I like the counter concept, regardless I can see the visual disruption.

If doable with reasonable effort, I suggest a settings option.

I would also prefer counters only as main icon color shade icon badges, no additional floating numbers.

I prefer minimal customization options, I trade the counter option for theming though.

Least I would consider reducing the theme number to few subject related options:

- Nostr Purple

- BTC Orange

- Nostur signature color

I would move the Turtle to the user settings pane, that way it also gets an immediate text explanation.

I then try moving the quick settings over to the left corner, making it a really innocuous, small icon, hollow dots or dot, ellipsis, tickbox list.

I might give the headline more space, make the fond bolder, possibly larger, make the touch targets look more tappable. In line with the Radio, which I might just integrate, indented from the left, with the categories menu.

I might scale up the already reasonably large bottom icons and float them alone above feed with no backdrop, or semitransparent backdrop.

I would consider making the top Nostur icon a monochrome solid in the same tone as the bottom icons.

I would possibly circle all of them or none.

Then I would probably throw it all out anyway once the rumored iOS 19 redesign comes out.

I would also look to integrate the iPad automatic adaptive top bar menus in a meaningful way, possibly for the bottom icon categories, like the App Store app.