In this Case Study, I break down:

1. Thumbnail Brief
2. Research
3. Using just the title + some brief information to come up with a working thumbnail (conceptualization/ideation)
4. Creating the Thumbnail
5. Why it worked + Results
6. Conclusion

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Here's the exact details we were given to make this thumbnail into a working masterpiece:

That's it. Just give me

the title + brief description and we will take care of the concept of the thumbnail.

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Research

Now, for me, I was already familiar on this topic. Growing up watching wrestling, making fan art of wrestlers…I didn't have too spend much time researching.

BUT…if I didn't know anything thing about this topic, here's what I would EXACTLY do:

• Research Randy Orton and his gimmick during the late 2000s and early 2010s

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Conceptualization

I knew what I needed EXACTLY to have on this thumbnail:

- Randy Orton (from late 2000s)
- Fire/Red/Agressive type of theme to resemble his character at that time and to match the title

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Creating the Thumbnail

Now, I have the concept/sketch AND research down. BUT… should you do this?

Short answer: Yes

Here's why:
a. You don't want to get burned out bringing many concepts to life before sketching, you may give up
b. You don't want to land on a concept that you THINK that works…but it doesn't
c. You don't want to land on a concept that has issues (example: timestamp covering key info)

Overall, you want to spend more time researching, conceptualization/ideating, and sketching because that is the most important part. You want to spend as little time bringing it to life in Photoshop or whatever software (but obviously make sure it looks good, etc).

This was the Final Version of the thumbnail we landed on:

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Why it Worked + Results

I like to break down exactly why this thumbnail performed so well, and the decisions behind every design choice.

Curiosity Gap:

The curiosity gap is the difference between what the viewer knows and what they want to know.

What the viewer knows:

• It's Randy Orton

• Something about him is visually different

• The title claims he was the "personification of evil."

• There are multiple versions of him, suggesting a transformation

What they don't know

• Why was 2009 so different?

• How did he become "evil"?

• What happened during that period?

• What made this version of Randy stand above every other version?

The Scroll Stopper:

Faces - In this case Dolph Ziggler Faces do well in thumbnails. BUT…you need to understand Familiarity Bias

Here's why:

Familiarity Bias: Our brains are naturally drawn to what we are familiar with.

Now we could have just used the creator's face and slapped it somewhere…but:

a. It is a faceless channel
b. People recognize and would click on someone who they already know and/or like (in this case… Dolph Ziggler)
c. The concept itself would have to be redesigned

How this technique was used in this thumbnail:

We used Dolph Ziggler (can be considered as a celebrity, as long as he is well known to the niche's audience).We as humans, see a celebrity we recognize and click.

Color & Emotion

The deep reds and flames immediately communicate:

• intensity

• danger

• pressure

• conflict

Warm colors naturally attract attention in YouTube's interface, especially when paired with bright skin tones and strong contrast.

The background supports the subject instead of competing with it.

Results:

• Helped him get closer to monetization requirements (the channel is now monetized)

• 135,000+ Views

• Most Popular Video on channel

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Conclusion

Now, this leaves you with 2 options…

Option 1:

• Spend hours and hours learning a software to make these thumbnails

• Spend hours and hours of trial and error of these thumbnails

• Spend hours and hours learning how thumbnails work and what makes a GOOD thumbnail

• Spend hours researching a working format and ideating a concept for these thumbnails

and the truth is, if you choose this route, you can get there…maybe…but even if you do, it will be a long and frustrating journey.

Option 2:

• Hire me

• All I need is the title of the video + brief description

• I make a BANGER thumbnail

• You see results

Simply Shoot me a DM: https://twitter.com/HammadCustoms

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