More visuals, less text, simple as that! This formula applies for YouTube Thumbnails if you’re willing to stand out from the crowd
Welcome back to the Canva Booster Blog! In this blog post, I am going to show you how to create YouTube Thumbnails using Canva.
Remember from the previous post, that static content is not enough to capture the audience’s attention. Ultimately, video content continues as an ongoing trend, and what will motivate the viewer to click on a particular video? Thumbnails, of course!
More Visuals, Less Text: What’s Trending in Style
Indeed, Canva is the answer to this simple formula. I feel that a long title will not help the viewer remember the video or interact with it easily. It takes about 500 hours of fresh video content per minute uploaded on YouTube and competition is very intense when trying to search for the top-notch video with lots of viewers!
Therefore, you have to create a thumbnail that should give a good reason for people to click. And it should tell a story. But how? Consider the following trends & inspiration that you should consider when creating your thumbnail via Canva:
1: Doodles & Silhouette - If you want your thumbnail design to be attractive and create the ‘wow’ factor, then you’ll never go wrong with doodles. This is one of social media’ graphic design styles very popular as either static elements or animated stickers to elevate your content!
2: Facial expressions - An effective way to stand out from the crowd and show your brand personality through eye contact is via facial expressions. Whether happy, sad, excited or a mixture, emotion can not only find out whether the viewer is okay to click, but can make a video title stand out. For example, titles such as Top 10 marketing trends of 2022. Sounds like a happy or joyful one, doesn’t it?
Alternatively, you can use emojis to create expression and drama for your thumbnail. Be creative!
3: Finger pointing & arrows - Whether static or animated, don’t forget to use arrows or finger pointing elements near any calls-to-action featured on your thumbnail. They also have the potential to attract more attention towards your audience too!
4: Playlist consistency - Playlists on a YouTube Channel not only have different content, but each one has a uniform thumbnail in terms of styling, color and fonts to create a smooth sequence or series of videos.
5: Using vibrant colors to help your thumbnail stand out. Avoid light or muted colors. Try experimenting with gradients. Don’t forget any yellow color (no matter the shade), you will be rewarded with more clicks, views and interactions if you use it!
6: Split layout - Another hot trend in YouTube thumbnail design, not just web design! For example, the thumbnail can split into two sections: one having the title, the other being a visual element or image. Be creative, you’ll never go wrong with a split layout!
7: Text effects - If you think your simple title on the thumbnail is not enough for viewer engagement, then apply text effects on Canva such as shadows, borders or blocks (just like you would see on Instagram). All of them are completely FREE!
8: Simple, yet attractive titles - Longer titles can be broken down into smaller ones, with a maximum of five words in the thumbnail title. For example, “What are the Top 10 trends in Digital Marketing in 2022” can be expressed simply as “Top 10 Digital Marketing Trends” in the thumbnail. Only five words are used! Then your video can be searched easily through bold keywords such as digital marketing, marketing trends etc.
For more inspiration, visually search on engines such as Pinterest or Dribble to boost your creativity and gain a competitive edge! To save time and effort (with only customization to your branding elements), try the templates available on Canva.
Image dimensions, file type/size
YouTube is not limited to desktop viewing these days! Consider those viewing on their mobile devices! The minimum resolution for a YouTube thumbnail (shown on Canva) is 1280 x 720 pixels (or higher for better quality), and either a JPG, GIF or PNG.
The maximum file size you can upload for a thumbnail must be no longer than 2 MB.
If you want to create the extra ‘wow’ factor and keep the viewer more engaged after searching on YouTube, why not try a GIF thumbnail at standard resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) as mentioned in previous posts!
The bottom right hand… be careful
When browsing on YouTube, you’ll see a timestamp on the bottom right hand of each thumbnail. Don’t place anything that is important like titles or appropriate graphics directly there!
The Project and Behind my Course Progress
This is the fifth section of the course Canva Next Level: Become a Canva Expert, which I have already completed. Halfway there!
As a DJ and Producer, creating an edgy, vibrant YouTube thumbnail using Canva has become important for my long-term growth plans. This is an Animated GIF that will create the ‘wow’ factor for my viewers when they click on it. The upcoming title is ‘Tik Tok EDM Mashups 2022 Part 1’, to be simplified in the thumbnail. You can view the thumbnail designs in the button below:
And below, out of several designs I've tried, here is the final design:
Again, I feel that animated elements have become a mainstay in my recent Canva Designs, in order to meet the changing algorithms of Facebook and Instagram, where video content becomes a priority. But don’t forget, animation does create a ‘wow’ factor for the audience.
Final words
‘More visuals, less text, animate more’ is a simple formula that any Canva user should follow when creating YouTube thumbnails. Don’t forget to use Pinterest, Dribble or other similar portfolio platforms to find the latest trends and inspiration, in order to make your video thumbnail stand out well and that viewers have a good reason to ‘click.’
Keep your title in the thumbnail to a maximum of 5 words, avoid overcrowding of text. Remember, video content has become an ongoing trend (thanks to the changing algorithms of Facebook and Instagram), so maybe I’d recommend you use animated elements and now you are on the edge!
Creating a YouTube thumbnail should be straightforward thanks to Canva. Your thumbnail should try to storytell what is in your video if possible!
Would you use Canva to create your YouTube Thumbnail? How well do you design your own? Feel free to comment below
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