I conceived of, and designed this project as Capstone 1 of my Springboard UX/UI Course.
For content creators, it's impossible to know if the thumbnail you're designing will catch attention and increase traffic. Like many other creators, I spend a great deal of time and energy designing promotional images, like thumbnails, with the goal of increasing views of videos. The goal of this project was to develop a potential solutions that would take some of the guesswork out of designing thumbnails, while also saving content creators time and frustration, and allow them to focus more energy on creating their content.
Content creators have one chance to make a first impression!
More often than not, a thumbnail is the visual device that creators use to immediately attract content consumers...
Thumbnails must present intrigue or potential value so the consumer interrupts their routine and commits to consuming the content. The goal is to “stop the scroll”!
Many creators struggle with producing thumbnails due to a lack of understanding of “what makes a good thumbnail”, a lack of time, and/or a lack of design ability.
There are over 15 million creators on YouTube!
That’s a lot of data showing which thumbnails attract consumers...
If we could use analytics from popular YouTube videos to learn what makes an attractive design, it would:
Remove the guesswork and frustration for content creators.
Make the design process more efficient, saving the content creator time.
How might we help content creators quickly make engaging, attractive thumbnails?
I reviewed existing resources on thumbnail design to answer the questions:
Is there a need?
Do creators need help making thumbnails that they can feel confident will result in more traffic to their content?
Through Secondary Research, I found that, although there is no official research, anecdotal evidence (such as “how to” articles and social media posts) suggests that creators are seeking guidance on how to design thumbnails that will catch the attention of consumers.
“How to” and Best Practices
Articles and blog posts offer guidance and suggestions on how to design “good” thumbnails.
Social Media Posts
Content creators post on social media and forums, expressing that they struggle with creating thumbnails, and seeking advice.
Additionally, I discovered:
Research that emphasizes why it’s important to make an eye-catching thumbnail.
Research conducted to determine what thumbnail design elements attract consumer attention.
A study conducted in 2014 by neuroscientists at MIT found that
..."the human brain can process entire images... in as little as 13 milliseconds."
A study "What Makes the Perfect Thumbnail" conducted in 2020 by BestSEOCompanies posited that
There are specific design elements and criteria that compose the anatomy of a "successful thumbnail".
With as little as 13 milliseconds to make an impression, creators need to design thumbnails that quickly catch consumer attention.
Defining design elements and criteria that are appealing to consumers could ensure that creators incorporate attractive elements.
Researching, learning, and applying this information takes a long time.
If a program could apply this information to designs, it would save creators a lot of time.
This research does not account for future changes in what consumers find appealing.
Having a program that could be updated if/when different aesthetics become appealing would keep the creators’ designs relevant.
I conducted research on the current options available for designing thumbnails, such as:
There are design programs, like Photoshop, that creators can use to create thumbnails. However, considerable time is needed to learn design programs.
Even with the current options available, creators are still struggling with designing thumbnails, and are searching for guidance on how to make them better (see Secondary Research).
None of the current options suggest thumbnail designs based on appealing thumbnail design elements, or analytics from existing, successful videos. A program that could do this would save the creator time and frustration, and would alleviate guesswork.
..."the human brain can process entire images... in as little as 13 milliseconds."
Content creators have very little time to make an impression.
Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with content creators ranging from new to experienced, with the goals of:
Gaining an understanding of how content creators design thumbnails;
Determining what pain points and difficulties they encounter; and,
Determining how they feel when the process is complete.
I compiled the responses and searched for commonalities and themes using Affinity Mapping.
Although the participants had unique experiences and insights, there were some values and pain points that they shared.
I grouped these commonalities into three main themes.
All interviewees asked this question.
Creators don’t have a good understanding of what qualities make a thumbnail appealing.
Participants emphasized the importance of creating a personal brand aesthetic.
Many indicated this is more important than thumbnail design.
All interviewees mentioned how much they value their time.
After producing their content, they did not want to spend a lot of time making thumbnails.
Content creators want a fast way to make better thumbnails.
After synthesizing the data from the interviews and using it go generate a target user persona, one theme stood out as the most surprising:
Suggesting thumbnail designs was not enough. The ability to customize thumbnails, allowing for creator-specific design elements and personal branding must be included.
The initial round of usability testing revealed eight usability issues in the design that were addressed in the subsequent iteration.
Of those eight, I identified three “critical” issues that were ubiquitous across all participants and associated with features integral to functionality.
Analtytics from existing successful thumbnails
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Design editing and creative control...
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The perfect tool for content creators who struggle with making thumbnails!
Created in Figma. Full prototype:
Since this was a student project in the Springboard UI/UX curriculum, I was learning about design and research principles as my project was progressing.
This being my first UX and UI project, I learned a lot in the time between the initial concept and the final design
Accounting for how far my skills progressed in that time, there are a lot of differences in the way I would approach this project now, especially design-wise. That being said, there are some key takeaways from this experience:
1. In the blink of an eye; MIT neuroscientists find the brain can identify images seen for as little as 13 milliseconds. Anne Trafton, MIT News Office, January 16, 2014 https://news.mit.edu/2014/in-the-blink-of-an-eye-0116
2. Analyzing YouTube Thumbnails: What Makes The Perfect Thumbnail [Study], Best SEO Companies https://www.bestseocompanies.com/blog/youtube-thumbnails/
