Desktop Bliss: 40+ Unique And Eye-catching Computer Wallpapers

The desktop wallpaper can say a lot about the computer’s owner. Sure, no one really buys a laptop to stare at their wallpaper, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to be boring. Your wallpaper is the first thing you see when you open up your computer and the last thing you see before turning it off for the day.

Some people prefer to use a personal picture that makes them smile at a fond memory. Others go for simple yet beautiful landscape images or even a picture from their favorite show. But there are some folks that think outside the box and get creative when choosing a desktop background.

In case you want to spice up your computer, you should definitely try to change your wallpaper into something more lively and eye-catching. To help with that, we’ve put together a list of 45 brilliantly chosen wallpapers that people shared online.

AAAH

If you’re reading this, we can assume you’ve been online enough times to have a browser preference. Chances are, you’re using Google Chrome or Firefox, or even Ecosia if you’re on mobile. It doesn’t matter what browser you’re using; the results are the same.

Well, unless you’re using Internet Explorer. Sure, it got us started on our journey on the web all those years ago, but it quickly started to lag behind. So much so that it was literally taken down last year. Rest in peace, Internet Explorer.

Star Wars

If you’re a Star Wars fan, you know exactly how iconic this dual-screen extended wallpaper is. If you’re not, honestly, you still probably know how epic this is. Whether you’re a Jedi or a Sith, this person’s got you covered.

This is the proper way to set up dual screens! We hope that the person who set this up uses the screens thematically. The left is for all the boring work stuff, and the right is the light-hearted fun stuff, like sneaking in an episode of The Mandalorian at work.

Put a ring on it

Star Wars is great, but it’s sadly not real. Don’t worry, astronomers, we have a background that’s perfect for you. This person really thought outside the box when setting up their computer, making use of all the desktop icons to complete the picture.

We could stare at this all day. The icons are so perfectly aligned to form the ring that it almost feels like it could rotate. This is one computer we’d never save anything to the desktop. You don’t want to mess with perfection!

What’s behind the curtain?

Large computer monitors are easier on your eyes, but there’s one major downside. You can’t see anything beyond your screen. If your desk is against a wall, it’s not much of a problem. But what if your workspace has a wonderful view?

This person made the best of a bad situation and put the obscured view right onto their screen. This almost feels like a life hack for people who have a monitor blocking their window. But you have to do it right, like this person did, and make sure even the windowpane is in the shot.

Want to play a game?

If you’ve never seen Saw, then this won’t make much sense. Here’s a bit of context: Billy the Puppet (pictured below) is the “mastermind” behind the terrifying tasks. One of the iconic lines is when he asks his victims if they “want to play a game.”

This is very on-brand with Saw. A “challenge” like this feels like it belongs in the movies. An array of shortcuts with the same logo, but only one of them is the real one? Finding the real Chrome here is a slow descent into madness.

Cookie Monster

C is for cookie, but isn’t it also for computers, too? Although Cookie Monster is marketed to children, he is a beloved character for people of all ages. Having him as your background is sure to put a smile on your face, but this person made it even better…

What a great use of desk baubles to up your wallpaper game! Well, we’re not sure if those pop-up eyes are some store-bought trinket, or if this clever computer user made them using ping pong balls and a Sharpie. We’re not judging! We’re just impressed at their dedication.

Nyan Cat

Wow, this takes us back. If you’ve never seen it, Nyan Cat is, in short, a viral YouTube video of a Pop-Tart/cat hybrid with a rainbow trail. We can’t help but feel old looking at this — Nyan Cat was released over a decade ago!

Given the setup, with the wires strewn everywhere, we’re guessing that these are some spare monitors. But this person didn’t let these unused screens go to waste. A happy Nyan Cat trailing its colorful rainbow is sure to make all of their coworkers smile. 

Peeping Tom

Every office has a busybody; that one person who can’t help but eavesdrop on almost any conversation, and gossip about it later. To be good at their “job,” gossips need to be sneaky and not be too obvious. However, this office’s busybody doesn’t seem to be very stealthy.

Or, maybe this isn’t some gossip addict. His head lines up way too well in this picture. But we love the creative use of a wallpaper that cuts off the top portion. Don’t you just hate it when the background doesn’t fit the screen perfectly?

Side Eye

Usually, creative monitors rely on the screens being side-by-side. But what if they don’t line up? This person knew what to do with one screen elevated above the other. You can’t go wrong with memes, especially when they’re executed this perfectly.

If you follow the line of sight between the man and the dog, their eyes line up perfectly. It also makes for the perfect background if you’re only using one screen. If you use only one screen, you can have a fun setup with either a man or a dog judging your work.

Bully

We can’t really tell for sure whether this wallpaper is supposed to be showing a dog pooping on Internet Explorer or pooping out Internet Explorer. Either way, we can’t stop laughing. This wallpaper takes “being the butt of a joke” too literally.

