Thumbnail Cheatsheet
Perfect thumbnails every time
📏 Platform Dimensions
YouTube
1280 × 720
pixels (16:9 ratio)
Minimum width: 640px
Max file size: 2MB
Format: JPG, PNG, GIF
Instagram
1080 × 1080
square post
1080 × 1350
portrait post
TikTok
1080 × 1920
vertical (9:16)
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Minimum: 600 × 1067
Facebook
1200 × 630
shared links
News feed: 1200 × 628
Carousel: 1080 × 1080
🎨 Color Psychology
Red
Urgency
Urgency
Blue
Trust
Trust
Yellow
Optimism
Optimism
Green
Wealth
Wealth
Purple
Luxury
Luxury
Orange
Energy
Energy
Black
Premium
Premium
White
Clean
Clean
Use contrasting colors for text
Red = clickbait, urgency (use sparingly)
Blue = calm, professional, trustworthy
Yellow = attention, but hard to read text
🔤 Font Guide
| Font | Best For | Min Size |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | Headlines, bold text | 60pt |
| Montserrat | Clean, modern | 50pt |
| Bebas Neue | All caps headlines | 70pt |
| Roboto | Body text, subtitles | 30pt |
| Oswald | Condensed headlines | 65pt |
Maximum 5-7 words per thumbnail
Use bold, thick fonts for mobile viewing
Add white or black stroke for readability
💡 Pro Tips
Show human face with emotion (zoom in on eyes)
Before/after images get 30% more clicks
Use arrows or circles to direct attention
Test thumbnails with YouTube Studio A/B testing
Brightness +10, Contrast +20, Saturation +5
Add your brand colors consistently
Create templates to save time
✅ Thumbnail Checklist
✓ Correct dimensions
✓ High contrast
✓ Readable text
✓ Human face
✓ Brand colors
✓ Under 2MB
✓ Matches title
✓ Mobile readable
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