iOS 17 comes with an exciting new way to customize your iPhone contacts. Contact Posters allow you to personalize how your iPhone’s screen looks when someone calls you.
There are tons of different photo and filtering options, fonts, colors, and sizing tools you can use, so everyone has their own unique identity and personality on your iPhone. Plus, you can have multiple designs saved for each contact and swap between Contact Posters for different vibes.
How to Set Up a Contact Poster on Your iPhone
Contact Posters have to be set up per individual, so the easiest way to get started is to find your first contact either in the Phone app (or the Contacts app). It’s best to pick someone who calls you frequently so that you get to see your Contact Poster in action sooner rather than later.
If you use the Phone app, head to theContactstab from the bottom. Tap a contact, then tapEditat the top-right corner. If you have a photo or Memoji set for them already, tapEditagain underneath. If not, tapAdd Photo.
Now, you should be on the screen where creating your Contact Poster can begin. Once again, the options here are different depending on your circumstances.
If you already have a photo for the contact, you should see two buttons for customizing or creating something new. If you chooseCustomize, it’ll work with your existing photo as a starting point for the rest of the poster.
Otherwise, create a new Contact Poster to view your options:Camerato take a new photo on the spot,Photosto choose one from your library,Memojito choose an avatar or character, orMonogramto only display that person’s initials on the poster.
How to Customize Memoji or Monogram Contact Posters
Finally, we’ve arrived at the fun part. If you choose a Memoji Contact Poster, you can select a pose, background color, and Depth Effect (which determines whether the text is above or beneath your Memoji.) If you’ve evercreated a portrait watch face on your Apple Watch, this effect should feel familiar.
For monograms, you just choose the letters to display and the background color. Both of these options also allow you to customize the font. If you tap the contact name inside the box, you’ll see four different font styles, a slider for adjusting font thickness, and a color palette.
iOS 17 is currently in beta, meaning you can only use Contact Posters right now if youinstall the iOS 17 beta on your iPhone.
How to Customize Photo Contact Posters
Choosing a photo for your Contact Poster unlocks a ton of additional design options. Likecustomizing your iOS Lock Screen, you can move and resize the photo to your liking on the screen. If there’s a subject in the photo, your iPhone automatically identifies it, so the Depth Effect works here, too. You can turn this on or off by tapping theellipsis (…)icon and selectingDepth Effect.
Even better, swipe right or left to choose between an array of poster styles. You’ll have more or less options depending on whether your iPhone could identify a subject that it can work with. The full list includesNatural,Gradient Backdrop,Seamless Background,Seamless Background Mono,Overprint,Studio,Black & White,Color Backdrop,Duotone, andColor Wash.
Swipe through to get a feel for how each style affects your photo. All of them exceptNaturalcome with additional options for colors. For instance, Black & White lets you choose either a black or white backdrop, Seamless Background lets you pick from some dominant colors already present in the photo, and styles like Color Wash offer traditional color palettes.
Lastly, when swiping through these photo styles, you’ll notice the font for the contact name changes. This is normal, but you’re still free to tweak the font as much as you want within the styles. It seems like Apple just does this for presentation purposes.
Once you’re all set customizing, tapDoneto save your masterpiece.
Get Creative With Your iPhone’s Contact Posters
Contact Posters are a terrific, fun addition to iOS 17. They might seem like a lot of work when you first set it up, but Contact Posters offer a wide array of tools and customization options, and you can use as many or as little as you desire.
Have fun customizing how your friends and family members show up on your iPhone whenever they call you. Don’t be afraid to give each contact a personal touch and make them stand out from the rest.
