Smashing Magazine

Selected Wallpapers: For Desktop & Web-Design

December 7th, 2006

Creative wallpapers can serve as a nice source of inspiration. Particularly if you are having another creativity block, but don’t really have enough time to take a walk or browse through Flickr pools. However, it isn’t easy to find some really nice wallpapers - the choise is too big, and there are simply too many sources.

Spread the word - digg it and save it!

Over the last few days we’ve searched for the best posters, wallpapers, galleries and background images on the Web and collected them in an overview below. Especially Mac-Users will find some nice sources. Feel free to suggest further resources in the comments section.

• Art. Lebedev Studio Posters
  Cool arty barcode posters/wallpapers - in sizes up to 1600×1200
• Greg Martin
  Gallery of Art - great Wallpapers in sizes up to 2560 x 1024
• Greg Martin 2
  Great Wallpapers by Greg Martin in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Patrick Bennett
  Free Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1600 × 1050
• Blatte’s Backgrounds
  Original, free fractal backgrounds and wallpapers in sizes up to 2560 x 1600
• Blurburger Desktops
  Cartooney wallpapers - in sizes up to 1920 x 1200
• BSDnexus
  OpenBSD, FreeBSD and NetBSD wallpapers - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Caedes Desktop Backgrounds
  A collection of great desktop wallpaper and desktop backgrounds. Over 12000 images: photography, 3D computer art, fractal, abstracts, nature, and space - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Design Wallpapers
  Free Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1280 x 1024
• Desktopography
  Wallpapers For Designers - in sizes up to 1280 x 1024
• deviantART Wallpaper
  Great Wallpapers in 27 categories: Fractals, Vector, Fantasy, Dark, Games, Automotive, Abstract, Anime, Freehand, Light, Minimalistic, Landscapes, Science Fiction, Technical, Tiles, Multi Display, Females, Music, Macabre & Horror, 3 Dimensional
• Dieselstation
  Exotic Car Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1900×1200
• Digital Blasphemy Free 3D Wallpapers
  Free 3D wallpaper - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200, and 1920 x 1200 (widescreen)
• Outer Space Wallpaper
  Outer Space pictures for Windows desktop wallpaper - in sizes up to 1024 X 768
• pimpmydesk - desktop customizing
  Resources for Windows, Mac & Linux, you can find here wallpapers, desktop customizing, windows icons, mac icons, windnows customizing, guikit, themes, msstyles, stylr toolbar, visual styles, vista styles…
• Dual Screen Wallpaper
  Free Dual Screen Wallpapers in 5 categories: nature, abstract, space, Random, vehicles - in sizes up to 2650×1024
• endeffect 2006 - RIOT!
  Cool Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1600×1200
• eWallpapers.net
  Free wallpapers,desktop wallpapers, divided into categories: 3D, Aircrafts/Planes, Animals, Anime, Girls, Cars, Computers, Games, Holidays, Motorcycles, Movies, Music, Nature, Sports, World - in sizes up to 2560 x 1600
• e-wallpapers.info
  The best wallpapers on the net - divided into categories: Abstract, Cartoon, Cold Colors, Dark, Fantasy, Landscapes, Light, Mac OS X, Minimalistic, Nature, Sky, Warm Colors, Widescreen, Windows Vista
• Firefox Wallpapaers
  Cool FireFox Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Flickr’s Desktop Wallpaper Pool
  Over 2,608 Flickr users have posted their favorite wallpaper photos. Minimum 1024×768 resolution
• National Geographic
  National Geographic Wallpapers divided into categories: animals, archaeology and paleontology, black-and white photography, people, science and technology, underwater, culture, history
• Free Movie Wallpaper
  James Bond, Star Trek, Borat, Harry Potter, Rocky and some more.
• Graffiti Wallpaper
  Free high-quality desktop wallpaper in 10 categories: Animal, Flower, Graffiti, Landscape, Plant, Random, Statue, Texture, Tree - in sizes up to 1920 x 1200
• GuiKit
  GUI Kit searches the web daily and posts links and previews to all the latest and greatest wallpapers, icons, and themes (via digg)
• HubbleSite
  Plaster snapshots of the universe across your computer screen. Wallpaper lets you wander the universe from your desktop.
• InterfaceLIFT
  Free High-Resolution Widescreen Wallpaper -in sizes up to 2560×1600
• joejoe’s Wallpapers
  A huge selection of great wallpapers, divided into categories: Abstract, Animals, Apple, Black and White, Desert, City, Grass, Landscape, Mac, Leaves, Plants, Sky, Snow, Space, Water, Sunsets
• k a n d i . h i t
  Wow! Cool Wallpapers - Jason Brooks and Hed Kandi Pictures
• Jeffrey Klassen - Infrared
  Amazing infrared photo gallery. These infrared photos/wallpapers are absolutely beautiful! - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Jeffrey Klassen - Water
  These water drop photos/wallpapers are amazing! - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Klowner’s Wallpapers
  Collection of Linux wallpapers and others - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• MediaInspiration Wall Papers
  Free Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1024 X 768
• meomi design
  Free Wallpapers: Octonauts, Endangered Animals & Meomi Cuties - in sizes up to 1280 x 1024
• Pixelgirl
  Desktop Images - in sizes up to 1920×1200
• Simpsons Wallpapers
  Bart, Homer, Marge, Mr.Burns - Simpsons & Springfield Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1280 x 960
• skeedz.com - wallpaper
  High quality wallpapers - in sizes up to 1280 x 1024
• Socksoff
  Free high quality wallpapers for Windows and Mac - in sizes up to 1600×1200
• Space.com
  Wallpapers for your Desktop in categories: Apollo, Mars, Moon, Earth, Hubble Space Telescope, 3-D Space Art, Stars and Galaxies, Solar System, Saturn’s Rings - in sizes up to 1280 x 1024
• Michael Swanson
  Macro Wallpaper Images - in sizes up to 1920 x 1200
• teknoel
  Design Desktops. Great desktop wallpapers in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Terra Galleria
  20 Free Wallpapers pictures from the Terra Galleria photo gallery - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Travel Wallpapers
  Free Travel Wallpapers in 5 categories: 5 categories: The Beach, Blue, Landscapes, Cities, Towns & Buildings, Images of Gods - in sizes up to 1024 X 768
• Vector Desktop Wallpapers
  Vector Desktop Wallpapers by David Lanham - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Waldo’s Wallpaper
  Ultra High resolution original 3D computer desktop wallpapers
• Wallpaper at 555 [DESIGN]
  Free Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1024 x 768
• Zeldman Presents: Desktop Pictures | Wallpaper
  Desktop images for your pleasure - in sizes up to 1600 x 1024
• Vladstudio - Wallpapers Gallery
  Free desktop wallpapers, high resolution, widescreen and dual-monitor images - in sizes up to 2560 x 1600
• Wallpapers
  Free Widescreen Desktop Wallpapers by Steve Truett -in sizes up to 2560 x 1600

