Post by Tentacle on Mar 24, 2016 23:09:44 GMT
Introduction:
Establishing a sense of identity online can be hard, especially as various gimmicks and styles are being implemented every other day from well-known names to those just starting out in the world of visual media production. But having a brand, a signature style, look… Whatever you wish to call it, is a fundamental element when it comes to YouTube now. If it be your logo, mascot or even font face, a lot can be said about you and even the creators you watch. This is mind; let’s talk the basics and how we can create together some basic but super-efficient branding.
___
Gathering the basics:
To begin with, let’s get our assets and tools ready. Oh, what’s that? You don’t have any? No worries friend, follow along and you’ll pick things up in no time.
Do you have Photoshop?
If you said no and don’t wish to pirate it, GIMP is a free alternative and provides many of the functions that Photoshop has. For this basic guide however, we shall be using Photoshop.
Do you have a colour or colour scheme in mind and make sure it follows the fundamental basics of colour theory? If the answer is no to this, I recommend you do a quick google search on it and see what colours mesh.
Do you have a type face that is free for public use or you’ve paid a licence for?
If the answer is no, I highly recommend that you visit DaFont and search a font that you feel fits you, whilst also making sure to check if it’s free to use. In these examples, I shall be using “THE BOLD FONT” which you can download here: www.dafont.com/the-bold-font.font?l[]=10&l[]=1
Do you have any sort of logo, icon or mascot?
Don’t worry about this one if the answer is a no, since this is just an optional choice that is not used by all YouTube channels. In these examples, I’ll be using some generic pictures of Super Mario as a placeholder.
___
Creating our thumbnail:
The thumbnail is the most important element to any channel, since it’s the very thing that is seen all across YouTube. It appears within sidebars, playlists, recommendations and more. It’s the picture that can make or break someone watching the video you’ve made, so taking advantage of the space you have is vital.
With this in mind, knowing how much space your brand and the video subject takes up can vary from person to person. Work with what you feel suits your needs most. Ideally I feel that taking 1/3 of the space is optimal. So within Photoshop, we are going to use the slice tool, right click the project and divide the page by 3. It’s from here that we have to decide (Logically) where we place our brand information. Below you’ll find an examples, with the green space reserved for branding and the grey space reserved for video-related inclusions.
So we know what we’ve got to work with in terms of space… But how do we optimise it? Well that can depend on the content itself. A general review could easily take the games logo or a relevant picture from the game and you are set. What about lists or something a bit more complicated like a discussion video? It’s all about positioning! Take advantage of the page already being sliced to grid text evenly. In these examples, I also included Mario and said font.
Even with the page divided up, you’ll notice that the brand aspects begin to almost interfere with what is left; even with it being a third of the thumbnail. It’s up to you, to create trim the fat and experiment with the spacing on offer and who knows; maybe you’ll finally create something you are proud off. Below are just minor alterations done to the colour space available for the green section!
___
From here, it’s a simple case of saving your thumbnail as a template and inserting the required assets for whatever video you are making. Plus with a colour scheme, font and even a potential icon obtained… Continuing said design ethic into the channel banner and avatar is going to be a piece of cake.
Hopefully what was shared here has helped you guys potentially come up with better ways to brand and put together thumbnails for your channel content.
Establishing a sense of identity online can be hard, especially as various gimmicks and styles are being implemented every other day from well-known names to those just starting out in the world of visual media production. But having a brand, a signature style, look… Whatever you wish to call it, is a fundamental element when it comes to YouTube now. If it be your logo, mascot or even font face, a lot can be said about you and even the creators you watch. This is mind; let’s talk the basics and how we can create together some basic but super-efficient branding.
___
Gathering the basics:
To begin with, let’s get our assets and tools ready. Oh, what’s that? You don’t have any? No worries friend, follow along and you’ll pick things up in no time.
Do you have Photoshop?
If you said no and don’t wish to pirate it, GIMP is a free alternative and provides many of the functions that Photoshop has. For this basic guide however, we shall be using Photoshop.
Do you have a colour or colour scheme in mind and make sure it follows the fundamental basics of colour theory? If the answer is no to this, I recommend you do a quick google search on it and see what colours mesh.
Do you have a type face that is free for public use or you’ve paid a licence for?
If the answer is no, I highly recommend that you visit DaFont and search a font that you feel fits you, whilst also making sure to check if it’s free to use. In these examples, I shall be using “THE BOLD FONT” which you can download here: www.dafont.com/the-bold-font.font?l[]=10&l[]=1
Do you have any sort of logo, icon or mascot?
Don’t worry about this one if the answer is a no, since this is just an optional choice that is not used by all YouTube channels. In these examples, I’ll be using some generic pictures of Super Mario as a placeholder.
___
Creating our thumbnail:
The thumbnail is the most important element to any channel, since it’s the very thing that is seen all across YouTube. It appears within sidebars, playlists, recommendations and more. It’s the picture that can make or break someone watching the video you’ve made, so taking advantage of the space you have is vital.
With this in mind, knowing how much space your brand and the video subject takes up can vary from person to person. Work with what you feel suits your needs most. Ideally I feel that taking 1/3 of the space is optimal. So within Photoshop, we are going to use the slice tool, right click the project and divide the page by 3. It’s from here that we have to decide (Logically) where we place our brand information. Below you’ll find an examples, with the green space reserved for branding and the grey space reserved for video-related inclusions.
So we know what we’ve got to work with in terms of space… But how do we optimise it? Well that can depend on the content itself. A general review could easily take the games logo or a relevant picture from the game and you are set. What about lists or something a bit more complicated like a discussion video? It’s all about positioning! Take advantage of the page already being sliced to grid text evenly. In these examples, I also included Mario and said font.
Even with the page divided up, you’ll notice that the brand aspects begin to almost interfere with what is left; even with it being a third of the thumbnail. It’s up to you, to create trim the fat and experiment with the spacing on offer and who knows; maybe you’ll finally create something you are proud off. Below are just minor alterations done to the colour space available for the green section!
___
From here, it’s a simple case of saving your thumbnail as a template and inserting the required assets for whatever video you are making. Plus with a colour scheme, font and even a potential icon obtained… Continuing said design ethic into the channel banner and avatar is going to be a piece of cake.
Hopefully what was shared here has helped you guys potentially come up with better ways to brand and put together thumbnails for your channel content.
