@dougal
use fblit (and ftext) and a 640x512@32colors mode with max overscan (724x566 iirc). If you edit your palette carefully you'll have a nice result. You'd like to use dark colored background for reduced flickering effect and whatever backdrop you use, make sure u reduce its colors using the palette u created for wb and floyd-steinberg dithering. You'll also want to lock the colour palette once you finalize it with a proper tool from aminet. I'd also advice to hand-pick your icons if you have the time and will instead of using all-in-one icon packs as they never seem to really be all-in-one and leave many programs with their old icons looking ugly. VisualPrefs and Birdie will help you get a more polished look too. Good luck!
Edit:
copymem, blazewcp and winspeed patches from aminet will help you keep your wb speed at good levels, while powerwindows, powerwb and mcp will give you loads of extra nice everyday usability.
