Ubuntu 25.04 Default Wallpaper & Mascot Unveiled

The default wallpaper for Ubuntu 25.04 ‘Plucky Puffin’ has been unveiled.

Each new Ubuntu release bears a bespoke desktop background and animal mascot, and the upcoming release of the Plucky Puffinproves no exception.

Ubuntu 25.04’s default wallpaper makes heavy use of the nautical motifs proffered by its codename animal (a puffin). Avian art is, as per, placed atop a purple gradient background1 with trademark polygonal edge detailing:

Ubuntu 25.04 default background

The “colour” version above is the stock default, but there are 4 variants in total: colour, light, dimmed, and dark (used in dark mode). Users can set any of those as their preferred background at any time, or pick from a new set of community sourced wallpapers:

Dark, dimmed, and light variations are provided
Eagle-eyed enthusiasts amongst you will notice the mascot art uses the Ubuntu ‘circle of friends’ logo as the puffin’s pupil. There’s also a second nod to the Ubuntu logo hidden in the waves the bird sits on —I won’t circle it; see if you can spot it!

Second pass needed?

I will say that I do see a significant amount of banding present in the current version of the wallpaper (at the time I write this):

Ubuntu 25.04 default wallpaper in situ (notice banding)

I’m hoping a second revision is produced to remove or reduce the banding before the new background hits daily builds:

Also, the Puffin mascot is far larger than the Oriole mascot used on the Ubuntu 24.10 wallpaper. Personally, I find it a tad oversized.

Admittedly, that’s likely because I’m not (yet) used to it. ‘New’ always look strange until its familiar.

Still, I did take the mascot art and a blank version of the wallpaper to have a play with sizing, set tingly on a size and placement I feel—to me eyes—is better proportioned on my 4K screen:

My tweaked design, aka ‘proportional puffin’

Anyway, that’s the new wallpaper (and mascot). Chances are you’ll be seeing a lot more of it between now and the Ubuntu 25.04 release in April, especially as it’ll be onboard in time for the Ubuntu 25.05 beta release in two weeks (March 27th).

Get the Ubuntu 25.04 Wallpaper

You don’t need to fire up an Ubuntu 25.04 daily build (or wait until the beta lands in two weeks) to try the background as it’s available to download.

Like last year, Ubuntu’s developers share the new Ubuntu wallpaper in a variety of sizes and formats in a folder on Google Drive.

Included in that cloud folder are editable SVG and Adobe Illustrator files of the Plucky mascot so you can fashion your own custom wallpapers featuring it.

Let me know what you think of the new background down in the comments.

1. I know purple-y backgrounds is kind of Ubuntu’s “thing” at this point—it’s used one since Ubuntu 10.10 in 2010—and that darker default backgrounds are generally preferred by most users, but part of me does hanker after a rethink on the default visual presentation…