1. Make sure it works in iTunes

While Stitcher and other podcast directories are a great way to reach new listeners, iTunes is the largest and most popular directory. It is absolutely critical that your podcast artwork meets the specifications set by iTunes.

Cover art must be in the JPEG or PNG file formats and in the RGB color space with a minimum size of 1400 x 1400 pixels and a maximum size of 3000 x 3000 pixels. Note that these requirements are different from the standard RSS image tag specification. Excerpts from iTunes Making a Podcast page.

Potential subscribers will see your cover art in varying sizes depending on the device they’re using. Make sure your design is effective at both its original size and at thumbnail size.

Remember, attractive podcast artwork is a requirement to get into iTunes New and Noteworthy section.

2. Podcast artwork should visually communicate the subject of the podcast

Podcasts are as variable as the people who create them, and your podcast artwork should be influenced by the type of podcast that you have.

What is the goal of your podcast?

I’m doing a podcast about my hobby.

If you’re a launching a hobbyist podcast you’re going to want to use artwork specific to your hobby. If you’re launching a podcast on Star Wars, you’ll want to make sure you incorporate some Star Wars themed images. Make sure your fellow superfans know what the podcast is about!

I’m launching a podcast to promote my business or church.

A lot of existing businesses and churches are launching podcasts to further promote their existing brand. If the goal of your podcast is to reach out to existing customers and members, then you’ll want to use recognizable branding such as your logo. Every Nike app, Podcast, and website uses the Nike Swoosh logo.

Even if your brand is less recognizable, you’ll want to use images that your current customers and members already know. Use your company or church’s existing logo.

My podcast is about me.

Some of the most popular podcasts are driven by the personality and brand of the host.

Dave Ramsey is a best selling author of personal finance books, Joyce Meyer is a successful Christian author and speaker, and Dennis Miller is a well known comedian and talk-show host. Their podcasts are driven by the personalities of their hosts.

If the podcast is primarily driven by the personality and brand of the host, you might want to consider using a picture of the host in your artwork. But be careful. Don’t fall so in love with the idea of being a podcast personality, that you forget to bring valuable content to your listeners.

The main point is that your podcast artwork should visually communicate what the podcast is about. If somebody only sees your podcast artwork, they should still be able to tell what the podcast is about.

3. Design for a variety of sizes

When you’re designing your podcast artwork, you’ll want to make sure that it looks great everywhere it’s displayed!

It’s going to show up in iTunes, Stitcher, on computers, smartphones, and tablets. To give you an idea of how variable the artwork size will be, here are three sizes all from within iTunes.

iTunes Store Podcast Page

This is the page with all the information about your podcast in the iTunes store. Typically displays at 220 x 220 pixels.

iTunes Store New and Noteworthy Section

The prime location in iTunes podcasts page. Typically displays at 125 x 125 pixels.

Podcast Artwork in iTunes

When you download a podcast onto your personal computer iTunes will use a miniature version of the podcast artwork. Typically displays at 55 x 55 pixels.

This means your artwork needs to look great when it’s really big and really small. Try exporting your artwork at 55 x 55 pixels to get an idea of what it looks like at the smaller sizes.

4. Don’t use too many words

As you can see, podcast artwork needs to look great when it’s big and when its small. One really important tip is to keep the words in your artwork to a minimum. When your artwork is displayed at a thumbnail size it will be nearly impossible to make our more than three or four words.

Good rule of thumb: Don’t use more than five words in your artwork.

5. Don’t Use More Than Two Fonts

When adding text to your artwork make sure that you limit visual distractions. Using multiple fonts will add another dimension of distraction. Make sure you limit the number of different fonts in your artwork.

Good rule of thumb: Don’t use more than two fonts in your podcast cover art.

6. Avoid gimmicky fonts

There are a lot of gimmicky fonts that draw too much attention to themselves. These fonts are really flashy, loud, and often overused. Remember, fonts are just the tool to express your message.

Good rule of thumb: avoid papyrus, comic sans, curlz, jokerman, or fonts that distract the reader.

7. Avoid microphones, headsets, and other overused images

Podcast artwork is replete with microphones and headsets. Using this imagery often misses the point of the podcast. Podcasting is the medium that you’re using to convey your ideas, it isn’t the subject of your podcast. Movie covers don’t have pictures of DVDs and TV sets, they use artwork to represent what the movie is about.

There is one exception. If the subject of your podcast is podcasting you’ll want to incorporate some podcasting elements into your artwork.

Jared Easley is a respected leaders and innovator in the area of podcasting. His podcast Starve the Doubts is about how to launch, build, and grow you podcast. Since podcasting is the subject of his podcast, it makes sense for him to incorporate headphones and a mic into his artwork.

8. Be consistent

Your podcast artwork is a part of your overall branding. As we mentioned in Tip #2 you’ll want to use consistent imagery across all of your brand. Apple, Coca-Cola, and Nike are all masters at branding because they use consistent imagery across all their platforms.

When designing your podcast artwork try to use the same logo and images that your use on your website, twitter, facebook, and other platforms. Help your listeners and followers to recognize your brand by just seeing your images.

9. Use high quality images

Even if your image is 2000 x 2000 pixels it can still look bad if you’re using low quality images. Be really selective about the pictures and graphics that you use. If the original image is washed out, pixelated, or just a bad picture it’s going to hurt the final product.

Looking for some help for your podcast artwork?

You can find great stock images on istockphoto.com. You can buy images and design artwork with canva.com. If you don’t want to design your artwork you can always head to fiverr.com to find lots of great artists on Fiverr who will design your artwork starting at just $5. Using your podcast in your blog? Check out this post on creating compelling blog artwork.

10. Make it future proof

The minimum podcast artwork size use to be just 300 x 300 pixels. Over the years this standard has increased to the current 1400 x 1400 pixels. Its quite possible that the standards will increase again in a few years. Make your artwork future proof by submitting a larger image closer to the 3000 x 3000 pixels max. This will ensure that you if the standard is raised again that your podcast artwork will be ready to go!

There you have it! Our 10 tips to Design Stunning Podcast Cover Art That Stands Out in iTunes. While the most important component is the content of your podcast, podcast artwork will help you attract new listeners.