• its the first thing potential listeners see in Apple Podcasts, 
• it signifies the quality of your podcast, and
• 62% of new listeners are more likely to listen if they like its cover art.

Follow this guidebook to create high-quality podcast artwork that will make a great first mental picture .

12 tips to create excellent podcast cover art

1. Make sure it meets Apple Podcasts’ requirements

Your cover art must meet Apple Podcasts ‘ artwork requirements :

• 3000 x 3000 pixels
• Resolution of 72 dpi
• JPG or PNG file type
• RGB colorspace

3000 adam 3000 looks massive, but each podcast directory will resize it in their app. Artwork that follows these guidelines will work in all of the podcast directories.

Tip: If you use Photoshop, keep your image at 72 dpi. Programs like Canva will do this mechanically .

2. Design for a variety of sizes

Make sure your podcast artwork looks capital everywhere it ‘s displayed :

• as a small thumbnail in podcast apps,
• in podcast directories like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify,
• in iTunes on large monitors, and
• as an icon in Apple CarPlay.

Tip: Use this cock to preview how your artwork will look in podcast apps .

3. Clearly communicate the subject of your podcast

Make indisputable that potential listeners can tell what your podcast episodes are about by looking at your artwork .
Which one of these scenarios best fits your podcast ?

Podcasts about hobbies

If you are launching a hobbyist podcast, consumption artwork specific to your hobby .

For example, a Star Wars podcast should incorporate Star Wars themed images .
Make certain your boyfriend superfans can well see what the podcast is about !

Podcasts promoting a business, brand, or church

If you are launching a podcast for an existing sword, use your existing logo and brand colors .
Following your existing sword guidelines will help current customers and members recognize your podcast .

Personality driven podcasts

Some of the most democratic podcasts are personality-driven shows .
Consider using a word picture of the podcast host in your podcast breed artwork if the show is hosted by a fame or long-familiar person .

4. Limit the number of words in your artwork

Podcast artwork can promptly get overpower with excessively a lot text .
Most artwork does n’t have space for the podcast deed, tagline, and host ‘s name .
Limit yourself to using a maximum of seven words to ensure legibility .

5. Don’t use explicit language or imagery

Your podcast album covering must be censored even if it ‘s labeled as denotative in your RSS Feed .

• Most podcast apps don’t allow nudity
• Remove references to hard drug use or violence
• Curse words should be censored in the artwork

Tip: If you ‘re diffident if your podcast violates these rules, search Apple Podcasts for alike podcasts to see what is satisfactory .

6. Use attractive typography

Limit ocular distractions and focus on legibility by following these typography best practices .

• Use a maximum of two fonts in your design
• If you use two fonts, use one serif and one sans-serif font
• Don’t crowd the image with text
• Maks sure it’s readable at small sizes
• Avoid visually distracting typefaces like papyrus or comic sans

7. Avoid overused podcasting imagery

Unless your podcast is about the podcast industry, do n’t use images of microphones and pop-filters .
Podcasting is the medium you ‘re using—it is n’t the subject of your testify. Including headphones on your artwork is like putting pictures of DVDs and cameras on a movie bill poster .

8. Use consistent branding

Apple, Coca-Cola, and Nike are all masters at branding because they use coherent imagination across all their platforms .
Use the like colors, fonts, and images in your podcast artwork that you use on your web site and on sociable media .

9. Use high-resolution images

Make certain your podcast artwork looks great by using high-resolution images .
If you use high-quality stock photos from Pexels or Shutterstock then they ‘ll be big adequate to not look pixelated on any devices .

10. Use color selection to your advantage

If you ‘re creating a modern post with your podcast, you can be designed about the colors you pick .
Contrasting colors are more attention-getting and attract potential listeners .
Look through the color pallets on Canva and Dribbble for inspiration .

11. Compress your final image

high-resolution images are big and can take a while to warhead .
Apple Podcasts suggests you compress your podcast artwork to optimize your file for mobile devices .
If your podcast is hosted on Buzzsprout, we ‘ll optimize your artwork mechanically.

12. Repurpose your artwork

Design your artwork so that it can be repurposed on early mediums .
You can use versions of your podcast cover art on social media, in business cards, and on your podcast web site .
This creates a coherent podcast brand that listeners will recognize at a glance .

How to design your podcast cover art

You do n’t have to be a graphic graphic designer to create incredible podcast artwork .
There are tools that make podcast logo design simple and spare .
here are our favorite DIY design tools :

Buzzsprout’s Canva integration

Buzzsprout ‘s Canva integration allows you to create your own podcast top within your Buzzsprout account .
It besides guarantees that your cover art will meet the requirements for every podcast app .

• Log in to Buzzsprout
• Go to Podcast Settings
• Click Design Artwork with Canva in the podcast artwork section
• Choose from 250,000+ free Canva templates
• Edit the template to match your podcast brand
• Click Send to Buzzsprout

Tip: Watch this tutorial on how to create podcast artwork with Canva .

Adobe Creative Cloud Express (Free Plan)

Adobe Creative Cloud Express ( previously Adobe Spark ) is exchangeable to Canva with unblock templates, text styles, and discolor pallets to design your podcast logo .
once you create a release account, follow these steps to create your logo :

• Click + at the top left
• Select Custom Size Graphic and use 3000 x 3000 as the dimensions
• Create your podcast artwork from scratch or use a free template
• Download your file as a .jpeg or .png

Other free design tools:

Hire a professional designer

You can besides hire a freelance or graphic plan professional to create your podcast embrace artwork .
here are our exceed recommendations :
1. 99designs
Start a invention contest, and you pick the winner. 99designs has created high-quality artwork for some of our own podcasts. Use this link for $ 20 off any contest .
monetary value : $ 199– $ 1,399
Tip: Write a detailed design brief explaining the accurate type of podcast artwork you ’ ra looking for. Do you want something modern or retro ? Something colorful or minimalist ?
2. The Podcast Design Company
Professional graphic designers that focus on cover art designs. They offer a 30-day undertake, unlimited revisions, and 24/7 support. Use code Buzzsprout15 to save 15 % on your first club .
cost : $ 147– $ 297
3. Jenny H. Design
Jenny has done a short ton of great artwork for successful podcasts, so you ‘re surely to recognize some of her workplace .
price : $ 250– $ 500
4. podcast stigmatize
Mark specializes in creating ocular identity brands for podcasters, including podcast cover art .
cost : $ 295
5. Podcast Designs
You tell them what you want, they will create a podcast cover charge design mockup for you, and you get something great .
cost : $ 65– $ 150

6. Fiverr
If these options are out of your price range you can look into using Fiverr. But make sure you find a designer with examples of estimable cover art in their portfolio .
price : $ 5+