How to Create Your Own Nova Launcher Theme

If y'all love footling with your Android device, chances are, you are well enlightened of Nova launcher. While there are tons of great launchers available for Android, Nova launcher is arguably the best out of the lot. The launcher app brings tons of customization options merely if at that place's one thing information technology lacks, it's a theme store. Some people will argue that there'southward no need of a theme shop in Nova launcher because you tin easily create Nova Launcher themes. Well, we concord with information technology, equally information technology'southward pretty easy to create a Nova launcher theme or setup.

So, if y'all accept been wondering all along about the cool Nova launcher themes, don't worry, we are going to tell you everything about it. And so, without any farther ado, here are the steps to create a Nova launcher theme:

Before you lot start, you volition apparently have to install the Nova launcher from the Google Play Store. You can try the free version to go started simply most of the cool options are available in Nova Launcher Prime ($4.99). As well, make sure to make Nova your default launcher. To do it, go to Settings->Home or Settings->Apps and striking the settings cog and then check "Default Apps".

i. Set a cute Wallpaper of your choice

Your homescreen wallpaper is the base of operations of your Nova launcher theme, every bit y'all will have to choose the other elements based on your wallpaper. Thus, it's of import to choose a wallpaper that looks cute and can stand the exam of fourth dimension. For our theme, nosotros used a flat-looking minimalist wallpaper dubbed "Matexial 28" from the Wallrox wallpaper app.

Wallrox wallpaper-compressed

While we kept things uncomplicated, it's not necessary for you to do the same. You can choose highly detailed and customizable wallpapers from the likes of KLWP, Muzei, although these apps can go highly complicated at times. Y'all can also choose among the various wallpapers in apps like Zedge, Backgrounds Hard disk or y'all tin bank check out some amazing live wallpaper apps.

2. Install an Icon Pack that Compliments the Wallpaper

There are a plethora of astonishing icon packs bachelor for Android merely you will have to choose an icon pack that goes well with the wallpaper. Information technology's important that the icons don't await out of identify confronting the wallpaper. We chose the Voxel icon pack for our theme, considering information technology brings a flat pattern and our wallpaper is on the same lines. Plus, nosotros like the unified foursquare icons that Voxel brings. To change icons in Nova, go to Nova Settings->Look & feel->Icon theme and select the icon pack you desire.

However, you can choose your very own icons and we'd advise you the likes of Merus, Aurora, Elun, Nimbbi, Polycon etc. You can as well cheque out our postal service on the twenty best icon packs available for Android.

3. Add good-looking and functional widgets

Widgets non but bring functionality and information right to your homescreen but they likewise bring a touch of beauty. Then, y'all can add some beautiful widgets to enhance you Nova launcher theme. In fact, in our theme, we used quite a few widgets. We used the very popular Zooper Widget Pro app to add i of its standard template widgets dubbed "DaveDate".

We too created a custom widget of our own through Zooper to show organization info like battery and storage. We used a scalable icon set to show the battery icon, rich text for the battery details and simple text to show storage details. Zooper offers a ton of options, similar to KLWP, and so you can customize a widget the way you like.

Forth with the couple of Zooper widgets, we added a music histrion widget with Shuttle, which brings y'all a couple of widget layouts along with options to edit transparency, colors, groundwork and text. With the music role player widget, we also used one of the 1Weather weather widgets. In the 1Weather widget, we chose the Background to be transparent, Icon Set & Emphasis to be Black and the Clock ace "Custom". Lastly, we also added a Google Continue widget to our theme.

Shuttle and 1Weather widgets-compressed

Notation : We used Black text on all our widgets to requite the widgets a practiced contrast against the low-cal wallpaper and colorful icons from Voxel.

Like near other things, at that place are various cool widgets bachelor for Android, so you can choose on your own. If you need assistance, check out our list of 17 best Android widgets.

4. Fiddle with Nova Launcher options

Your Nova launcher theme might already be looking beautiful merely yous need to add some finishing touches with some Nova launcher settings. It's of import that you know all the cool Nova launcher options because that's what it takes to refine your theme. So, here it goes:

Desktop

Nova launcher lets you customize the desktop aka homescreen of Android to the hilt. In Nova Settings->Desktop, you can change the icon filigree (the number of icons you can fit), icon layout (icon size, fonts etc.), width & acme padding (space betwixt icons), search bar styles, folio indicators & color, wallpaper scrolling and more. Yous tin likewise check out the various scroll furnishings (bill of fare stack, tablet, glass, wipe etc.) that brand a huge difference in the user feel. There are besides options to overlap widgets, lock desktop and more.

