# Podcast guest cards: one layout for every episode announcement

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-guest-cards)

Design the guest card once: a post for you, a card the guest can share, and one line from the interview. Then swap the name, the topic and the date.

## The short version

- Podcast guest cards announce a guest with one layout for the whole season.
- Each card shows the guest's name, the topic and the date, plus a small show name in a fixed corner.
- From one episode, make a host card, a card the guest can repost, and a short quote in their words.
- Design the master at 1080×1350, then reframe it as a square, a story and a link preview.
- A spreadsheet with one row per guest fills the name, the topic and the date.

**Podcast guest cards** are how you announce a guest. Use one layout every episode, changing only the name, the topic and the date, on the same ground. That is a host post, a card the guest can share, and one short quote.

Clips and the rest of the kit are in [podcast social media](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-social-media). Here: what a guest card says, which sizes to export, and how a spreadsheet makes the season.

## What to put on a podcast guest card

Treat it as an [announcement post](https://gradiently.design/guide/announcement-post-design): what is happening, when, and where to listen. The guest and the topic are the what. The date is the when. The show name only says whose card it is.

| Slot | Job | What to write |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Guest | Who is on | The name, on one line |
| Topic | Why listen | The idea, not the number |
| Date | When it is out | Same place each week |
| Show | Whose card | Small, same corner |
| Listen | The one action | One app, not a list |

Three slots change. The show name and the action stay, so the series still scans.

Make the topic or the name largest, not both. “Episode 18 is live” wastes the headline. Listeners come for the topic.

Portrait podcast guest card with the topic as the headline, the guest name above, and the show and date below

Host card: the topic is the headline, the guest sits above, and the show and date sit below.

Size the type for the longest name you will use. If Alexandrine Moreau fits, Nia Okoye will. Never shorten a real name. Cut the topic, or give the name its own line and let the topic wrap.

## Three cards from one episode

One conversation makes three cards on one ground, with the show name in the same corner. Only the headline changes.

- Host card: the topic is the headline, with the guest and the date smaller.
- Guest card: their name large, your show as the credit.
- Quote card: one exact line, their name, and the episode.

Portrait guest share card reading I sat down with Harbour Line, with the guest name and topic underneath

The guest's card, written so they can post it: their name is the credit, your show is the place.

Same frame, new headline. See [quote card design](https://gradiently.design/guide/quote-card-design): one complete thought, the name on its own line, the episode underneath. Keep it near twenty words, quote exactly, mark a cut with an ellipsis, and get a yes before you publish.

Portrait quote card with a short guest line, the guest name above, and the show and episode below

Quote card: the same ground and the same corner for the show. Only the line changes.

### Easy to ignore

- A new ground every guest
- The episode number as the headline
- The full bio on the image
- A new layout for the quote
- Type sized only for short names

### Easy to share

- One ground all season
- The topic or the name, largest
- Name only; the bio stays in the caption
- The same slots, quote as the headline
- The longest name checked first

> **Send a pack, not a file** On release day, send three cards and two caption lines. Guests share what they can post as it stands.

## Sizes for the places a guest will post

Design the master at 1080×1350, the portrait used on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X and LinkedIn. Make the other shapes from that page with [copy to sizes](https://gradiently.design/guide/copy-to-sizes), so the ground does not drift.

| Card | Pixels | Where it is posted |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Portrait | 1080×1350 | Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X and LinkedIn |
| Square | 1080×1080 | Instagram and Threads square posts |
| LinkedIn square | 1200×1200 | LinkedIn square posts |
| Story | 1080×1920 | A story with room for a link sticker |
| Link preview | 1200×630 | The image on a shared episode link |

The portrait is the master. Every other row is that card, reframed.

Stories are 1080×1920, with the top and bottom partly covered. Keep the name, the topic and the date in the middle of the same layout.

The square in the podcast app is [podcast episode artwork](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-episode-artwork), not this card. A shared link wants 1200×630, as in [Open Graph image size](https://gradiently.design/guide/open-graph-image-size). Same ground, different files.

## Make the season from one spreadsheet

Once the longest name fits, stop retyping. In Gradiently, bulk create builds one page per guest from a CSV or TSV of up to 1 MB, with headings in the first row. The sheet stays in your browser, one Undo clears the batch, and bulk create is part of Pro. [Bulk create from a spreadsheet](https://gradiently.design/guide/bulk-create-from-spreadsheet) covers commas and photos. The columns you need are name, topic and date.

```text
name,topic,date
Nia Okoye,A shop that only sells repairs,4 November
Elias Ward,How a city chooses its type,11 November
Alexandrine Moreau,A brief that should have been shorter,18 November
```

One guest per row. Leave the show name off the sheet. Quote any cell that contains a comma.

Add role and quote columns for the other two cards. Run the sheet once per layout: name, topic and date on the announcement, name and quote on the quote card. Leave the show name unconnected and it stays on every row.

1. **Design the master** Start from a blank 1080×1350 page on the show's Mark. Fit the longest name before the short ones.
2. **Export the guest sheet** Use UTF-8 CSV, or TSV when a topic contains a comma. One guest per row, headings on the first row.
3. **Connect the three columns** Match name, topic and date. Leave the show name unconnected so it stays on every card.
4. **Review the long rows** Read every guest. Type does not shrink to fit. Shorten an overflowing topic, or allow two lines, then check again.
5. **Create the other cards** Create the pages, then run the same sheet on the share card and the quote card. One Undo removes a bad batch.
6. **Reframe and export** Make the square and the story from the master. One extra size is free. Every size in one step is part of Pro.

Skip headshots when the name reads more clearly on the ground. Photos must already be in the design, named as layers: a web address is not imported, and a blank cell keeps the current picture.

The Mark has to be yours to export. Free exports are PNG or JPG at 720p with a small watermark. Post the full-size card with no watermark, which is a Pro export.

## One ground for the whole season

The ground is what ties this week to last month. Take it from the show icon and keep it for the season. [Podcast cover art](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-cover-art) is where that look is decided. A one-off background for a famous guest breaks the series.

In Gradiently's Explore, the quote cards scene is three posts on one Mark: use it to see if different lines still read as one show. The brands are examples, the scene is not editable, and you cannot place a logo in it. Build the real cards on a blank page.

Keep the words readable. With [text on a gradient](https://gradiently.design/guide/text-on-gradient), a Mark can sit its calmer area behind the lines, and auto ink can pick light or dark type from its own colours. Use no box, shadow or blur behind the name.

## FAQ

### What size is a podcast guest card?

Start at 1080×1350 for the portrait feed. From that layout, also export 1080×1080, 1200×1200, 1080×1920 and 1200×630.

### What should a guest announcement card include?

The guest's name, the topic and the date, with the show name small and in a fixed place. Keep the biography and the app list in the caption.

### How do I make guest cards for a whole season?

Design one card, then fill name, topic and date from a spreadsheet, one guest per row. Check the longest name first. The type size does not change per row.

### Should the guest post the same card as the host?

Give them a card on the same ground, their name large and your show as the credit, plus one exact quote. Send both, with a caption, before release day.

### How is a guest card different from episode artwork?

A guest card is the social post, usually 1080×1350. Episode artwork is the square inside the podcast app. Share the ground, and do not upload the portrait as that square.

### How long should the quote on a guest card be?

One complete thought of about twenty words, in their exact words, with their name and the episode on the lines below.