YouTube Thumbnail System

The brief

One designer, four different channels. Each niche gets its own mood, but they share a clear face, big text and strong contrast.

How I thought about it

Every thumbnail has one idea and two to four words of text. I checked each one at phone size, because that is where most people see it. I used my own face as the presenter.

What I made

• Tech and finance use clean, bright backgrounds with a bold two-colour headline.
• News goes dark and red, with a serious expression and a single strong scene.
• Fitness and food use warm light and a relaxed face, so they feel friendly instead of loud.