoning through a personal exploration

Conclusion

This project began with a simple, real user question: How can discovering and sharing photography on mobile feel as intuitive and joyful as the creative process itself?

Through this exploration, I learned how:

• Thoughtful interfaces reduce friction
• Purposeful flows guide users without overwhelming them
• Subtle intelligence, like AI-assisted discovery, can enhance creativity
• More than designing screens, this project is about connection:
• 📸 Connecting people with visuals that move them
• 🤝 Giving creators clearer paths to be seen, supported, and engaged with

What’s presented here isn’t a final product, but a design vision — one where mobile experiences feel intentional, inclusive, and genuinely empowering for both users and photographers.

I hope this case study not only reflects how I think and build as a designer, but also sparks ideas around what’s possible when we design for discovery, creativity, and community ✨

Thanks for taking the time to explore this case study This was a personal project driven by curiosity, photography, and a desire to design better mobile experiences. I appreciate you reading through my thoughts and design decisions.

If this sparked an idea, question, or feedback, I’d genuinely enjoy continuing the conversation. You can find me on **LinkedIn , Behance , Dribble **feel free to reach out ✨📸

👀Feel free to view the full design file in Figma

Have a look at the figma prototype as well

Appreciate you being here till the end 😀