The short version
- A quote card is a social graphic that shows one exact line from a guest, author or speaker, with their name and the source it came from.
- The best quote card lines are short, complete thoughts of under about twenty words that make sense without the conversation around them.
- Type size should follow the length of the quote, so a short line can be set very large and a long one needs smaller type or a shorter excerpt.
- Attribution belongs on its own line under the quote, with the person's name, their role or book, and the episode, title or event.
- Quote people exactly, mark any cut with an ellipsis, and keep book quotes short and credited.
On this page
A quote card is a single graphic that puts one exact line from someone else, a podcast guest, an author or a conference speaker, in large type, with their name and the source underneath. The layout is simple: the quote fills the upper two thirds of the frame, the attribution sits below it on its own line, and a small mark tells people where it came from, such as the episode number or book title. The hard part is choosing a line that stands on its own and sizing the type to its length.
This article is about quoting other people. If you are sharing your own words, sayings or motivational lines, see quote post design, which deals with that different job.
The anatomy of a quote card
Example
Example
What goes there
Example
Example
What goes there
Example
Set the name on its own line beneath the quote rather than putting a dash in front of it. A line of space and a change of weight or colour do the same job more cleanly. Use proper curly quotation marks (“ and ”), and consider setting the opening mark slightly larger and hanging it into the margin so the text block still looks aligned.
Three quote card layouts
The structure stays the same; the source line changes with the medium. Keep one layout per series so a run of cards from your podcast or reading list is recognisable at a glance.
A podcast quote card: guest name and episode number above, show name below.
A book quote card: an editorial layout, with the book and chapter as the source.
A speaker quote card for LinkedIn: the role matters here, and the event and date give context.
Quote card type sizes by quote length
On a 1080×1350 card, these sizes keep a quote readable on a phone and stop long quotes from crowding the frame. Measure in words, not characters, and cut before you shrink: a smaller quote is almost always a better quote.
Quote size
Attribution size
Line height
Quote size
Attribution size
Line height
Quote size
Attribution size
Line height
Quote size
Attribution size
Line height
Keep lines between roughly 20 and 35 characters, which on a card usually means three to six lines of text. Line height and line length explains why, and font size for Instagram posts covers minimums for small text such as the source line.
How to choose the right quote
- 1
Read or listen for complete thoughts
Mark lines that make sense on their own, with no "that" or "this" pointing back to something earlier in the conversation.
- 2
Prefer the surprising over the agreeable
"Consistency matters" is true and forgettable. A line with a specific claim or a twist gets shared.
- 3
Check the exact wording
Use the transcript or the page, not memory. Speech can be lightly tidied for ums and repeats, but never change meaning.
- 4
Mark any cuts
If you remove words in the middle, show it with an ellipsis (…). Don't join two separate sentences as if they were one.
- 5
Send it to the person
Tag guests and speakers and let them know it is coming. They are your most likely sharers, and it is a courtesy.
Make a series, not a one off
Quote cards work best as a repeating format: one per episode, one per chapter, a set after every event. A consistent background and type let followers recognise your cards before they read them, and that recognition is what turns a series into a habit. For podcasts, they sit alongside audiograms and episode covers; podcast social media covers the full set, and event recap posts shows where speaker quotes fit after an event.
Avoid
- A stock photo of mountains behind the words
- Quotes over 40 words squeezed into small type
- No name, or a name with no source
- A different style for every card
- A large logo competing with the quote
Do
- A calm background that belongs to your show
- Short lines, set large
- Name, role and episode or title, every time
- One template for the whole series
- A small show name or handle in a corner
In Gradiently, set up the card once on your Mark and the Mark keeps a calm, high contrast area behind the quote however long it runs. Auto ink picks light or dark type per line from the Mark's own palette. With Pro, bulk create can turn a spreadsheet of quotes, names and episode numbers into a full set of cards in one go.
Questions people ask
What is a quote card?
A social media graphic showing one exact line from a guest, author or speaker, with their name and the source, such as an episode, book or event.
What should be on a podcast quote card?
The quote, the guest's name, the episode number and the show name, with the show's usual background and type so the series is recognisable.
How long should a quote on a quote card be?
Ideally under about twenty words. Longer quotes need much smaller type, so excerpt them or spread them over a carousel.
How do you write attribution on a quote card?
Put the name on its own line under the quote, followed by their role or book and the source. A change of weight or colour separates it from the quote.
Can I post quotes from books on social media?
Short, credited quotations are common in reviews and recommendations, but rules vary by country. Keep them brief and always name the author and title.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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