YouTube is undeniably one of the most ideal marketing channels for your brand.

In fact, YouTube has paved the way for vast communities of content creators with different backgrounds and specialties; like vloggers, artists, educators, journalists, esports streamers, etc. and connects them further to people who might be interested in watching their content.

But don’t let these facts intimidate you, anyone can start their own YouTube channel. You probably already have yours for your brand or yourself, too!

But before you press that record button, have you considered editing the design of your YouTube channel page first? 

Aside from making great videos, another thing you can do to make your YouTube channel gain more viewers and subscribers is by designing it to make it more appealing.

In this article, we’ll discuss YouTube channels. We’ll be covering the importance of designing them for your own brand and steps on how to do it.

What is a YouTube Channel?

A YouTube channel is your account’s personal page on YouTube. It hosts all of your channel information and content, so viewers can see it.

From there, you can do the entire process of content creation; from recording, live streaming, live editing, uploading, up to post-processing your videos.

You can also set up and curate customized playlists to help users navigate your pile of content. This makes it easier for viewers to look up your most recent videos, most popular videos, and videos under certain topics.

Why should I design my YouTube channel?

It’s important to design your YouTube channel because it’s the page that your viewers want to see first when they’re interested in the content that you put out and before they decide whether or not they want to subscribe to your channel.

Back then, YouTube used to have a lot of customizable features that users can tweak and play around with. Today, there’s not so much for creators to work on.

However, YouTube has recently revamped their creator platform so you can still tweak your channel and be at its most effective form.

For reference, YouTube made a video for YouTube Studio to guide content creators on the new platform. It features its dashboard, analytics, insights, and many more tools that creators can use for their YouTube content creation experience. 

Having a well designed YouTube channel will pique your viewers’ interests and encourage them to subscribe to your channel to see more of your content, boosting both your views and subscriptions.

Not to mention that this increase in viewers and subscribers will help your channel to be monetized, so you can also gain money solely from uploading content to YouTube.

 

How can I design my YouTube Channel?

For starters, YouTube made a video guide on how to “Customize Your Channel Branding & Layout: Add a Profile Picture, Banner, Trailer, Sections, & more!” that gives creators the basics of YouTube Studios new customization features. Check it out to get started.

For an in-depth guide in the YouTube channel customization process, just follow these easy steps:

1. On your YouTube channel page, click the blue “Customize Channel” button or go to YouTube Studio. 
2. From the left panel, click “Customization”
3. From there, you can choose from the three tabs depending on what you want to customize: Layout, Branding, and User Info

Layout

The Layout tab in the YouTube Studio lets you set up your Video Spotlight and Featured sections. This is how your content is curated and organized on the homepage of your YouTube channel.

• The Video Spotlight is the video on the top of your YouTube channel homepage. When viewers visit your page, you want to get their attention to make them interested in what your channel is about, and the video spotlight can do just the job.

You can do this by introducing your channel, yourself, your channel’s topics or specialty, schedule, what content they can expect, and other related channels that they might want to see.

• The Featured Section lets you customize the layout of your channel with up to 10 different sections. Here, you can show all uploaded videos, popular uploads, playlists, or even channels.

You can also curate what type of playlist your viewers can see first on your page. Organizing your playlists will influence what videos your viewers will click on and watch.

Tip: When making YouTube videos, make sure to design your thumbnails with a consistent design and style. This will make your YouTube channel more organized and professional.

 

Branding

The Branding tab in the YouTube Studio lets you set up your profile picture, banner image, and video watermark. Your YouTube branding is your channel’s overall look that your viewers will see when they visit your page.

When making your YouTube branding, it’s important to pick a design that works for your brand. Your brand will instantly tell your viewers what kind of channel you’re running and what kind of content they can expect from you.

You can elevate your YouTube channel’s branding design through graphic design. For example, if you’re an e-sport streamer, you can use visuals that emulate gaming graphics with high-quality images and bright typography.

- Profile picture

Your profile picture is the face of your YouTube channel. It will be seen on your channel, your videos, your comments, and so on.

According to YouTube, your profile picture should follow community guidelines and the following requirements:

• Square or round image
• JPG, GIF (not animated), BMP, or PNG file
• 800 X 800 px image (recommended)
• 98 X 98 px image (minimum)
• 4MB or less

- Banner image

The banner image will serve as your YouTube channel’s background header located at the top of your page. When making banners, it’s important to put information such as your channel name, channel type, program schedules (if any), tagline, and links to other social media channels to make it more effective.

According to YouTube, your banner image should follow community guidelines and the following requirements:

• 2048 x 1152 px image with a 16:9 aspect ratio (recommended)
• 1235 x 338 px image (minimum for text and logos)
• 6MB or less.

- Video watermark

The video watermark will serve as an identifying mark for your channel that will be included in every uploaded content. When a viewer clicks on the video watermark, they will be encouraged to subscribe or they will be taken directly to your YouTube channel.

You can set up when your watermark will be displayed on your video. You can choose from a custom start time, the end of the video, or the entire video.

According to YouTube, your video watermark should follow community guidelines and the following requirements:

• Square image
• 150 x 150 px image (recommended)
• JPEG, GIF (not animated), BMP, or PNG file
• 1MB or less

 

User Info

The User Info tab in the YouTube Studio lets you change your channel information. This will give viewers basic information about your channel and contact information in case they want to reach out to you for possible business partnerships and collaborations.

You can tweak the following features in the User Info tab:

• Channel name

• Channel link

• Description

• Contact info

In conclusion

A well designed YouTube channel will help you gain more viewers and eventually loyal supporters and subscribers in the long run. Keeping this traction will gain you enough following to make your channel eligible for monetization, giving your channel the option to earn through views.

Graphics Zoo’s designers are experts in graphic design and they can help you build your own YouTube channel design that works for you and your audience. Send us an email now at support@graphicszoo.com.