# Podcast episode artwork: a series that scans in a feed [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-episode-artwork) The show cover stays. Episode art is the square that changes. Here is the file, a layout that still matches in a list, and a way to make a whole season from one page. ## The short version - Podcast episode artwork is a square image for one episode, separate from the show cover. - Apple Podcasts accepts episode art from 1400×1400 to 3000×3000 pixels via RSS, prefers 3000×3000, and asks for JPEG or PNG in RGB with no transparency. - If you do not supply episode art, Apple Podcasts shows the show cover, including when several shows are presented together. - A season scans when the ground, type and layout stay fixed and only the guest or theme changes. - Design one master square, then create the season from a spreadsheet with one row per episode. **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](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-cover-art) is the guide for it, and the [podcast cover size](https://gradiently.design/guide/apple-podcasts-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 | Rule | What to export | | --- | --- | | Shape | Square, both sides equal | | Preferred size | 3000×3000 pixels | | Accepted via RSS | 1400×1400 up to 3000×3000 pixels | | Format | JPEG or PNG, RGB, 72 dpi | | Transparency | None, and no alpha channel | | If you skip it | Apple shows the show cover | Apple's episode art page asks for 3000×3000. RSS accepts 1400×1400 up to that size and prefers the largest. Other apps read the same feed. 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. > **What gets artwork dropped** No alpha channel, no transparent ground, and no Apple logos, the words Apple Podcasts, or pictures of Apple hardware. That art can be rejected or removed. Flatten onto a solid ground before you export. - Master 3000×3000: 3000 × 3000 - Minimum 1400×1400: 1400 × 1400 - Readability check 300×300: 300 × 300 The two Apple limits, drawn to scale, plus a 300 pixel check. That small square is not a file you upload. It is the master at one tenth, so you can see whether the name survives a list. 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](https://gradiently.design/guide/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. Square episode artwork for the fictional show Northlamp, episode 41, guest Mira Chen, on a gradient ground Episode 41 is the master: one ground, the number in the eyebrow, the guest as the only large line. Matching Northlamp episode artwork for episode 42, with the guest name Jonah Hale in the same position Episode 42 keeps every slot. Only the guest and the supporting line move, which is what lets a list scan. Northlamp episode 43 artwork with the longer guest name Ade Okonkwo held in the same layout A longer name still sits in the same band. If Ade Okonkwo fits, the shorter names will too. Northlamp episode 44 artwork for guest Lena Voss, using the same square layout and gradient as the earlier episodes Four weeks of one ground. The colour should identify the show before anyone reads Lena Voss. ### Avoid - A new ground every episode - The full title in small type - The show logo in a corner - A one-off layout for one guest - Detail that only reads full size ### Do - One ground for the season - One short line, or none if the title is printed beside it - Leave the logo on the show cover - The same slots every time - A name that reads at 300 pixels 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](https://gradiently.design/guide/text-on-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](https://gradiently.design/guide/bulk-create-from-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. ```text 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 ``` One row per episode. The show name is not a column, because it does not change. Guest photos must already be in the design: a web address in the sheet is not imported. 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. **Write one row per episode** Export UTF-8 CSV or TSV. Keep the supporting line from wrapping, and check the longest name first. 3. **Connect and review** Match each column to a slot and step through every version. An overflow repeats on every similar row. 4. **Read it small** Read a copy at 300 pixels. Cut words before you shrink the type, then create the pages. 5. **Export a clean square** JPEG or PNG, RGB, 72 dpi, no alpha, a solid ground, and a new file name each episode. 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. ```html Ep 41: Mira Chen northlamp-ep-41 ``` Episode art hangs on the item. The channel image stays the show cover. The feed already declares the itunes namespace, so this fragment does not repeat it. 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](https://gradiently.design/guide/open-graph-image-size). Posts and quote cards are [podcast social media](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-social-media). A playlist cover is its own file: [Spotify playlist cover size](https://gradiently.design/guide/spotify-playlist-cover-size). [Copy to sizes](https://gradiently.design/guide/copy-to-sizes) makes the other shapes from the same ground. Before you lock the ground, open the podcast library scene on [Explore](/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. ## FAQ ### What size should podcast episode artwork be? Use 3000×3000 pixels. Via RSS, Apple accepts 1400×1400 up to 3000×3000 and prefers the largest. Export JPEG or PNG in RGB at 72 dpi, with no transparency. ### Do I need artwork for every episode? No. Episode art is optional. If you skip it, Apple Podcasts shows your show cover, including when several shows are presented together. ### Should I write the episode title on the artwork? Apple prints the title and show name under the square and recommends leaving logos and words off the art. If you also use the file alone, keep one short line in the same place each episode. ### Can episode art look different from the show cover? Yes. It should mark that episode's guest or theme, and still share the show cover's ground and type, or the episode list will look like several different shows. ### How do I replace episode art after it is live? Change the file name and the address together. Apple can skip a new image at the old address. A valid feed update is applied within 24 hours. ### Is episode art the same file as a social post? No. The episode file is a square up to 3000×3000. A link preview is 1200×630, and posts, stories and playlist covers are separate exports made from the same ground.