Creating Podcast Cover Art: Everything You Need to Know
Before ever listening to your podcast, your audience will see your podcast artwork listed on directories and podcast platforms. Therefore, podcast cover art is one of the best ways to catch your listeners’ attention. A well-designed cover can provide a visual representation of your podcast, what it’s about, and the host’s personality.
Below, we’ve put together a guide to podcast cover art that can help you take your artwork to the next level. Keep reading to learn about the requirements for cover art, the key elements to include in your cover, and how to take your artwork above and beyond by using episode-specific artwork.
Requirements for Podcast Cover Art
When you choose a hosting platform for your podcast, each directory will have its own technical requirements for your podcast art. You will need to meet these requirements to get your podcast approved. While each directory has its own requirements, many of them are similar. For example, below are the artwork requirements for Apple Podcasts, which give a good indication of requirements across the industry:
1400 x 1400 pixels for shows submitted via the RSS feed
3000 x 3000 pixels preferred
Square, or a 1:1 ratio
You may also be prohibited from including certain content on your cover art. For example, avoid blurry or pixelated images, violence or inappropriate content, explicit language, and marketing copy that may go against a platform’s policies.
With that being said, you should design artwork that will look good at various sizes, because they may vary in different places across the platform. For example, you could have your podcast cover, directory listings, or thumbnails. In addition, compress your file to optimize your podcast cover art for mobile users.
Key Elements of Great Podcast Cover Art
While it might be tempting to put as much as you can in your podcast art, you will want to begin your design process by choosing just a few simple elements to include. For example, you may want simply an image or logo with a few words. If you include too much on your cover art, it may be hard to decipher at smaller sizes. In addition, it can take away from what you really want your audience to notice.
The lines and shapes on your cover art will help direct a viewer’s eye. You can choose a real image or an illustrated image that conveys the subject of your podcast or the host of the podcast. Consider what would resonate with your audience. For example, if you have a podcast about fitness, you could choose to depict some workout gear. Or if you discuss current events, you could use an image of yourself as the host.
Colors and typography can help create an overall tone for your podcast. Stick to a few main colors to avoid overcrowding your cover art. Warm colors can create an energizing mood, while cool colors are more calming. You should also choose one or two fonts that match the style of your art. Make sure they’re legible and select a font size that doesn’t take over (unless you do so intentionally) but can still be read in smaller sizes.
How to Create Podcast Cover Art
Once you’ve identified the elements you want to include in your cover art, you can move forward to the design process. You can either design your podcast cover art by yourself using a graphic design program, or you can hire someone to do it for you.
Do-It-Yourself Podcast Cover Art
The following programs are available to help you design your own podcast cover art for free or cheap:
Adobe Spark — Adobe Spark includes Illustrator, Photoshop, and Spark which makes it easy for beginner designers to use the podcast cover art creator. You can use one of the templates and then customize font, text, colors, and images.
Canva — Canva has a free and paid version that allows you to use templates or blank canvases to create your own designs. You can choose from Canva’s images, fonts, and other design elements. Get started by creating an account and then create a blank canvas sized at 3000 x 3000 pixels.
Tailor Brands — This AI program generates logo options based on answers to some questions about your brand and design goals. You can also customize the generated designs.
Hiring Someone to Design Your Cover Art
If you have a marketing budget, you may choose to invest in hiring a professional graphic designer to create your cover art. However, this can get expensive depending on the designer’s experience. You can use different platforms, like 99designs, Fiverr, or Upwork, to post project summaries. Freelancers can then submit proposals and tell you about their experience so you can choose one that can help you meet your goals.
Or you can save yourself A TON of time and use The Wave’s team of to create eye-catching cover art for you. Check out our services here.
Examples of Great Podcast Cover Art
Take a look below at some podcast cover art and why their designs stand out.
Animation Addicts Podcast
The Animation Addicts Podcast cover art has a fun design that clearly communicates what the podcast is about. It uses simple images of well-known animated characters, which helps to include a lot without being overwhelming. The color choice uses complementary shades of blue that give a fun but laid-back vibe. The fonts are legible and stand out amongst the colors and images.
The Combat Jack Show
The Combat Jack Show cover art displays a good balance of detail with simplistic design elements that don’t overwhelm the listener. The combat helmet uses a realistic animation style that matches the background’s style. In addition, the podcast title’s font contributes to the overall theme of the cover, and it is large enough to read without taking away from the picture of the helmet.
Skip the Repeat
The Skip the Repeat cover art uses contrasting colors to help certain elements stand out. However, it only uses a few different colors so that it is colorful without being overwhelming. The position of the people on the cover also gives movement to the piece without being distracting since they are interacting with the front and center title.
Episode-Specific Artwork
In addition to your podcast cover, you may want to invest in creating episode-specific artwork to have a designed image for each of your podcast’s episodes. While this may require more time, effort, or money from each episode, it can help to solidify the story for your listeners. It also gives you an opportunity to make each image specific to what you’re talking about in each episode.
If you use similar design elements or styles, you can also use episode artwork to expand your brand and open up opportunities on social media or merchandising. For example, you can use the episode art as something new to post each time an episode is released.
How to Upload Artwork to Your Hosting Platform
Each platform will vary slightly on how to upload your podcast cover art. Fortunately, the process is generally pretty simple and can be completed in just a few quick steps. You should be prompted to upload your artwork as you’re setting up your podcast account, but you should also be able to access your account after the set-up process to add or edit your cover art at any time.
Adding episode-specific artwork is also easy. For example, Captivate.fm has a simple settings page for each podcast episode. As you scroll down the page, you will see a spot where you can upload your artwork. You should see this when you’re posting an episode, but you can also click on any episode listed in your dashboard to edit it after you’ve posted it. The process should be similar on other platforms as well.
Conclusion
Podcast cover art has many great benefits, including attracting your primary audience and improving your branding. You can easily communicate what your show is about and the type of personality that is portrayed through your podcast.
Designing your cover art can be a fun and exciting process. It gives you an opportunity to express your creativity and let the world know what your podcast is all about.
For help saving time and money along your podcasting journey, download The Wave’s guide to the best tools for podcasters.
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