How to cultivate a cozy digital environment

You know when you wake up one morning and smell cool weather in the air? It’s the kind of day when you pull a sweater over your pyjamas before making coffee. When it happens, you’d be forgiven for ducking out of work early to shop for a new blanket. And it’s practically your duty to spend your next day off with a cinnamon simmer pot on the stove, decking your space with all things homey. But when the throw pillows have been fluffed and the dried florals arranged, you still have one thing left to cosify — your digital space.

Think about it. We spend more time on our phones and computers than ever before, so why not give them the same nesting treatment we do the rest of our spaces? Here are a few fun ways to bring warmth to your next scroll session.

Opt into accessibility 

Let’s start with the basics. A comfortable digital experience is one that feels accessible to you. So make sure nothing impairs your ability to interact with your experience. Some easy adjustments include:

• Placing your device in dark mode or high contrast mode to reduce eye strain
• Increasing text size for easier reading
• Turning on closed captions or subtitles if you need or prefer them
• Customizing keyboard shortcuts to navigate between tabs, windows, or menu items
• Using a readability extension to remove visual clutter from web pages

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires web content and mobile apps to adhere to a certain level of accessibility. So don’t be afraid to explore options for making your virtual experience more comfortable.

Select a charming browser extension 

Adding some sweetness to your online time can be as simple as a smart browser extension. Whether you’re searching for a moment of peace, awe, or simply cuteness, you have options.

“Whether you’re searching for a moment of peace, awe, or simply cuteness, you have options.”

Forest is an app that helps you stay focused by growing an adorable, virtual tree while you’re on task. With time, you can grow an entire forest. But be warned — if you stray from your project, your tree will wither. (The best part of this app is that it grows real trees too, almost 2 million so far!)

Momentum gives you a beautiful starting point each time you open a new tab. You’ll be greeted with a landscape image, inspiring quote, and space to spotlight your daily focus. If you opt in to the paid version, Momentum supplies a focus mode, soundscapes, and more.

We all get a little myopic in our perspective sometimes — especially when we’re on our computers, in our own worlds. Earth View might be the antidote. Each time you open a new tab, you get a stunning new view of somewhere on Earth. One user calls it “simple and elegant.”

Sometimes you need a cute critter crawling across your screen, simple as that. Tabby Cat is what you’re looking for. Open a new tab, and get an adorable cartoon animal. Need I say more?

Spread warmth with sweet signatures and auto-replies

We get it — some communication has to stay formal and formulaic. But if you’re emailing a loved one (or have a laid-back workplace), why not add a little delight to your email signatures?

“If you’re emailing a loved one (or have a laid-back workplace), why not add a little delight to your email signatures?”

I’m a fan of customizing by your recipient. Something like “wish I could send you some fresh-fallen snow!” to your remote coworker in a tropical climate. Or “saving you some hot chocolate,” for the relative who shared their cocoa recipe.

Auto-replies — typically used in a professional context — can also impart cosy vibes, albeit subtly. Perhaps you could try “I’m currently out of the office, returning on [date]. Until then, I’m sending you warm wishes for this chilly season.” In a sea of corporate messages, it’ll make the recipient smile.

Cultivate your digital soundscape 

Don’t forget that you can add dimension and warmth to your digital experience with sound. One of my favourite tricks is to create a cosy scene in my mind, and then ask my favourite AI app to make a playlist that accompanies it. Or you can upload a photo and ask it to create a playlist to reflect that.

“One of my favorite tricks is to create a cozy scene in my mind, and then ask my favorite AI app to make a playlist that accompanies it.”

I’ve found some great on-vibe songs that way. You can use Sort Your Music to filter your Spotify playlists by energy, danceability, and more. And Playlist Miner will pull the top tracks from public playlists on Spotify, based on whatever word you enter.

Notes from a graphic designer on cultivating digital space

When preparing to write this article, I knew I had to talk to my friend Clint Hess, a graphic designer who’s great at creating a cosy vibe. We started by chatting about colour palettes you can use in your online space, whether to customize icons, browser themes, or even text.

