Top 5 Fonts for YouTube Thumbnails: Enhance Your Channel’s Visual Appeal
You can increase your YouTube video’s reach in many ways, from using the right keywords and hashtags to when you upload the video. However, perhaps the most essential tool is the power of a first impression, and the thumbnail is that. You can buy Shorts views to increase your reach, but you should have a thumbnail that gets the attention of people scrolling the Home page and see your video out of many.
The YouTube thumbnail is an art, and the best practices are consistently changing. Many thumbnails have text on them, and what some YouTubers may not realize is that the font you use for the text matters a lot.
This article will look at five font choices you may want to consider.
But First, What Are Some Other Good Practices?
The best thumbnail design for your channel can depend on your channel and your audience. In general, several rules go into a captivating thumbnail. Let’s look at them:
The Size
To create the perfect thumbnail, you should first know the resolution of an ideal thumbnail. For now, the best size is 1280 x 720 pixels. This rectangular shape is large enough for you to create some stunning graphics, so keep that in mind.
Clickbaity, But Accurate
A good thumbnail encourages a person to click on the video because it has something that makes them go, “What? I need to know what this is!” A thumbnail may tease a shocking fact or show someone’s reaction. If you look at the viral videos across YouTube, you can see many users implementing this rule.
With that said, it needs to be accurate to the video. Many users used to create thumbnails utterly irrelevant to the video, and then YouTube cracked down on this. If you are dishonest, you may be penalized.
It Needs to Follow Basic Graphic Design Rules
We aren’t going to lecture you all day about graphic design, but your thumbnail should have a great graphic design. It should use contrasting or complementary colors, implement the rule of thirds, and be easy for a person to understand what it’s about in a few seconds. Look to your competition as an inspiration source.
The Font
Many thumbnails have words on them. These words can tease something interesting about the video, enticing viewers to click on it. We can’t tell you what words work best, but we can tell you about the best font choices. Depending on your subject, specific fonts can go well with the subject matter the video discusses, while the wrong font can turn some people away. Perhaps the most mainstream example is the misuse of Comic Sans, where people will use this font for serious documents when it has a more playful look to it.
Five Fonts That Work Well for Your Videos
1. Impact
Impact font has a bold, provocative look to it. It’s easy to read, and the font works excellently if you’re someone of a few words. Having a couple of words on your thumbnails in Impact can invite the viewer to learn more about the video. It’s also versatile. It can work well in serious videos, but because it’s used in memes, it can even be used as a funny font, depending on the right circumstances.
2. Badaboom BB
There’s a good chance that you have seen this font on some videos, more specifically, videos that are meant for children or meant for fun. It has a playful look to it but does not have that tacky Comic Sans look to it. This font is often paired with colorful thumbnails or reactions from the YouTuber or subject. Overall, it’s an excellent font to add to your collection.
3. River Drive
This font gives a chalky look to all your letters, and it’s used by YouTubers that want people to know that their videos are more laid back or have some sort of aesthetic to them. You may see this font from channels that are uploading their photography or as a choice in a collection of relaxing music. As the name implies, it’s like driving down a gorgeous river.
4. Herona
This font was inspired by gaming and esports channels. It has an impactful appearance but also looks heroic. Think of using this font when uploading a video about accomplishing an achievement in a game no one else has. It also works well for other nerdy content. It really stands out, and is one of the better fonts to get people interested in content, especially if it’s a header font.
5. Indigo
Finally, we have Indigo. This font has a minimalist, clean look to it. You may see this font surrounded by solid colors, and it can work well for a professional video about office culture or even for some creative projects. Sometimes, if you want to have the font as a secondary part of the video, this works better, as it’s not as flashy. Overall, it’s a font that is worth looking at.
There Are Way More Than Just Five
You may want to try these five font choices for your videos, each good for a specific situation.
However, there are only five. Do you know how many fonts there are in the world? Over 200,000! Many people will stick to the fonts that their editing software gives them by default, but don’t be afraid to be adventurous.
Many fonts are free to download and use, while some may require a fee. Either way, research and see what fonts work best for your branding.
And with hundreds of thousands of fonts, there may be one that is not used often that may work with your brand. You’ve done well if people can associate a font with your brand.
Conclusion
The YouTube thumbnail is an art and one that requires some trial and error for you to master. Choosing the correct font is just one hurdle you must overcome to succeed on this platform. We hope this article was helpful to you.