Nova Settings Desktop Homescreen

For our theme, nosotros fiddled with but a few options. We set the desktop grid size to "5×5", icon size to "110%" and font to "medium" in Icon layout, width & height padding to "None", turned off wallpaper scrolling and chose the "Wipe" scroll event.

App & widget drawers

You lot can likewise alter the app and widget drawers to adapt your needs. Nova brings you lot options to change the grid in the app drawer, drawer manner (list, horizontal, vertical) for apps and widgets, transition animation, ringlet effects and more than. You lot tin can likewise choose to see the app drawer in tab way, like the previous versions of the Android, group drawers and add a search bar. If y'all don't like the white background of the drawer, you tin can choose to take another image or just keep it transparent.

Nova Settings App Drawer

Our theme was more aimed at homescreen enhancements, so nosotros did not brand any changes to app & widget drawer settings. Even so, you can easily become alee and make the changes yous want.

Dock

Dock includes the icons that are attainable at the bottom in every homescreen folio. Nova lets you add pages to the dock and increase the number of icons in the dock. You tin can also alter the icon size, font, padding and enable "dock as overlay", which lets you lot toggle the dock with gestures. There'due south a absurd option to change the dock background too. If yous are not really a fan of dock, Nova lets y'all turn information technology off completely.

Nova Settings Dock

We changed the icon size in the Dock to 110% for our theme, to match the icon size to our homescreen icons.

Folders

Like the cool new Android North folders? Well, you tin have them with Nova launcher. You tin easily go to Nova Settings->Folders and modify how the binder and the icons inside expect. You lot can choose to have icons in stack, filigree, fan or line, while keeping folder groundwork to the Due north Preview manner or circle, square, disc etc. There are as well options to change transition of folders, groundwork and the icon layout.

Nova Settings Folders

Nosotros changed the folder preview to "Stack" and folder background to "Disc", to match the black contrast we used in the widgets.

Look & experience

Nova Settings->Look & experience is where the major activity lies. Hither, you tin cull the icon theme, scroll & blitheness speed (relaxed, stock, nova, fast, faster than light), app animations and even force a screen orientation, if that's what you want. If you lot don't like seeing the notification bar all the time, you lot tin can even turn it off. You can enable "Dark icons", which will brand the status/notification bar icons black.

Nova Settings Look and Feel

To give our theme that added zing, nosotros changed the blitheness speed to "Relaxed", to get a sidebar like animation while swiping to some other homescreen, thanks to the "Wipe" scroll effect. We besides enabled "Dark icons" to friction match our themes' widgets and icon labels.

Night mode

If you love night themes, you should alter the Night manner schedule to "Always" in Nova Settings->Night fashion. When the Night manner is turned on, y'all can enable the dark theme for Search bar, Drawer, Drawer icon and Folders.

Nova Settings Night Mode

Gestures and Unread count badges

Gestures are what make Nova launcher amazing! The launcher lets you choose actions for various swipe gestures (swipe upwards, swipe down, pinch in, pinch out, double tap, two finger swipes etc.), and then that you tin can launch apps, brand a phone call, search, use Google At present and do tons of other actions. Y'all can choose the actions you want because when it comes to gestures, to each his/her own.

Nova Settings Gestures and Unread badges

Unread count badges are no longer part of Android's interface but if you booed when they were removed, don't worry, Nova lets yous enable unread count badges and even customize them. In case you are unaware, unread count badges are used to allow you know the number of unread notifications for mails, SMSes etc. on the icons itself. To enable them though, you will have to install the TeslaUnread for Nova Launcher, which keeps track of the unread count on apps. Once enabled, yous can customize the position, size, style and colour of these badges.

Note : Information technology'south important to annotation hither that some features and options are limited to Nova Launcher Prime number, which is a paid app ($4.99). The Prime version packs in exclusive scroll effects (including the Wipe effect we used for our theme), gesture back up, ability to hide apps, icon swipes etc.

We just made changes in the desktop, dock, folders and await & feel settings of Nova for our theme. If you are curious almost how our theme looks like, take a wait below:

Nova Launcher Theme-compressed

Nova Launcher Theme 2

Similar what you lot run into? If yous do, you can easily follow the steps nosotros have mentioned to a higher place and get the theme on your device.

Hither'southward a quick video walkthrough of the Nova Launcher theme we created using the steps mentioned higher up:

SEE Likewise: 15 Cool CM13 Themes to Personalize Your CyanogenMod Experience

Offset creating your own Nova Launcher themes

Nosotros are pretty sure that y'all can now easily create your own Nova launcher theme. We will recommend you to first implement our theme to become a amend thought of how things work on certain apps. Once y'all have mastered the fine art of creating Nova launcher themes, exercise share the pictures of your theme with u.s. in the comments department below.