Honestly, we feel a little bad for Internet Explorer. It was such an iconic part of our internet experience, it feels wrong to make fun of it so much. But, IE bashing aside, setting up this wallpaper must have been awkward for anyone not in the know.

Shelf

This is so unique and fun! We would have never thought of organizing our apps and folders and other tiny icons like a shelf. Why is this so satisfying to look at? Maybe it’s the perfect lineup, or the recycling bin on the floor…

This one takes some careful planning. If your desktop is set to that the icons snap to a grid, you need to plan this one out well. In order to have the bookshelf look, you can’t have icons just floating everywhere! Though, for extra fun, maybe put PDFs of your favorite books on there, too.

Calvin & Hobbes

No matter what decade you grew up in, you’re probably familiar with some of the classic newspaper cartoons. Peanuts, Doonesbury, Hägar the Horrible, Dilbert, and Garfield were some of our favorites, but nothing compares to the adorable duo of Calvin and Hobbes.

With the move to digital media, we don’t get to see our favorite characters in their special spot in the daily newspaper. This person did the next best thing and put Calvin and Hobbes as their computer wallpaper. Even if you’re not a fan of comic strips, this is sure to brighten your day.

Peek-a-boo

Some people’s creativity never ceases to amaze us. We’re not sure if this person likes giraffes, or just wanted to try out a clever wallpaper design on their dual screens. And, honestly, we don’t care. We’re just enjoying the results.

It’s hard to get a good picture of a giraffe to fit onto a computer screen; they either end up being too small or cut off at some point. This person used the latter to their advantage and set up a curious little giraffe peeking over at their work.

Red pill or blue pill?

We all know the chicken or the egg conundrum — by the way, the answer is egg, since chickens are descendants of dinosaurs. In 1999, The Matrix introduced us to the next dilemma: blue pill or red pill? Now, in the 2020s, we have: Chrome or Firefox?

For many of you, it may seem like an inconsequential question. But it’s worth noting that your experience online will be different, depending on which browser you use. Sure, some of those differences are small, but they’re there. It’s certainly more difficult than answering: Chrome vs Internet Explorer.

Ganging up

At first glance, this is just a boring landscape background. But before you judge this person for being unoriginal, take a look at the figures on the bottom right. Don’t worry, no one was injured in making this hilarious setup. It’s just a stock image.

Poor Internet Explorer; he just can’t catch a break. Firefox is being mean, while Chrome just watches; even the recycling bin is joining in. Well, we do need to applaud the person who set this up. They got the icons perfectly lined up. Bravo!

A Sunny Disposition

Have you ever seen It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? If not, we highly recommend it. If nothing else, you’ll enjoy some wonderful Danny DeVito comedy. So, this It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia decided to get creative when setting up their dual screens.

It reminds us of the setup with the guy and the destructive dog. If you use only one screen, you get to have either Dennis or Charlie gasping at your work. Who are they to judge? No one in Paddy’s Pub works a desk job.

We See You

Before you look at this next one, we’ll provide a little bit of backstory. Apparently, the owner of this laptop had a lovely picture of (presumably) themself and their daughter. Cute, right? Well, their coworker decided to have some fun and made a minor tweak to the normal background.

Do you see it? The coworker must be excellent with Photoshop to sneak in his face in such a non-obvious way. If this detail wasn’t pointed out to us, we probably would’ve dismissed it as a cute photo. We wonder if he trolled any other coworkers with this edit.

Inception

Headache alert! This is one dizzying design. Better yet, this was a team effort, and we’re not just talking about the person that took the picture to share online. On the screen, we can see the person’s hand on the mouse, meaning that someone had to take the picture for him in order to get the right angle.

Could you imagine seeing this every day when you boot up your computer? We’d think that there was a glitch in the Matrix and the screens were broken. Thinking about it, this is a great prank if we lend our computer to someone. Apologies in advance to our coworkers.

Meep

Beaker’s face is basically our reaction to everything we dislike. So we’ve got to hand it to the wallpaper creator, they’ve used the muppet very aptly. The face of disgust is something we want to get tattooed. As you can see… 

The Internet Explorer bullying continues. This is the reaction we had when the browser was slow and just wasting our time. We wonder if Bunsen ever did experiments with Internet Explorer. Maybe this is just Beaker being traumatized from the various experiments he was forced to participate in.

Slam Dunk

We don’t know about you, but we prefer to keep the recycling bin icon in the corner of our screen. But we’ll let this one slide because the person made a hilarious setup with their wallpaper, even if the recycling bin blends in a little bit.

So far, people have been verbally dunking on Internet Explorer, but this person took it one step further. Okay, it’s just a shortcut, but the idea is what matters here. This setup is perfect for anything you hate. Files from your old workplace? Bad essays after you graduate? Dunk them!

