YouTube thumbnails
Ten thumbnails across business, marketplace, AI and sports channels, each built to be read at the size of a thumb.
Overview.
A thumbnail has about a second to win a click. These ten show the range from face-led finance videos to a screenshot tutorial and a sports roundup.
The brief is the same each time: one idea, readable at small size, and different enough from the channel's last thumbnail to stand apart in a row.
What was made.
- Face-led thumbnails for business and marketplace channels
- Two A/B variants of one AI and UGC thumbnail
- Screenshot-led tutorial thumbnail
- Sports roundup thumbnail
The work.
Business and marketplace
High contrast faces, one dominant headline and a single accent colour for each video. Money, charts and brand logos set the topic before the title is read.
AI and UGC, two variants
The same title in two arrangements: a thinking pose with a question mark, and a direct look with the type split around the face. Having both makes an A/B test possible.
Tutorial and sports
A phone screenshot on a flat green ground for a how-to video, and a row of five players under a one-line question for a sports video.
Design choices.
- The headline is the largest object on the page and is limited to a few words, set in a heavy condensed face.
- Colour is limited to one or two accents per thumbnail, such as yellow and red on black or yellow on green.
- Faces carry the emotion: surprise, doubt or a direct stare. They are cut out from their backgrounds so they separate from the type.
- Logos, charts, banknotes and screenshots tell the viewer the topic before the title does.
- Backgrounds are kept simple, such as a dot grid, a city skyline or a flat colour, so the type and the face stay clear.
Delivery.
Each thumbnail is delivered at 16:9 as a JPG or PNG file.
Formats.
ICONSPH dance class poster
Send us the footage.
Or the brief, the idea, or the account that needs a hand.
