Design/Wallpapers/Wallpaper design guidelines

Wallpapers are functional art. A wallpaper not only has to look good, but also keep looking good as the user covers it with files and folders, widgets, and windows, and also not become distracting. Finally, it needs to communicate how the user should feel while using the software. Serene? Cool? Safe? Excited? Professional? Playful? etc.

Technical requirements:

CC-BY-SA-4.0 license
PNG file format
Three sizes: 5120x2880 (normal desktop), 7680x2160 (ultrawide desktop), and 1440x2960 (mobile)
Light and dark versions of each size

Functional requirements:

Must be original. You can take inspiration from others' work or from concept art (AI-generated or otherwise), but the final piece must be your own original work, not created using generative AI.
Not too visually busy. Fine details attract attention, obscure desktop icons' labels, and generally the whole composition looks worse the more things cover it up. Prefer big shapes to small ones. In particular, preserve a mostly open area at least in the top-left quadrant, but ideally the whole top 1/3 of the image. This is the most common area for desktop icons to be placed, so it needs to be especially suitable for being obscured by the user's stuff.
Not too light or too dark. Screens vary in their ability to display adequate contrast for very light or dark colors, so avoid them. Though we want a light and a dark version of the wallpaper, the light one shouldn't be too light, and the dark one shouldn't be too dark.
No text or logos. It should stand alone, and not need to yell "this is a KDE Plasma wallpaper!" at the viewer.

Style recommendations:

Limited color palette. Stick to shades of one or two main colors. Any more than this and the image becomes too attention-getting. A third color is okay if it's used sparingly as an accent.
Medium-bright colors. KDE is about energy and excitement, and bright colors communicate those better than muted, desaturated, or pastel colors. In particular, avoid muted brown, yellow, and green colors that are associated with illness and bodily functions. But don't go overboard and use super-saturated colors, either!
Matte, not shiny. Hard specular highlights makes something look plasticky and artificial. Even obviously artificial elements with a shine should be textured more towards the matte end of the spectrum.
Neutral and professional. Though KDE has a playful side, Plasma's default wallpaper should be suitable for professional contexts. Avoid cartoon characters and anything sexualized or child-like. Ask, "would I be embarrassed if my grandparent, child, or boss saw this on my desktop?"
"Humane", "empowering", and "cool". Take inspiration from these adjectives!

Note that there's no requirement to follow the style of previous wallpapers; feel free to explore new styles. At the same time, following an older style is fine as well, if that's what you want.

Good example	bad example
✅️ Original: Fully original graphics ✅️ Not too visually busy: Most of the visual complexity is limited to the center of the image ✅️ Not too light or dark: Overall image has a medium level of lightness ✅️ Limited color palette: Shades of orange and purple ✅️ Medium-bright colors: Most maintain similar levels of lightness ✅️ Matte, not shiny: Heavy use of subtle gradients ✅️ Neutral and professional: Clean and presentable ✅️ No text or logos: Only has an abstract line illustration of an animal	⛔ Not original: Image is comprised of multiple parts sourced elsewhere ⛔ Too visually busy: Filled with shapes and lines throughout the image ⛔ Too dark: Overall image is rather dark with spots of brightness ✅️ Limited color palette: Shades of teal and tan ⛔ Not medium-bright colors: Most have drastically varying levels of lightness ⛔ Shiny, not matte: Intense gradients create a shiny in some parts of the image ⛔ Neutral and professional: Sexualized pinup-style anime girl ⛔ Has text or logos: Stylized KDE logo
✅️ Original: Fully original graphics ✅️ Not too visually busy: Lines and polygons are largely subtle ✅️ Not too light or dark: Overall image has a slightly elevated level of lightness ✅️ Limited color palette: Shades of white and blue ✅️ Medium-bright colors: Most maintain similar levels of lightness ✅️ Matte, not shiny: Heavy use of subtle, broad gradients ✅️ Neutral and professional: Clean and presentable ✅️ No text or logos: Only has a geometric depiction of an ice sheet or continental glacier	✅️ Original: Probably original ⛔ Too visually busy: Filled with a bevy of colors and swirls ⛔ Too light or dark: Parts of the image become extremely dark ⛔ Varied color palette: Mishmash of shades from across the color spectrum ⛔ Dark colors: Some colors become very dark and include unappealing greens and browns ⛔ Shiny, not matte: Intense gradients in parts of the image create a shiny look ⛔ Neutral and professional: Looks like a bunch of silly putty, or a kid's first experiment with Blender ⛔ Has text or logos: Plasma logo and stylized Plasma text
✅️ Original: Fully original graphics ✅️ Not too visually busy: Most of the visual complexity avoids the upper one-thirds of the image ✅️ Not too light or dark: Overall image has a medium level of lightness ✅️ Limited color palette: Shades of orange and purple ✅️ Medium-bright colors: Most maintain similar levels of lightness ✅️ Matte, not shiny: Heavy use of subtle gradients ✅️ Neutral and professional: Clean and presentable ✅️ No text or logos: Only depicts a scarlet tree in a dreamy world basked in sunlight	✅️ Original: Fully original graphics ⛔ Too visually busy: Significant visual complexity, including in the upper third of the image ✅️ Not too light or dark: Overall image has a medium level of lightness ⛔ Varied color palette: Contains a smorgasbord of shades from across the color spectrum ✅️ Medium-bright colors: Unappealing dark greens and browns ✅️ Matte, not shiny: Heavy use of subtle gradients ⛔ Neutral and professional: reminds you of Spongebob Squarepants ✅️ No text or logos: Only depicts an underwater castle in a reef