He recommends one six-colour palette that “will have you skipping work and taking up knitting.” It’s very dark (almost black) green, woody green, rusty orange, golden yellow, pale cream, and dusty teal. “I’m a huge proponent of pairing my warmer colors with a splash of blue,” says Clint. “Especially if that blue still leans into the green tones.” (If you’d like the hex code for these colours — which he generously provided — scroll to the bottom of this article.)

“I’m a huge proponent of pairing my warmer colors with a splash of blue. Especially if that blue still leans into the green tones.”

– Clint Hess, graphic designer

If you’d like to use color to customize your app icons, Clint says to start by choosing the color that makes you feel the coziest and using it for the icons on your home screen. From there, you can gradually transition through the color spectrum. For example, if you start with orange, then you’d move on to yellows, and greens after that. He also points out that you can purchase custom icons by artists on Etsy.

While you’re updating your colours, you might want to change up your fonts, too. Clint likes DM Serif Display and Inter for a snuggly (but still readable!) experience.

Wallpaper and Layout

“I know you love your dog,” Clint says, but “they probably won’t make for a good digital background.” (Okay, ouch. But go on.) “On your phone, wallpapers shouldn’t steal the show. You have enough app clutter as it is to include even more stimulation behind it all.” So what might you choose instead?

For your phone’s background, Clint recommends sourcing an image with a soft, low-contrast colour scheme from Pinterest. On your desktop, he concedes, you have a little more space to work with. So you can go for something with more variation. If you don’t have great window views from where you sit, he suggests an image evocative of nature. Overall, Clint says, the goal is to “find a wallpaper that fits your aesthetic without demanding more attention than your applications.”

“For your phone’s background, Clint recommends sourcing an image with a soft, low-contrast color scheme from Pinterest.”

Once you’ve found your cosiest wallpaper, think about how to lay out your icons in a way that feels inviting. Clint suggests thinking of it as interior design. This means varying the size of the “objects” on your screen to create visual interest and breaking them up with widgets. (Like photo albums, weather forecasters, or motivational quotes.)

You can make your browsing experience more visually appealing too. Clint reminds us that your browser has different themes to choose from, so pick one that feels good to you! You can also hide your bookmarks bar, he says, to limit the amount of text on your screen.

Digital Wellbeing and Other Recommendations 

Finally, let’s zoom out from the screen and chat about other ways Clint makes his digital experience comfortable. (After nearly a decade in the graphic design biz, he’s got some things figured out.)

“Buy lamps. So many lamps,” he urges. “Digital screens bombard the eyes with blue light, so it’s important to balance it out with warmth. I suggest bulbs in the 2700-3000K range.” Other ways he suggests adding ambient light to your workspace include adding backlights to your desktop screen or a lightbar to the top. This, he insists, will improve your mood more than you might expect.

“Buy lamps. So many lamps. Digital screens bombard the eyes with blue light, so it’s important to balance it out with warmth.”

– Clint Hess, graphic designer

And finally, Clint encourages us, find ways to customize your online experience with whatever makes you feel cosy. Download an ad blocker, for one thing. And if you enjoy streaming, you can grab a browser extension for picture-in-picture viewing.

Or, if you like the sound of a coffee shop instead of TV, Clint is a big fan of Noisli, where you can make custom soundscapes. “Missing the bustle of a coffee shop?” he asks. “Combine the Rain and Coffee Shop settings and simply exhale. Want to pretend you’re working internationally? Turn on the Train, Wind, and Thunderstorm settings and write that novel you’ve been putting off.”

A simple way to feel good

Look, especially around the holidays, you’re bombarded with messages about what you need to be happy. Many involve spending money, a ton of time, or both. I’m not saying a new phone wallpaper will replace a ski trip. But many of these digital tweaks can lift your mood a little, which — during a sometimes fraught season — can mean a lot. ✨

Hex codes for a cosy colour palette from graphic designer Clint Hess:

Dark green: #101811

Woodsy green: #0e3811

Rusty orange: #c7662f

Golden yellow: #fcc75b

Pale cream: #f4ecce

Dusty teal: #40717c