Make your video call background much, much cooler with Got Your Back

Whether you’re attempting to hide mess or just jazz up the virtual meetings that are quickly losing their novelty, many of us have tried a fun video call background. A couple of weeks back, Studio Ghibli nearly broke the internet with their range of backdrops, and now, a new curated platform of designer backgrounds has launched, excellently titled Got Your Back.

The platform offers free-to-download artworks by some of the creative industry’s biggest names, including renowned architectural photographer Iwan Baan, artists from NYC agency Hugo & Marie, illustrator Lennard Kok, and even one of Amsterdam’s biggest institutions, the Rijksmuseum. They range from epic (see Baan’s LA panorama) to calming (see Merijn Hos’ airbrushed gradients) as well as creepy (in Isabelita Virtual’s artwork, pixelated figures stand either side of your face). There’s even an option from Eindhoven-based animation studio Post New that could induce motion sickness in your colleagues. Others from photographer Thomas Brown, Sabine Marcelis, Piet Oudolf and Romain Lenacker are more subdued and abstract, making for ideal wallpapers with an artful slant.

The aim, says creator Jochem Leegstra – also founder of Amsterdam creative agency Staat – is to “bring a touch of optimism to those virtual spaces and celebrate the creative community… bringing creativity to a new way of communicating”. Though free, the platform encourages users to download and donate to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Download the backdrops via the Got Your Back website.