Podcast episode artwork: a series that scans in a feed

Podcast episode artwork is the square for one episode: 3000×3000 pixels, the same ground and layout as the rest of the season, with one fact that changes so the list still scans as one show. That fact is the guest, or the theme.

The show cover is a different file. Podcast cover art is the guide for it, and the podcast cover size is the same range of pixels. This page is only the art that changes every episode.

Where episode art shows up

Episode art is optional. On Apple Podcasts it shows on Now Playing, the Lock Screen, Control Center, Home, and the show and episode pages. Publish it in the RSS feed so other apps that honour an episode image can use the same square. If you leave it out, Apple shows the show cover, including when several shows appear together. Episode art is for your own list, not a mixed grid.

The show cover carries the name and the logo. The episode square marks this week's guest and has to match its neighbours. Chapter images are separate, and they do not replace the episode square.

The file every episode uses

Both sides have to match, so a near-square file still fails. Export RGB, not the print colour space CMYK. Draw the square at 3000 pixels. Enlarging a smaller social image looks soft next to artwork drawn at full size.

Listeners see the art at many sizes, and Apple does not name one thumbnail. Export at 3000, then read a copy at 300 pixels. If the name fails there, it fails in the list.

A layout that scans in a list

These squares are the fictional show Northlamp. Lock the ground, the type and the slots. Change the number, the guest or theme, and one short line. The same rule as brand consistency: a cue has to repeat. Fit the longest name, not the shortest.

• One Mark on every episode.
• Show name and number in the same spot.
• Guest or theme as the only large line.
• One short supporting line.
• No URL, and no special layout for one guest.

Apple recommends no logo and no words on episode art, because the title and show name already sit under the square. Follow that inside the app. Used alone, the square can carry one short line, large and in the same place, clear of the edges. Check it against Apple's layout guide, which marks where buttons and labels can cover the art. Do not invent that margin yourself.

If you do set words on the ground, use text on a gradient. A Mark can move its calmer area behind the words and pick light or dark ink per line. Leave the ground clean: no box, shadow or blur behind the name.

Make a season from one page

Build the master once, at 3000×3000, on a single Mark. In Gradiently that square is the Apple Podcasts cover size. Bulk create, on Pro, fills the season from a CSV or TSV of up to 1 MB: headings in the first row, one episode per row. Connect each column to a text slot, review every version, and create the pages. One Undo removes the batch, and the spreadsheet stays in your browser. Bulk create from a spreadsheet covers quoting and image columns.

Export needs the Mark to be yours. A free export is PNG or JPG at 720p with a small watermark, which is under the 1400 pixel minimum, so it cannot go in the feed. Publish the full-size file, with no watermark.

episode,guest,line
41,Mira Chen,How a bakery brands a Saturday
42,Jonah Hale,A studio that ships one chair
43,Ade Okonkwo,The colour of a city at dusk
44,Lena Voss,Why menus are designed twice

1. 1

   Design the master

   Set the page to 3000×3000 on one Mark, with placeholders for the number, guest and line. Fit the longest name.

2. 2

   Write one row per episode

   Export UTF-8 CSV or TSV. Keep the supporting line from wrapping, and check the longest name first.

3. 3

   Connect and review

   Match each column to a slot and step through every version. An overflow repeats on every similar row.

4. 4

   Read it small

   Read a copy at 300 pixels. Cut words before you shrink the type, then create the pages.

5. 5

   Export a clean square

   JPEG or PNG, RGB, 72 dpi, no alpha, a solid ground, and a new file name each episode.

6. 6

   Point the episode at the file

   Set the image address on that episode. Leave the show cover address as it is.

Put the file in the feed

The channel image is the show cover. The item image is that episode. Hosts hide the difference behind an upload field. If you edit the feed yourself, the episode address belongs on the item.

<item>
  <title>Ep 41: Mira Chen</title>
  <itunes:image href="https://media.example.com/northlamp-ep-41.jpg"/>
  <guid isPermaLink="false">northlamp-ep-41</guid>
</item>

Replace a square by changing the file name and the address together. Apple can ignore a new picture at the old address, and it picks up a valid feed change within 24 hours. Keep the file public on a server that answers HTTP HEAD, including Last-Modified. A podcast host does this.

This square is not the link preview or the social kit. A shared link wants a 1200×630 Open Graph image. Posts and quote cards are podcast social media. A playlist cover is its own file: Spotify playlist cover size. Copy to sizes makes the other shapes from the same ground.

Before you lock the ground, open the podcast library scene on Explore. It shows a Mark as a run of covers, with fictional brands, and you cannot place your logo in the scene. Judge the series there, then build the real pages.