Pug

Here’s another take on the green grass and blue sky classic windows wallpaper but they’ve added cows chilling and grazing around while a big-eyed pug stares at them. Not creepy at all… right? We love dogs, but maybe a little less when they’re staring like that. 

It’s not uncommon for pet lovers to have their beloved fur babies as their desktop background, but this is too much. Then again, maybe they’re so used to their pug glaring at them while at home, they needed to have that same begging look on their computer, too.

Hoo is this?

Forgive us for the owl pun, but we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to make that joke. Perhaps that’s what this person was going for with the wallpaper. Honestly, though, we’re surprised that they used the Chrome shortcut as the recipient of this owl’s ire.

Maybe he’s just uncomfortable at having the icon so close. Personal space, much? Perhaps this is some sly reference to companies tracking our internet activities. Nothing too sinister, but it can feel too close for comfort. How else would we get personalized ads, right?

What computer?

This person must have seen one of the earlier pictures we shared, where someone set their background as the beautiful they were missing out on. Well, there’s nothing special behind this monitor, but nonetheless it’s a shame to have the view blocked.

This took an artist’s eye to line up properly. Of course, the angle at which this picture was taken matters, but it still took time and planning to set up in the first place. It’s a bit dizzying, to be honest.

Simpsons

If you’re having trouble seeing it, we have two words for you: Spider Pig! In our opinion, the scene where Homer walks a pig along the ceiling while singing “Spider Pig” was one of the funniest scenes in The Simpsons Movie.  

This one also took a lot of dedication to put together. We can’t even imagine how many files and folders were created just to set this up. We hope that all of the important shortcuts are elsewhere, because finding a pdf in ther is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Memories

Ah, the twine and clothespin picture “frame.” We all know at least one person that used this method to decorate their dorm rooms. It’s such a simple concept, but the low maintenance is too appealing to pass up as just a weird fad.

Maybe this person was feeling nostalgic for that design. What we love the most about this layout is that they included some actual jpg images “clipped” on the clothesline. What a perfect way to mix the real world with the virtual world.

Darth Vader

Admittedly, this one doesn’t make use of icons or the real life scenery, but we had to include this one in the list. We can’t tell if this was Photoshopped, or if someone had a mini Darth Vader toy and a pet chipmunk — don’t judge. That’s actually possible!

This picture is both amusing and motivational. Seeing this picture at the start of your day is bound to fill you with energy. Whether you’re on the Dark Side and want to please Lord Vader, or you’re a Jedi and want to show him what’s good in the world; this background works for everyone.

Dance like there’s nobody watching

This one took some staring at to fully comprehend. First off, we are not really sure what the purpose of this weird dancer is. Is there some reference we’re missing here? Feel free to let us know. We’re very curious.

But this is certainly an interesting concept. This person must have really wanted a unique wallpaper. It took some time to place the limbs just right, and line up the icons to form that odd figure. It may not be our style, but it’s definitely some form of art. Kudos!

Curious cat

If there is one thing cats are known for, it’s being sneaky little fluffballs that cause mischief wherever they go. There is no place safe when you own a cat, not even with your computer — we’re not talking about kitties that like to nap on our keyboards.

This cat is a mood, to say the least. It sees something labeled “stuff” and can’t help but stare at it. We’re also curious. What’s in the folder? Is it funny? Is it a secret? We’re dying to know what stuff lies just beyond that folder.

Soccer field

If you’re a sports fan, you might choose to have your favorite team as your background. This person must not have been able to decide, so they picked their favorite sport as the wallpaper. They took it one step further and made this:

What surprises us the most about this setup is that they didn’t include Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or even Internet Explorer in their teams. Maybe they didn’t want to cause a stir and kept things as PC as possible on their PC.

Watching you

Did you think that people were done making fun of Internet Explorer? Nope. Here’s another creative computer user who wanted to mock the outdated search engine. And, as they’ve shown us, the best way to mock anything is with a meme.

Were they worried that the program was running things in the background? Certainly not. Maybe they’re just trying to show Internet Explorer who’s the boss in this computer. The only thing missing here is a Chrome or Firefox icon for the meme’s face.

The first rule…

If pets or sports aren’t your thing, maybe a screenshot from your favorite movie is the perfect wallpaper. And, what better way to implement it than making your desktop icons part of the scene. This person chose Tyler Durden from Fight Club for their background…

In the film, Tyler is pointing at the cigarette burn that is supposed to indicate a reel change. But, when used as a wallpaper, you can make him point at whatever you want. We’re not sure if the user is focusing on QuickTime (where they can watch Fight Club) or Internet Explorer (to make fun of it).

