Zaid Thumbnail Designer

A quick look at my thumbnail work and how I handle YouTube packaging. Thumbnails, split testing, titles, descriptions and uploads. Want to work together? DM me.

I use AI when designing thumbnails. It can help with ideas, improve image quality, and make parts of the process faster. But I don’t think generating an image and calling it a finished thumbnail is enough. A lot of AI thumbnails look fake, especially the faces. And in niches like finance, trust matters. As designers, we still need to understand the video, build a clear idea, and make sure the final thumbnail feels real. AI is a tool. The thinking behind the thumbnail is still our job.

Eric’s real estate channel went from 671,310 views in six months to 2,946,251 views in the next six months. During that time, I worked with him on his video packaging, including thumbnails and titles. Here are 3 things I focus on when packaging a video: 1. Understanding the strongest idea in the video. 2. Making the thumbnail clear and easy to understand. 3. Choosing a title that gives viewers a reason to click. If you’re a creator looking for help with your thumbnails and titles, send me a DM.

I started designing in ninth grade, and the first two things I tried bored me. Posters. Product graphics. Then I made a thumbnail and wanted to keep going. Gaming first, then finance. Thousands of thumbnails later, I design for trading, real estate, sales and e-commerce channels. Here are 3 things that the winners had in common: Here are 3 things I’ve learned along the way: 1. Make the main idea clear at a glance. 2. Give viewers a reason to care about the video. 3. Keep it simple enough to understand on a phone.

Here’s a look at the thumbnails I made for Eric’s real estate channel. Some of his earlier videos got 3.2K, 1.8K, and 11K views. Three videos I worked on reached 101K, 15K, and 100K views. Want me to share my full thumbnail workflow and the checklist I use?

A blurry, badly cut-out face can ruin even the best thumbnail idea. Here’s the face-retouching process I use before any finance thumbnail goes live. Want the prompt? Comment “NEED” and I’ll send it to your DMs.

One mistake I used to make with clients: I would go quiet while working on their thumbnails instead of keeping them updated. Now, even if I’m still working on it, I make sure they know what’s going on. Good communication matters just as much as good design.

Before making your thumbnail more dramatic, check whether the video delivers on it. If you promise a difficult challenge, show the challenge. If you promise a result, explain the result. Give people a reason to trust your next upload too.

For a trading video, “My trading strategy” gives me a topic. “I followed one trading rule for 30 days” makes me wonder what happened. If the video actually contains that experiment, use it. Give viewers a clear situation with an outcome they want to discover.

“I built a really cool table” leaves the viewer guessing. “I built a table using only LEGO” gives them something specific to picture. Words like “cool” and “amazing” don’t explain the idea. Show people what actually makes the video interesting.

Stop designing for CTR. Stop designing for art. Design for the viewer who’ll watch the whole video and come back next week. That’s the only metric your client cares about.

Every niche needs a different approach. Here are 5 things I check when designing finance thumbnails: 1. Is the main idea clear at a glance? 2. Is there a clear reason to click? 3. Is the text readable on a phone? 4. Do the face and visuals look natural? 5. Do the numbers and claims match the video?

Let's be honest, most thumbnails that look fancy and ultra-detailed are actually for impressing other designers. The viewers just want one reason to click.

Small tip for thumbnail designers: Speed, quality and communication it's all a thumbnail designer needs for clients to keep coming back.

Some Banger Vlog Thumbnails i made, which one do you prefer?

A thumbnail designer should focus more on understanding the main points of a video and giving the viewer a reason to click than making a detailed beautiful art. Only designers care how cool a thumbnail looks. The viewers only ask where the video is about something they care or not.

Designers, what would you choose: one huge month of income, or consistent income every single month? think and then reply

Tbh, most of the thumbnails I made in October are some of my best work. The quality has been top-notch, and they’ve gotten pretty good views too. So yeah, I’m really happy with them. What about you guys?

Someone asked how I automate my posts, so here’s my setup: I use dot + Google Drive + Metricool. I keep my finished thumbnails in Google Drive so the work is ready to use. I tell dot what I want to post, which images to use and how often. It helps organise the images, write captions and prepare a posting plan. I review the content and approve what gets scheduled. I still decide what goes on my accounts. Through the connected Metricool account, the approved posts get scheduled and published at the set times. dot checks whether the scheduled posts actually published, so a failed upload doesn’t go unnoticed. There’s still setup and review involved, but I don’t have to stop working every day to upload manually. The thumbnails are my work. This setup helps me share them consistently. Are you scheduling your posts or still uploading everything manually?