Mac Wallpapers

• Desktopia
  Freeware - Desktopia is a brand new customization concept for MacOS X: if you are one of those that are always seeking for a new ways to improve the look of your mac then desktopia is the right choice. hanks to it’s very simple and unobtrusive interface you will be able to configure desktopia to automatically change your desktop picture based on a specified time of the day.
• OSXplanet Project
  OSXplanet is a cocoa program that is based on the popular program, xplanet (by Hari Nair). It is able to generate live images of the earth as well as other planets in the solar system with additional informations such as the current clouds, storms, satellites, volcanos, earthquakes and times and locations of cities.
• Apple OS X Wallpapers
  Mac OS X Default Aqua, Abstract, Nature Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1280 x 1024 and wide screen
• Blue Crystal 7
  The “Blue Crystal” desktop collection contains a bunch of elegant, high quality wallpapers. The 7th edition of the blue crystal desktop collection is inspired by the amazing default desktops included in Apple’s Mac OS 10.4 Tiger and contains three high resolution (2560×1600) desktops - Aqua, Aqua light and Graphit.
• deviantArt
  Mac/PC OS Wallpaper - in sizes up to 1920 x 1200
• Wallpapers - abstract and digital art
  Abstract and digital art wallpapers - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• joejoe’s Wallpapers
  48 Mac Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• MacDesktops.net
  Apple/Mac based wallpapers - in sizes up to 2499 x 1550 (login required)
• MacDesktop.com
  Mac Desktop pictures - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200
• Tux’n'tosh
  Mac/Linus Desktop Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1280 x 854
• Mac OS X Tiger Wallpapers
  Free Tiger Wallpapers - in sizes up to 2560 x 1600
• The Apple Collection
  Mac Desktop Pictures with Apple Logos. Wallpapers - in sizes up to 1920 x 1200
• Think different
  Here you find some nice Desktop Pictures for the Mac, Think different, Apple and more - in sizes up to 1600 x 1200