Apple's iOS 14 has a lot of new features and many of them geared toward customizing and simplifying the Home Screen. Chief among those additions is the ability to create widgets that help pin certain apps and functionality to the Home Screen without necessarily having to open said apps manually.
While there are various third-party apps that offer the ability to customize widgets, Widgetsmith seems to have become the most popular, so for the purposes of this guide we're going to show you how to customize with that. You can download Widgetsmith for free on the iOS App Store which will allow you to create widgets with custom photos.
You can begin the customization process. Start by collecting the photos you want to use in your widgets (these will ultimately serve as the backdrop for your newly created widgets). Make sure to get a mix of different size photos that will fit small, medium and large widget sizes. Once you have those gathered, you can open up Widgetsmith and choose which size widget you want to create.
Chances are, most "aesthetic" Home Screens you've seen have been using the custom "photo" option to create widgets, so that's what we're going to focus on. To make a photo widget, tap "add small widget" then tap the widget that appears. Tap the icon one more time and you'll be greeted with a list of different widget options.
After choosing the style you want, you can tap "selected photo" at the bottom of the app interface and then tap "choose photo" beneath the widget icon which will allow you to load in photos from your camera roll. Choose the desired photo and navigate back by tapping the "small" icon at the top left corner of the screen.
Here you'll want to tap the top center icon of the screen where it says "tap to rename" choose your widget name (i.e. if you're making this a FFVII themed Home Screen like me, you could choose "materia" or something to that effect). Tap "save" in the right corner of the screen and concrete your newly created photo widget in the app.
To add the widget to your Home Screen. Navigate out of the Widgetsmith app and to your Home Screen. Long tap the screen until the apps go all wiggly on you and then press the "+" icon at the top left-hand corner. Tap the search bar at the top and type "Widgetsmith" and select. Choose "small" and then press "add widget."
Of course, if you want to really own the aesthetic, you need to know how to change individual app icons using the native Shortcut app. Luckily we have you covered in this short tutorial here.