YouTube Thumbnail Masterclass
Time Stamps
00:00:00 Intro and design breakdowns
00:32:00 Redesigning Paul Millerd's thumbnails (self-published author 30k sold)
01:02:00 Q&A
What you'll learn
- • The best tools I recommend
- • How to use the rule of thirds
- • Design principles to level up your thumbnails
- • How to space objects and text so your thumbs don't feel cluttered
- • What should you remove from your thumbnails
- • Should you use a logo or not?
- • How to use AI if you don't have any images to start with
- • How to use contrast to create thumbnails that stand out
- • How to use Figma for YouTube thumbnails
- • What to do when you don't have any images?
- • What should you do if your guests are not recognizable?
Over my 20-year career as a brand and product designer, I have created thumbnails, websites, podcast art, web ads, and many other types of media designed to "stand out against the noise."
Many non-designers rely too heavily on effects like drop shadows, weird white outlines to separate the foreground and background, and poor design decisions because they weren't properly trained.
There are a lot of thumbnail templates out there for you to fill in, but you're still left wondering, "How do I make this mine? I'm not a designer."
Design Resources
- • AI (Midjourney)
- • Figma
- • Luminar NEO
- • Remove.bg
- • Click Pilot (Not covered)