Nice legs

This one wasn’t planned, but we’re glad that it was shared anyway. We can’t see what the original background is. If we had to guess, it’s probably a video game character. As this person shared online, they were watching Brooklyn 99 when this happened…

The person who shared this didn’t reveal if they moved the Netflix window to fit the background’s legs where Holt’s should be, or if this was just a happy accident. To be honest, we don’t care. This just shows you that you can sometimes have a fun wallpaper, even if you don’t mean to.

Transparent

Is there a trend of making your desktop look transparent through the clever use of wallpapers? We’re not sure how we feel about it, but it’s definitely making the Matrix seem more real. We can just imagine reaching our hand through the screen and touching the window on the other side.

Was it an accident that they left a few rubber bands in the corner of the desk? To be honest, having them there somehow makes it feel more real. Perhaps it’s because the rest of the desk has some stuff strewn about, it would make sense for a rubber band to fly through the screen.

Milky

This person saw a planet wallpaper and decided to outdo them. Why have something as small as a planet when you can have the whole Milkyway Galaxy as your wallpaper? And, to keep things in balance, desktop icons are the perfect celestial bodies.

We know we’ve said this before, but it’s true for a lot of these wallpapers: this is mesmerizing! Though, to be fair, part of the appeal is the Milkyway itself. It’s mind-boggling to think that we are just one small dot in a universe of possibilities.

Kamehameha

It seems like it’s not just humans that can’t stand Internet Explorer. Even Sayins are tired of it! Why else would anyone use such a powerful attack on a simple desktop shortcut? Maybe this was the inciting incident that led to Internet Explorer being discontinued…

Just kidding! Though it does seem like fans of every media, be it movies, memes, or anime, can agree on their dislike for Internet Explorer. What better way to unite the world than to unite over a common goal or interest.

Revenge

Trolls are everywhere. Just accept it. There’s no escape from mischievous friends and coworkers that like to mess with our daily lives. We had the array of Chrome icons made up mostly of Internet Explorer links, and now we have the opposite.

But we have to give credit where credit is due. This person didn’t just make dozens of Internet Explorer shortcuts, they even made the troll face look like the Internet Explorer icon! Do you see the yellow ring around its head? That’s dedication!

Intern

Internships stink, but they’re just a necessary evil in the lives of all adults. Before you can be trusted at your workplace, even if it’s just in a science lab or mundane desk job, you need to start from the beginning. Why do we mention that?

This array was apparently made by some intern. The layout was discovered when they returned the computer, with the icons laid out in the shape of an emoticon. We’re not sure if this is a good use of someone’s time, or if this was a completely time-wasting endeavor.

Starter kit

This is easily the most impressive wallpaper we’ve seen so far. Most of the setups we’ve seen rely on creative wallpapers and strategic placement of icons. This one, however, took it to a whole new level. They changed up the icons and layout to display critical information in a uniquely stylized way…

We’re so jealous! This must have taken time but it was well worth it. Battery, CPU storage, applications, and even user profiles are all displayed here. We can’t get over how creative this is. Having this as a work wallpaper, we’d be eager to start our work day every day.

Show me what you got!

Okay, this is our last wallpaper that involves the plain landscape of green rolling hills and clear blue skies. But we can’t be upset with the cliche, because we have Rick here to keep us company — even if he is looming menacingly over the hills.

To make this the perfect layout, this person went for a minimalist design. Just Rick and a single folder. That’s all you really need, right? Honestly, though, we’re surprised that they didn’t choose Pickle Rick. He was such an internet sensation, we’d expect to see him here.

Pick your fandom

Correct us if we’re wrong, but is that from a Dragon Ball Z spoof series? It looks like some drawing of Frieza is this person’s background. But that’s not what’s funny about this scene. Even Frieza is disturbed by what’s on this person’s computer.

It’s weird to think of Miley Cyrus as the same girl who played Hannah Montana. And Frieza thinks so, too. Our biggest question here is: why is her picture on the screen like that? Did someone pause a music video at the perfect time?

Perfect Aim?

If you’ve been online at all, you’ve probably seen a few jokes referencing Stormtroopers’ inability to hit any of their targets. Our personal favorite: what would happen if a Stormtrooper and a Red Shirt faced off? The former would miss and the latter would somehow die anyway.

Was this a prank or a bet? Do you think that their severe hatred of Internet Explorer will help this Stormtrooper hit their mark? Probably not, but it’s fun to imagine that this is the one thing to spur them into competent action.

Brains

We’ve reached our final wallpaper. We don’t want to say “best for last” because everyone’s interests are different. But, if you’re a huge Romero fan, this is the design for you! A beautiful wallpaper of zombie arms reaching across a screen? We’re so in!

But what are they reaching for? Brains, of course! We’re not sure if this is always how this person’s computer is set up, or if it was just done for the joke, but we don’t care. It’s a fantastic design and we have to applaud their creativity.