# YouTube channel branding: banner, thumbnails, watermark [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-branding) A channel is seen in more places than its owner usually realises: search, suggestions, the TV app, a watermark in the corner. Here is every branded element, what size it is and how to make them match. ## The short version - YouTube channel branding covers seven elements: the profile picture, the banner, thumbnails, the video watermark, Shorts covers, title cards and end screens. - The YouTube banner is uploaded at 2560×1440 pixels, but only a central 1546×423 area is visible on every device, so text and logos belong there. - YouTube thumbnails are 1280×720 pixels and do more branding work than any other element, because they appear in search and suggestions. - The video watermark is a small image set in YouTube Studio that sits in the corner of the player and lets desktop viewers subscribe from it. - Using the same background, colours and type across banner, thumbnails and Shorts covers makes a channel recognisable from any of them. **YouTube channel branding** is the set of seven visual elements that tell a viewer a video is yours: the profile picture, the channel banner, thumbnails, the video watermark, Shorts covers, title cards and end screens. Each one appears in a different place, from search results to the corner of a playing video. They work when they share one look, so a viewer who knows your thumbnails recognises your banner, and the other way round. Use this as a checklist. If you build creator content as a person rather than a channel, [YouTuber branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtuber-branding) covers the personal side; this page is about the channel's parts. ## The YouTube channel branding checklist | Element | Size | Where it appears | Get it right | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Profile picture | Square, shown as a circle | Under every video, in comments, search | A symbol or face that reads tiny | | Banner | 2560×1440 | Top of the channel page | Words inside the central 1546×423 | | Thumbnail | 1280×720 | Search, home, suggestions | One template family, large words | | Watermark | Small square image | Corner of the player | Simple symbol on a transparent background | | Shorts cover | 1080×1920 | Shorts tab and shelf | Words in the middle of the frame | | Title card | 1920×1080 | First seconds of the video | Same look as the thumbnail | | End screen | 1920×1080 | Last 5 to 20 seconds | Leave room for YouTube's elements | Seven elements, one look. Tick them off in this order: the earlier ones are seen far more often. ## Profile picture and banner The profile picture appears next to every video title and comment, very small. Use a simple symbol, a monogram or a tight portrait, centred, with no text. It should match your avatar on other platforms. The banner is uploaded at 2560×1440, but televisions show the whole image, desktops a wide strip across the middle, and phones a narrower slice. Only the central 1546×423 area is safe on all of them. Put your channel name, a short promise and an upload rhythm there ("New guides every Thursday"), and let the rest be background that extends naturally on large screens. [YouTube banner size](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-banner-size) has the full map of crops. - Banner 2560×1440: 2560 × 1440 - Safe area 1546×423: 1546 × 423 - Thumbnail 1280×720: 1280 × 720 - Shorts cover 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 The banner and its safe area to scale, beside a thumbnail and a Shorts cover. The safe area is a thin strip, so keep the banner's words short. ## Thumbnails do most of the branding More people see your thumbnails than anything else on the channel, usually before they know who you are. A recognisable thumbnail style is the strongest branding a channel has. Pick one background family, one typeface in a heavy weight, and two or three layouts you rotate. Keep the words to three or four, large enough to read on a phone, and away from the lower right corner where YouTube shows the video length. A YouTube thumbnail reading Fix banding in 60 seconds with a Colour basics series label on a gradient background A series thumbnail: the eyebrow names the series, the line names the episode. A second YouTube thumbnail reading Pick brand colours fast in the same series template and background The next episode in the same template. On a shelf of suggestions, the pair reads as one channel. [YouTube thumbnail design](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-thumbnail-design) goes deep on composition and [thumbnail text](https://gradiently.design/guide/typography-for-thumbnails) on type that reads small. Gradiently is useful here because a Mark moves its calmest, best contrasting region behind your words and picks light or dark ink per line, so a big headline stays readable on every thumbnail without boxes or shadows. ## Adding a YouTube watermark The watermark is a small image that sits in the corner of the player on your videos. On desktop, hovering over it lets viewers subscribe without leaving the video, so it is both branding and a button. 1. **Make a simple square image** Your symbol or monogram, no words, on a transparent background. Fine detail vanishes at this size. 2. **Open YouTube Studio** Go to Customisation, then Branding, and find the video watermark section. 3. **Upload and choose timing** Show it for the entire video, from a custom start time, or only at the end. 4. **Check it on a real video** Play one on a dark and a light scene to make sure the symbol reads on both. YouTube's own instructions live in the [YouTube Help Centre](https://support.google.com/youtube), which also lists the current file requirements. ## Shorts covers, title cards and end screens **Shorts covers** are 1080×1920. The interface covers the bottom and the right side, and the channel page crops them shorter, so keep words in the middle third. Use the same background and type as your thumbnails, so the vertical side of the channel looks like the same brand. See [YouTube Shorts cover size](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-shorts-cover-size). A **title card** in the first seconds of a video should echo its thumbnail, so viewers feel they have landed where they clicked. **End screens** run in the last 5 to 20 seconds and carry YouTube's own video and subscribe elements; design a calm background with space for them rather than a busy frame. [YouTube end screen design](https://gradiently.design/guide/youtube-end-screen-design) shows workable layouts. ### Avoid - A banner with text near the edges - Every thumbnail in a new style - A watermark with your full name in small type - Shorts covers that ignore the main look - Busy end screens that hide YouTube's buttons ### Do - Name and promise inside the central safe area - Two or three thumbnail layouts on one background - A simple symbol as the watermark - Shorts covers in the same colours and type - Calm end screens with room for the elements The fastest way to keep seven elements in step is to make them from one design. With Gradiently Pro you can resize a design to every size in one step, so your banner, thumbnail template, Shorts cover and end screen all come from the same Mark. [Gaming channel art](https://gradiently.design/guide/gaming-channel-art) shows the same system for a gaming audience. ## FAQ ### What size is YouTube channel art? Upload the banner at 2560×1440 pixels and keep text and logos inside the central 1546×423 area, which is visible on every device. ### What size is a YouTube thumbnail? 1280×720 pixels, a 16:9 image. Keep words large and away from the lower right corner, where the video length appears. ### How do I add a watermark to my YouTube videos? In YouTube Studio, open Customisation, then Branding, upload a small square image in the video watermark section and choose when it shows. ### What should be on a YouTube banner? Your channel name, a short promise of what the channel offers and, if you have one, your upload schedule, all inside the central safe area. ### How do I make my YouTube channel look consistent? Use one background family, one heavy typeface and a few thumbnail layouts, and carry them onto the banner, Shorts covers and end screens.