Tips on Creating an Appealing Channel Banner (2014)

insidiouskoko

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Hi there, so I see alot of people asking about channel backgrounds/banners and if theirs is good, so i'm going to give you a few tips on what can make a good background, consider this like a check list, just remember there is no right or wrong answer to making a banner :)

Match the Style of your videos: if you made comedy videos for example you might want to add some funny pictures or make it bright colours, to summarize, put things in it that represents your channel/videos to let people know what your channel is about.

Have Good Contrast Between Text and Colours: If you are putting your username in the banner or you have some kind of message you want to get across about your channel, try have good contrast between both, for example the main colors of a background is black and grey, you might want to use something yellow to make it stand out, this way the focal point of the background is the message you are trying to get across, and this doesn't just apply to text, it applies to anything.

Keep to a Neat Layout: Try to keep things spaced out so that the banner doesn't look messy (unless that's what you're going for), if you are struggling deciding what to put on it, decide which is most important and use that, don't add unnecessary text or images, additional information is good but keep to the main point and if you have space then think about the other things you could include.

There are things like the avatar and links in the way so be sure to place everything in the right place. It's probably best to have the main part of the banner in the place that it can be seen by all devices. Having additonal things could be added in areas where only on the web or TV can see them. Keeps things nice and tidy :)


Make it Original: Try to make your background as original as you can, it is a good idea to develop ideas from other peoples backgrounds but don't copy from them, make your own ideas :p

File Size: Be sure to keep an eye on the size of your files! Currently the max file size for banners are 1mb, so be careful, you don't want to go making a perfect a work of art then be finding out it's too big! Normally I find that using photoshop doing "save for web" at png 24 with the second option selected works good keeping small file size but all the detail.

That's all I hope this has helped you in some way, some of you might disagree with me, that is fine, you might have a different opinion on this, like I said before there is no right or wrong answer, so get out there and be creative!:D

If you have any tips, feel free to share them with us all! :)
thanks for the ideas shall definately put some work into my banner because of this
 

zomttv

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I'm actually so glad I've found this, It literally takes me FOREVER to try and figure out what my channel should look like and even when I 'think' I've got it, it's still not right! Talk about perfectionist haha!
 

FamBamVlogs

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We finally created a banner that I think we can stick with for awhile!!
 
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DanJames

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With Channel art sometimes I think it's a good idea to include the day you upload every week (if you have a set day) this is something I haven't got round to doing but I wish to when I change my channel art. That way viewers know when to return to your channel for new videos without the need to re-watch a video just to be informed when you will be next uploading.
 

Devonegorum

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Yeah I would say the same thing also
 

Kekke

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I think a decent banner is good enough. Before I actually started to make some videos, I spend hours and hours on making a banner and an avatar and stuff. But then I realized that after all, I don't think it matters that much. If you've a somewhat decent banner with your channelname on it, it's ok. Because without some nice content, people won't subscribe anyway. And if they like your videos, they will, even if your banner is dull.
 

StacyPancakes

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Thanks for the advice! My background is pretty lame right now, so I'm working on a better one. This will definitely help me!