# TikTok creator branding: covers and a look that carries [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/tiktok-creator-branding) Most people meet you in the For You feed and judge you on your profile grid. Here is how to build covers, series and a media kit that make both feel like one creator. ## The short version - TikTok creator branding is mostly decided on the profile grid, where a visitor sees a dozen of your covers at once and chooses whether to follow. - TikTok video covers are 1080×1920 pixels, but the profile grid shows a shorter crop, so cover words belong in the centre of the frame. - Giving each recurring series its own colour on one shared background makes a grid easy to scan and still clearly yours. - The right side of a TikTok video carries the action buttons and the bottom carries the caption and sound, so keep important words clear of both. - A one page media kit in the same look as your covers makes brand deals easier, because it shows a brand what working with you will look like. **TikTok creator branding** lives in two places: the first second of each video in the For You feed, and the profile grid people open when that second worked. The grid is where they decide to follow, so the practical work is a cover system: 1080×1920 covers with the words in the centre, one background look, one font, and a colour for each recurring series. Add a media kit in the same look and brands see a creator who already behaves like a business. ## TikTok cover size and safe zones A TikTok video cover is 1080×1920 pixels, the same 9:16 frame as the video itself. On the profile grid, TikTok shows a shorter crop from the middle of that frame, close to 3:4 on most phones. In the feed, the action buttons run down the right edge and the caption, username and sound sit along the bottom. That leaves one dependable area: the centre. - Full cover 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 - Grid crop, about 3:4: 1080 × 1440 - Shorts cover 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 The full cover against the grid crop. Anything in the top or bottom eighth of the cover may disappear on your profile. - **Cover words:** two to five, in the middle third of the frame, large enough to read at thumbnail size. - **Right edge:** keep it clear in the video itself, where the like, comment and share buttons sit. - **Bottom:** leave room for the caption and sound label; nothing you need people to read goes there. - **Top:** the Following and For You tabs sit over it in the feed. The same frame works for Reels and YouTube Shorts covers, so one design can serve all three. [TikTok cover size](https://gradiently.design/guide/tiktok-cover-size) and [social media safe zones](https://gradiently.design/guide/social-media-safe-zones) have the details for each app. ## Build a cover system, not one off covers A cover system is a fixed layout you only fill in. It saves you twenty minutes per video and it is the single biggest thing that makes a grid look deliberate. Decide these once and write them down. 1. **Pick one background look** A gradient or material in your colours, used behind every cover. Screenshots from the video can sit on top, but the ground stays the same. 2. **Fix the type** One heading font, one size, one position. Bold condensed type holds up best at grid size. 3. **Name your series** Recurring formats such as reviews, tutorials or day in the life each get a short, repeated label. 4. **Give each series a colour** One accent per series on the shared background. Viewers learn the code without being told. 5. **Number episodes** "Part 7" on a cover tells a new visitor there is more, and sends them back through the grid. A vertical TikTok cover in the Shelf test series reading I tried every budget serum, Part 7 A series cover: the label at the top of the safe area, the hook large in the centre. A vertical TikTok cover in the Real mornings series reading My 5am routine, honestly, Part 3 A second series on its own colour, same layout and type, so the grid still reads as one creator. ## Make the TikTok profile grid look consistent You do not need every cover to match perfectly. You need the grid to have a rhythm. Series colours do most of that work: one ground, three or four accents, each meaning a format. Keep them close in brightness so no single series shouts over the others. - Reviews: rose: `linear-gradient(160deg, #1c1917 0%, #9f1239 60%, #fb7185 100%)` - Tutorials: blue: `linear-gradient(160deg, #1c1917 0%, #1e40af 60%, #60a5fa 100%)` - Day in the life: amber: `linear-gradient(160deg, #1c1917 0%, #a16207 60%, #fcd34d 100%)` - Q and A: green: `linear-gradient(160deg, #1c1917 0%, #047857 60%, #6ee7b7 100%)` Four series on one warm black ground. The dark start keeps them related; the accent tells people which format they are about to watch. ### Grid that scatters - A random video frame as every cover - Text in a different place each time - Five fonts across twelve videos - Words cut off by the grid crop ### Grid that carries - One background with a frame or cutout on top - Hook in the same central position - One heading font throughout - Words inside the 3:4 centre Pinned videos sit at the start of the grid, so treat your three pins as a shop window: your best performing video, your clearest introduction and your most typical series. [TikTok text posts](https://gradiently.design/guide/tiktok-text-post) are another good place to practise the look without filming anything. ## Words on the video itself On screen text and captions are part of your branding too. Use the same font as your covers for the opening hook, keep the native caption style for speech if your audience expects it, and never run white text across a bright moving background without something calmer behind it. [Video captions design](https://gradiently.design/guide/video-captions-design) covers sizes and placement, and [Reels and TikTok backgrounds](https://gradiently.design/guide/reels-tiktok-backgrounds) shows how to make talking points over a looping background instead of a filmed shot. ## A TikTok media kit for brand deals When a brand asks for your media kit, they want to know who watches you, what you make and what a partnership would look like. Send a single page or a short PDF in the same colours and type as your covers. It shows taste before they read a word. | Section | What to include | | --- | --- | | Who you are | One line on what you make and for whom | | Audience | Followers, average views and top countries, taken from TikTok analytics on the day you send it | | Series | Your recurring formats, each with a cover thumbnail | | Past work | Brands you have worked with and a link to each video | | Ways to work together | Dedicated video, integration, series sponsorship, usage rights | | Contact | A business email, not just your DMs | Keep the numbers current and real. A kit with stale figures does more harm than one without them. An A4 media kit cover reading Media kit, Shelf test with Maya, skincare reviews for people on a budget An A4 media kit cover in the same look as the grid. Brands see your style before they see your numbers. [Media kit design](https://gradiently.design/guide/media-kit-design) walks through the layout page by page. In Gradiently you can keep covers, the media kit and your Shorts versions in one place: describe a new series to the Designer and it writes the cover words and lays them out in your look, then makes the other sizes. With a brand kit set up, it also writes in your voice. ## FAQ ### What size is a TikTok cover? 1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame. Keep the words in the centre because the profile grid shows a shorter crop. ### How do I make my TikTok grid look aesthetic? Use one background look and one font for every cover, put the hook in the same central place, and give each recurring series its own accent colour. ### Where is the safe zone on TikTok? The centre of the frame. The action buttons run down the right edge and the caption, username and sound sit along the bottom, with tabs across the top. ### What should a TikTok media kit include? Who you are, current audience figures from your analytics, your series, past brand work, ways to work together and a business email, all in the same look as your content. ### Can I use the same cover for TikTok, Reels and Shorts? Yes. All three use 1080×1920, so one design works if the words stay in the centre, clear of each app's buttons.