When somebody sends me a very nice YouTube video, I always wish to know who’s behind it. Was it an advert agency? A small or medium business? A B2B tech firm? No matter who it was, if I am impressed, I wish to see more from the content creator.
So once the video is completed, I click on the link to go to their profiles.
And from there, if the brand is actually on top of its game, I will see its Youtube channel art — the horizontal banner displayed across the top of the user’s YouTube channel that, hopefully, shows a combination of great design and brand presence.
But how do they do it?
1. Death Wish Coffee Company
In 2016, Death Wish Coffee was named the winner of a small enterprise marketing competition held by software firm Intuit. The reward? A free30-second commercial during Super Bowl 50. Since then, the self-proclaimed maker of “the world’s strongest coffee” has capitalized on that momentum by ensuring its branding stays just as robust.
Its former YouTube banner is no exception. It is simple, but also, bold. The company’s logo is displayed as the channel icon, as well as a tiled watermark that does not interfere with the text display. And that message does not depart any doubt about what the brand does. “World is the strongest coffee?” Ok, I am watching.
2. Adobe Creative Cloud
Seeing as turquoise is my all-time favorite color, there may be a touch of aesthetic bias in our selection of Adobe Creative Cloud’s YouTube banner. However, the color could have quite an effect in marketing — shades of blue, for instance, have been found to invoke feelings of trust.
This banner does not just make good use of color, although. In a single picture, it connotes creativity and visual quality — two things that the Adobe Creative Cloud promises with its suite products. The person depicted seems to be making something remarkable — an ocean inside of a balloon — with accompanying text to verify it: “Make wow.” Plus, to learn more, social buttons are right there within the picture.
3. Bon Appétit
Is anybody else hungry? It only seems right that the channel art for a food magazine like Bon Appétit needs to be, well, appetizing. And with a phrase, that is used as regularly as “bon appétit” — before a meal or as the title of a pop song — it’s vital that people who land on this YouTube channel know what they are getting into.
That’s one thing that makes this banner so good. The branding is clear, from the logo icon to the iconic title text in the center of the picture. Plus, the photo itself sends a signal of the kind of content visitors could expect to consume — no pun intended — when they begin watching the channel’s videos: All things food.
4. TauliaInc
One great thing about YouTube channel art is that they could be swapped out or modified whenever you need, time allowing. That makes them particularly conducive to temporary promotions or campaigns. That is what tech firm Taulia did for “P2P Superheroes”: a campaign that shows how its software could eliminate tough, time-consuming tasks, helping everyday professionals concentrate more on the work that matters and turn them into superheroes.
The banner communicates two things: 1. That Taulia is in the business of P2P (“procure to pay”), and 2. the brand really celebrates procurement specialists. And by utilizing original, cartoon-like art, Taulia is turning what might be a dry topic into something fun and engaging.
5. Refinery29
We are huge followers of showcasing the people that make your brand great. That is one thing that Refinery29 does well, by regularly that includes its writers, editors, and content producers in its videos. As it turns out, they have all become quite prevalent personalities — which is why the brand put them front-and-center in its channel art.
Making a banner of this nature is two-fold. First, you must discover a method to incorporate your company’s talent into video content in a method that’s engaging and appealing to your audience. At HubSpot, they have their weblog writers, for instance, recount vital info from blog posts in video and audio summaries. Then, when you have produced enough of that media consistently — and if it is gaining the right kind of attention — you could use these personalities to promote your channels.
6. TripAdvisor B2B
TripAdvisor is a resource utilized by millions of travelers to find and rate lodgings, restaurants, and much more info about endless destinations. However, do you know it also gives B2B services for hotel and other property owners to take advantage of their presence on the site?
We like to think of it as a B2B hybrid of review website Yelp and vacation rental website Airbnb. On the one hand, TripAdvisor B2B helps business owners make a profile with images, descriptions, and other info that’s going to be useful to travelers. However, like Yelp, it additionally permits them to monitor and reply to the reviews their businesses receive.
That’s represented in the YouTube banner by portraying what the website is all about — travel — but also depicts the act of visitors giving feedback on their experiences by way of rating symbols.
7. Nuvolari Lenard
The thing that stands out to us the most about this banner is its simplicity. It represents an Italian yacht design firm Nuvolari Lenard, which is known for work that emulates a luxury and chic lifestyle. And while the channel art itself does not portray anything particularly nautical, the usage of capital letters and tiered monochrome does connote a brand that is high-end.
These types of digital aesthetics create what’s usually known as aspirational marketing — the type that symbolizes something that’s unattainable by most, however, still has a vast following of people “who covet the look and feel of the brand,” as Mediaboom puts it. Could I afford a yacht? Of course not. However seeing something like this makes me want one anyway, and makes me wish to consume the video content pertaining to it.
Channel Your Creativity
It’s vital to note that really cool YouTube channel art is only a part of a comprehensive video content strategy. It does not matter how beautiful your banner is, for instance, in case your channel lacks in quality video or has not added anything new in several weeks.
So, along with good design must come consistency. And as you start to create both, you could turn to those examples for inspiration.
What is great YouTube channel art of yours? Let us know in the comments.