How to Make a Catchy Thumbnail Design for YouTube on Canva (Even With Zero Design Skills)

The thumbnail of a YouTube video can make or break the entire video, which is why it’s crucial to create an eye-catching, enticing one. It’s likely the first thing a viewer will notice about your video so, to increase your video’s clickability, read on for some tips about making a catchy thumbnail design using Canva.

Canva is a brilliant service. It’s user-friendly and easy-to-understand, with tons of built-in tools to help you be the best graphic designer you can be (even if you don’t have any design experience whatsoever)! Simply open the homepage of the site and you’re confronted with thousands of template designs that are completely customizable. Or, you can start from scratch and play around with Canva’s robust features to create a fresh design. 

Once you're acquainted with Canva, it’s important to rethink what a thumbnail can be! Remember: a thumbnail doesn’t just have to be a picture! 

General Formatting Tips: Text and Graphics

Laying text and graphics over an image makes your thumbnail more dynamic and, thus, more striking. Also, when formatting your text, consider using large text and high-contrast colors to help viewers understand what your video is about and consume your content even faster. 

Helpful Elements: Numbers and Power Words 

Power words, or persuasive words that trigger a psychological or emotional response (e.g. “fast” or “simple”), are fantastic to consider including in your thumbnail, as well. Numbers are also a great addition, as people appreciate quantification––attaching a number to anything is pretty easy to understand and will undoubtedly draw viewers in. 

Don’t Forget!

Important reminder: don’t place text in the bottom right corner of the screen, or else it’ll be covered by the timestamp on YouTube’s mobile version. Other than that, you have total freedom when it comes to creating the perfect thumbnail that completely encapsulates your video’s message/subject.

Once your video is filmed and your thumbnail is beautifully designed, head to getmunch.com to repurpose your long-form YouTube video into easy-to-digest, short-form clips perfect for TikTok or Reels with Munch’s state-of-the-art AI technology!