YouTube Thumbnails
Thumbnails appear side by side in a grid view. Always the same layout creates wear-out. So three defined styles may be deliberately mixed.
Highlight Bar
Fugaz One, uppercase: white bar with gradient to transparency. Optional subline in Fira Sans, mixed case.
Accent Line
Fugaz One, uppercase: blue accent line below the headline. No bar.
Clean
Text on image only, no bar and no accent line. Maximum reduction.
Alternate all three styles within the channel: never three thumbnails in a row in the same mode.
Presenter Exception
YouTube thumbnails serve click-through conversion, not brand building. Therefore, relaxed image logic rules apply:
- Looking at cameraAllowed: platform convention, creates connection
- Static poseAllowed: no game moment needed
- Presentation gestureAllowed: pointing, explaining, reacting
- Staged emotionAllowed: expression may be exaggerated
Still applies: Typography (Fugaz One, max. 25 characters), color system, mode rule, no foreign typefaces.
Hero / POS Exception
Hero, campaign and POS images may, like YouTube thumbnails, seek a frontal connection with the viewer. They serve attention and recognition, not the documentary image language.
- Looking at camera (in editorial)Allowed in Hero/POS: creates connection
- Staged victory-pose clichéReal, captured emotion allowed, even exaggerated
Guardrail: emotion must feel real/captured. It may be visible, but must not cheaply celebrate itself. The core image-system law (Performance/Transition/Community = documentary) remains untouched.