Your podcast artwork is important because it’s the first thing people see when they want to listen to your podcast. But designing something that looks good is hard. Even if you can use tools to help you, it’s still a good idea to get help from someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s like asking a friend to help you with your homework because you’re not good at a certain subject. It’s better to get help than to risk not doing a good job and people not wanting to listen to your podcast.
The technical stuff
Your podcast artwork needs to
- be a square image, between 1400px and 3000px on each side
- be 72dpi, which is the traditional resolution for digital images
- use a colour scheme meant for digital displays (RGB)
- be a JPEG if you’re incorporating a photo, or a PNG if you’re using block colours
- have a file size under 500kb (use a tool like Squoosh to compress it)
The elements of great podcast artwork
Your podcast artwork is like the picture on an album cover. It’s not the same as your podcast logo. The picture should have some colour and big text that tells us what the show is called. Some key things to think about:
- Don’t add your name or a subtitle
- Don’t add a picture of a microphone or headphones
- Only use 2 fonts or fewer
- Your picture should tell us what we can expect to see on your show.
Some people say that you should put a picture of yourself on your podcast artwork so that people will listen to your show. But if you’re not famous, it’s better to choose a picture that shows what your podcast is about, like a picture of a dog if your podcast is about dogs.
If you want to put some words on your podcast artwork, don’t use more than 2 different fonts. If you use too many styles or add too much text, your artwork will look too complicated.
Conclusion
If you’re not a confident designer, it’s hard to make something that looks good, because there are often invisible design rules and considerations we don’t think about. Invest just a little in your artwork, and it will pay off. Try 99designs or Fiverr – you might be surprised at the level of quality you can get, at a reasonable price.