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What Makes a Good Thumbnail? (Patreon)

Published:
2024-07-13 16:13:43
Imported:
2026-06

Content

On Monday, the final episode of the Skyrim unemployment series will go up. The last episode of the series was in March-- more than 4 months ago-- and a lot has changed for the channel since then. I'm sure 4 months from now things will also be very different, because that's how growing and learning works. That being said:

In an effort to continue pushing the boundaries of what qualifies as legitimate video game discussion online, packaging is important, and nothing is more important to packaging than titles and thumbnails. (Except maybe the first 30 seconds of a video. But I guess all three of those are basically how you build trust with someone that you're about to show them something that's worth their time.)

That brings us to this: Some new thumbnail ideas for the unemployment/economic situation videos. I've already chosen what I think is going to work best, but I'm curious what you think. I tend to think that the goal of a thumbnail is to be very clear and very honest about what someone is about to watch. A thumbnail should never over-promise (over-promising is a huge problem right now on YouTube), and it should also be clean and eye-catching.

What do you think? Which of these feels best to you? Do you miss the simple unassuming old thumbnails? Do you have even better ideas for what we could do in the future? Let me know.

Files

Comments

Martin W.

You should use the penultimate one with a big dollar sign somewhere to signify that the graphics are indeed about economy

Scavenger

First one works best as a standalone but that could be personal bias

David Rod Mad

The penultimate one with the actual in-game image I think could work best to attract fans of both Skyrim and videogames in general (the face of an NPC involved in the survey might also be good?), but it might need some text or context for the graph

Dat Guy

I agree. It has less clutter and emphasizes the clear colors of the lines. I think the full figure pose is better than close up because it does match expectations of bureaucrats who often stand at podiums rather than just reveal their face (like a Presidential address from the Oval Office). In considering the framing, those close up faces probably trigger that assumption that there will be an announcement on policy (or analysis in the case of video game critiques). Hence why, if YouTubers have thumbnail pictures zoomed up to their faces and don’t say something actually dramatic or interesting (like the President would in a Presidential TV address), then people feel very underwhelmed and tricked. But it seems like everyone uses that format!

Hopscotch

I like the second one and I do not know why

Kira

Concept: #3 but change it to “Windhelm’s Economy”, shrink the font size, add the text box background from #1, and add some dollar signs, etc.

Metallicity

It's between #2 and #5 for me, with the tie-breaker being that the former has text, which feels important in terms of clarity. I think the blurred background works when the banners are also there to signify the city, but otherwise the original image stands better on its own.

16 Crows In A Trench Coat

number 5 sticks out best with the red helping the line to pop on a busier background. it might be good to also add text to indicate it’s windhelm, or alternatively add ulcfric somewhere since he’s an immediately recognizable figure to anyone who has played the game. for me, seeing ulcfic would make the location instantly scan as windhelm even more than an actual in-game view of the city.

Joshua Weber

I like #4 and #5 - leaning a bit more to 5, and I also support the idea of a couple of bright green dollar signs

DurtyDeeds 69

I like the first photo, but I also like how you have the skyrim logo in the upper right on the 2nd one. And as someone else said, a dollar sign (or 2, or 3) might help.

nj

Studies show that people engage a lot more with images than with words. For example, a sign that says “wet floor” is much less memorable than a sign with a picture of a stick figure slipping on a puddle and falling. So, the second to last one, that shows windhelm in the highest fidelity, will probably engage people scrolling the most. Similarly, the word “economy” isn’t as engaging as something like a bold green dollar sign. That bold red trend is also really captivating. Lastly, Skyrim relates to a ton of people. I think you’ll reach more viewers if you use some highly recognizable Skyrim images, like ulfric sitting on his throne, the palace of kings, the Skyrim logo, etc. Those are a lot more recognizable than the windhelm bear seal

tyler prock

I like martins idea because I was drawn towards the first image because it puts emphasis on discussing the economy.. which is ridiculous to someone who hasn’t seen your stuff yet and should be watched.

Dat Guy

I agree with you on the Windhelm bear. Unless you are going for someone truly obsessed with the game, then it would not be that recognizable. I think your audience likes and has played Skyrim but enjoys your general commentary rather than “oh I know that logo!”

Jon

2nd to last one without the blurred background, but if add a dollar sign or windhelms economy. Im not sure that the trend lines alone are enough to know what they're looking at when scrolling.

Andy Walley

Imo 1 & 5 smashed together

Rafie Ewe

I think the 3rd thumbnail (with the Skyrim logo next to your head) is the best. I find the others to be a bit busy or less informative, and the 3rd one gives me an ample amount of info while still retaining simplicity (thinking about it in terms of like, "blocks/chunks" of color if that makes sense?) and ease of reading. I think having less is more when it comes to info on thumbnails, but certainly not none! Having all the main info on the same mid-high point on the image helps too I think, those being the city, your face, then the Skyrim logo. My eye is naturally drawn to reading all of that in a line. I wanna try to explain what I was thinking by the color blocks thing, usually you see thumbnails as relatively small little icons, so I think having strong distinctive "blocks" of color benefits thumbnails a lot and make them much much easier to look at. The thumbnail with the Banners for instance, it looks really nice when you have it fully pulled up, but from far away it kinda makes reading the text a bit trickier (for my eyes at least) simply because things get muddier. Having distinct "color blocks" in this way helps me get the info better I feel, but more importantly helps me get it faster too!

spongyllama

I don’t have anything intelligent to say but I like the first one the most

Joe tuna

I think I’m gonna have to watch the entire video early to know for sure 🤔 hahaha

Joe tuna

The “economy” seems redundant with the 📉 so I think #3 (Skyrim logo + WILHELM”, light bg) is best

Essie

Seeing them on a small screen, the Skyrim logo isn't really visible whereas the ones with the banners give a good contrast. The wording may be redundant, but it depends if you intend to use a similar template for other areas (see one land o' snow, seen them all, so wording helps)