# YouTube banner size: designing for TV, desktop and phone [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-banner-size) YouTube channel art is uploaded as one large image and shown as a completely different crop on every device. Here is the size, the safe area, and a layout that works on all of them. ## The short version - The YouTube banner, called channel art, is uploaded at 2560×1440 pixels, a 16:9 image. - Televisions show the whole 2560×1440 image, while desktops show a wide strip across its middle and phones show a narrower slice. - The area that is visible on every device is 1546×423 pixels in the centre of the image, so text and logos must sit inside it. - The rest of the image is background that appears on larger screens, so it should extend the design rather than carry information. - A channel banner works best when it matches the channel's thumbnails, so viewers recognise the look from the feed. The **YouTube banner size** is 2560×1440 pixels. That's the image you upload, and it's what a television shows. Desktops show only a wide strip across the middle, and phones show a narrower slice of that strip. The only part visible everywhere is a 1546×423 pixel area in the exact centre, so put your channel name, logo and any text inside it, and treat everything else as background that fills bigger screens. ## What each device shows of your channel art | Device | Visible area (px) | What it means | | --- | --- | --- | | Television | 2560×1440 | The whole image, as a full-screen backdrop | | Desktop | Up to 2560×423 | A full-width strip across the middle | | Tablet | About 1855×423 | A narrower strip, trimmed at both sides | | Phone | 1546×423 | The central safe area only | All crops are taken from the centre of the 2560×1440 upload. The phone view is the safe area: design for it first. - Full upload (TV): 2560 × 1440 - Desktop strip: 2560 × 423 - Safe area (all devices): 1546 × 423 The three views drawn to scale. The safe area is a small part of the image you upload, which is why so many banners lose their text on phones. ## The YouTube banner safe area, in pixels Set guides at these positions on a 2560×1440 canvas before you design anything. Everything important goes inside the inner box; the desktop strip is the band between the top and bottom guides. ```text Canvas 2560 x 1440 Safe area 1546 x 423, centred left edge x = 507 right edge x = 2053 top edge y = 508 bottom edge y = 931 Desktop strip full width, y = 508 to 931 Television the whole canvas ``` Guide positions for channel art. The safe area is centred horizontally and vertically. ## How to lay out a YouTube banner 1. **Start at 2560×1440** Upload at full size so the television view stays sharp. A smaller image is scaled up and looks soft. 2. **Draw the safe area** Add the guides above. Your channel name, logo, schedule or tagline all live inside that 1546×423 box. 3. **Fill the desktop strip** The band from left to right edge at the same height as the safe area is what most desktop visitors see. Extend the background across it; avoid placing anything that looks cut off at the edges of the safe area. 4. **Treat the rest as backdrop** Above and below the strip is only seen on television. Continue the background there so the image feels complete, but put no information in it. 5. **Check every view** Preview on a phone, a laptop and, if you can, a television. YouTube also shows a device preview when you upload. A 2560 by 1440 YouTube banner with a centred line reading New films every Thursday over a full-bleed gradient Channel art with the words in the centre, where every device shows them, and the background filling the rest for larger screens. ## What to put on your YouTube banner The safe area is small, so choose one or two of these rather than all of them. - **The channel name or logo**, if it isn't obvious from your profile picture. - **What the channel is about**, in a few words: "Pottery for beginners" says more than a slogan. - **When new videos arrive**, such as "New films every Thursday", which gives visitors a reason to subscribe. - **Something current**, like a course, a book or a live event, changed when it ends. ## Common YouTube banner mistakes ### Avoid - Text near the left or right of the desktop strip, which phones cut off - A logo in a corner, which only televisions show - Small type that only reads on a desktop - A photo whose subject sits above or below the strip - A different look from your thumbnails ### Do - All words and logos inside the 1546×423 safe area - A background that extends smoothly across the whole canvas - One line, large enough to read on a phone - Subjects placed in the central band - The same colours and material as your thumbnails Gradients and textures are well suited to channel art, because they extend naturally to any width without an obvious edge. A photo has to be composed carefully so its subject lands in the central band; a gradient simply continues. [How to make a gradient background](https://gradiently.design/guide/gradient-background) shows how to build one that doesn't look generic. ## Match your banner to your thumbnails Visitors usually arrive at your channel from a video. If the banner shares the look of the thumbnails they just clicked, the channel feels like one place. Use the same background, type and colours on both. [YouTube thumbnail size](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-thumbnail-size) covers the other half, and [creator branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/creator-branding) the bigger picture. If you stream too, [stream backgrounds](https://gradiently.design/guide/stream-overlay-background) should wear the same look. Gradiently includes YouTube channel art, thumbnails and Shorts covers as built-in sizes. Copy to sizes lays one design out again for each, and a Mark renders at full resolution for every shape, so the banner and the thumbnails share one look without stretching. ## FAQ ### What is the YouTube banner size? 2560×1440 pixels, a 16:9 image, uploaded as your channel art. ### What is the YouTube banner safe area? A 1546×423 pixel area in the centre of the 2560×1440 image. It is the only part shown on every device, so text and logos must sit inside it. ### Why is my YouTube banner cut off on mobile? Phones show only the central 1546×423 area. Anything outside it, including text near the sides of the desktop strip, is hidden. ### What does a YouTube banner look like on TV? Televisions show the full 2560×1440 image as a backdrop, so the areas above and below the desktop strip should continue the background. ### Is a gradient a good background for a YouTube banner? Yes. A gradient or texture extends naturally across the full 2560 pixel width and the television view, with no subject that can be cut off by a crop. ### Should my YouTube banner match my thumbnails? Yes. Sharing the same background, type and colours makes the channel recognisable to people arriving from a video.