Editorial music widget

What an editorial music widget shows

A now-playing widget shows cover art, the track and artist, a progress line and three controls. It works with whichever app is playing, not one particular service.

Reading the current track needs Android's notification access and a media connection, which is a Pro feature in WidgetCraft. The controls send play, pause and skip to the app that is playing.

How the editorial style shapes it

Editorial widgets borrow from print magazines: a large serif headline, small spaced captions, thin rules and warm paper colors. They suit quotes, reading progress and portrait photos.

• Photos: Use portrait crops with a caption line beneath, as if the photo were printed on the page.
• Text: Pair a serif headline with tiny capitalised sans captions, the way a magazine credits a photo.
• Bars and rings: Use thin rules and a slim progress line, like the column dividers in a magazine.

Editorial music widget recipe

Editorial color palette

• Newsprint #F3EEE4Background
• Aged paper #E7DFD0Surface and tracks
• Press black #1D1A16Text
• Caption grey #7B7265Labels
• Masthead red #A4452CAccent

How to make an editorial music widget in WidgetCraft

1. Create a widget and open Canvas. Set the size to 360 × 180, the background to #F3EEE4 and the corner radius to 6.
2. Open Data and set up the media connection; Android will ask for notification access.
3. Add an Image layer, 140 × 140 with radius 0, and connect it to the cover art.
4. Add two Text layers connected to the track title (size 20, #1D1A16) and the artist (size 14, #7B7265).
5. Add a Progress layer as a thin 4-point bar in #A4452C, then three shapes for the controls. In Tap, assign previous, play/pause and next.
6. Add the editorial ornament with Shape layers and move them below the other layers in Layers: a single hairline rule across the top, like a column divider.
7. Tap Save, then Add to home screen and resize the widget on your launcher if needed.

The layout and styling are free. The live data connection for this widget needs WidgetCraft Pro, a one-time purchase.

Tips for editorial music widgets

• Use a real serif for the headline and keep captions under 11 points.
• Add one thin rule to anchor the layout.
• Long titles must truncate on one line; never let them wrap into the controls.
• Make each control at least 48 dp wide so it is easy to hit.
• The widget only shows a track while a media app has an active session.
• Do not use bright saturated colors.
• Do not center everything; align to the left edge like a column.

Ready-made Editorial templates

WidgetCraft includes a Editorial template pack you can import and edit instead of starting from a blank canvas.

A word to collect5 editable layersReading bookmark6 editable layersSunday cover7 editable layers

Questions about the editorial music widget

What size is an editorial music widget?

It is designed for 4 × 2 home screen cells on a 360 × 180 canvas. You can resize it on the launcher and the design scales in proportion.

Which colors does it use?

Newsprint (#F3EEE4) for the background, Press black (#1D1A16) for the main text, Caption grey (#7B7265) for labels and Masthead red (#A4452C) as the accent.

Is it free to make?

The editorial design is free to build. Showing live track details needs the one-time Pro upgrade.

What else is this style called?

People also search for magazine music widget, serif music widget, newspaper style music widget. They describe the same look as this editorial music widget.

More editorial widgets

• Editorial clock widget
• Editorial analog clock widget
• Editorial calendar widget
• Editorial battery widget
• Editorial countdown widget
• Editorial to-do list widget
• Editorial photo widget
• Editorial quote widget
• Editorial year progress widget
• Editorial step counter widget
• Editorial habit tracker widget
• Editorial sticky note widget
• Editorial world clock widget
• Editorial date widget
• Editorial home screen setup
• All editorial widgets

Music player widgets in other styles

• Newspaper music widget
• Light academia music widget
• Dark academia music widget
• All music widgets