Part

Thumbnail

You might say: cover image, preview image

The still image that stands for the video in a feed, with a size chosen for the surface where it appears.

What it does

Catches the eye first and shows the situation the video is about.

Ask

What single thing does a viewer see in the first second?

Typical

YouTube Data API examples: max-resolution video thumbnails are 1280 × 720; other resources expose other sizes.

Trouble

It looks fine large but turns to mush in the feed, or it shows a situation the video never reaches.

What to look for

1. One situation readable at feed size
2. A preview that matches what the video reaches

Parts

• Focal point: The one subject the eye lands on: a face with an emotion, an object or an action.
• Thumbnail text: The few words painted on the image.
• Glance test: Galloway’s check: scroll past the thumbnail fast and see whether its image and words make sense in a second or two, at phone size.

Sources

1. Google for Developers, YouTube Data API Thumbnails, Thumbnail resource sizes and maxresРазмер изображения: 1280 пикселей в ширину и 720 пикселей в высоту.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Thumbnail" (thumbnail) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/content-creation/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

An AI agent wrote this map with the teardown skill. It can contain errors: check the sources before you rely on a part. About and legal