25 YouTube Banner Templates and Banner Ideas (+ Size Guide)

If you want to join the millionaire ranks of PewDiePie and Ryan’s World, you’ll need a YouTube banner template that makes a good first impression and distinguishes your brand.

YouTube is the world’s 2nd most used search engine, second only to Google. With a projected 3.5 Billion internet users expected to stream video by 2023, entrepreneurs are jumping into video head-first.

We’ll cover how to make the perfect YouTube banner template along with YouTube banner ideas to help you make a splash on the big (or small) screen. Let’s jump in!

YouTube banner size in 2023

Here are the YouTube logo size and banner dimensions you’ll need to get your channel up and running:

• Profile photo (circular): 800 x 800px
• Thumbnail photo: 1280 x 720px
• Cover photo: 2560 x 1440px
• Aspect ratio: 16:9

Having the perfect YouTube banner size ensures a clear, crisp image that looks professionally made. Make sure your banner is the right size prior to uploading on YouTube!

What to include in your YouTube banner design

A branded YouTube banner and profile photo are critical to building a professional-level YouTube channel. Whether it’s for your blog or your consulting side hustle, here’s what to include in your YouTube banner:

25 YouTube banner templates and ideas

Here are some customizable free YouTube banner templates and real-life channel banner ideas to inspire you:

1. Balance text and photography

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Your banner is not just a decorative element; it’s a communication tool that can effectively convey your brand’s message. Add calls to action, or a riveting message to your banner to resonate with your viewers. Balance this off with a portrait, a stylized photo, or art to create a well rounded banner.

Above, the simple use of a logo to the left, balanced by a photograph on the right adds just the right amount of personalization. Sometimes a logo and a photo are all you need!

2. Use layered shapes and photography

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Shapes and photography are both graphic design trends this year.

Layer geometric shapes with cutouts or transparent effects and incorporate a high-quality photo as a background. This visually captivating combination showcases your brand’s personality and can emphasize important elements like your channel name or social handles.

This banner style works well for consulting, architecture, construction, or any clean-cut, modern business. Here’s an example:

3. Bold font size and color

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

By using vibrant and contrasting color combinations, you can attract your audience’s attention and make your banner stand out, creating a memorable visual impact.

Similarly, bold typography not only emphasizes your channel name and key messages but also enhances readability, ensuring your audience can easily grasp your content at a glance. Like the beauty banner below!

4. Emphasize your mission

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

This YouTube banner art uses color and contrast to make its purpose clear. With the logo and brand colors in harmony, it’s perfect for grabbing your viewers’ attention and making your services apparent. With Looka’s brand kit, you don’t need design skills to make stunning YouTube banners. It does it for you!

5. Use high-quality images

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Above, the brand personality is communicated with high-quality images and web copy. The use of a large image overlaid by the mission and logo is a great way to create simple and effective YouTube banners. You can also use free images from stock websites to create the look you want!

6. Add social media handles

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Add social media handles to your banner to increase your brand following and boost your awareness on multiple platforms. Place them on the top right, left, or right in the middle so they’re visible on your YouTube banner.

7. Use images to tell a story

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

For photographers or those in visual industries, use striking images from your channel’s content to inspire and reel in more visitors. Make sure your images are original and share the same aesthetic for maximum impact. Think of it as a mini-portfolio!

8. Keep it simple and on-brand

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Simplicity is king, and having your logo as the main point of interest is great for modern, sleek branding. Use your logo font styles to instantly grab attention!

Pair your black and white logo with a photo background or gradient color palette for a more unified look!

 9. Create visual harmony

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Use a monochromatic color combination by keeping your logo and banner text the same color. This creates a clean, minimal, and appealing look. To drive more traffic to your website, add your URL to your banner as a call to action.

10. Use brand elements

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Add unique patterns or shapes to build recognition of your brand. Try to pepper these elements into your video covers to create a uniform look that instantly communicates your aesthetic.

11. Add a reason to subscribe

Made in the Looka Brand Kit

Try adding how often you’ll post videos on your banner, this gives viewers a reason to subscribe and signals that you’ll continue to provide value from your channel. Getting more subscribers is a great way to monetize your channel and grow your brand.

 YouTube banner ideas

Let’s check out some fun real-life YouTubers for some YouTube banner ideas.

1. Emma Chamberlain

As a vlogger, Emma uses her name as a logo along with a unique display font and brand colors that directly communicate her personality and style.

2. PewDiePie

PewDiePie uses a striking banner that exerts his video game personality and is as vast as his following on YouTube. A real attention grabber!

3. Sorelle Amore

For photographer Sorelle, she uses one of her images as her banner. This is a simple and effective way to maintain her aesthetic while promoting her photography.

4. Jordi Koalitic

Another take on a photographer’s YouTube, Jordi uses a striking collage of his work as well as a script logo font to promote his work and his business.

5. J Rich

J Rich uses his image overlaid by a simple, yet futuristic logo to brand his dropshipping channel. He has added his titles to clarify what he vlogs about and how he can help viewers.  By adding social media handles to his banner, he can easily boost his social following and brand awareness.

6. Rose Han

Rose uses a light, pastel color background that gives a soft and friendly appeal. She highlights her channel topic and uses her image to keep it personal and memorable. Note how she includes how often she posts videos to keep viewers engaged and tempt others to subscribe.

7. Makoccino

An artist and a teacher, Makoccino uses her YouTube channel as a personal branding tool to teach and sell her courses on art. Like Rose, she also uses her image to build a more personal connection with her audience.

8. Marques Brownlee

Marques Brownlee’s banner design is a great example of modern minimalist branding. The gray background contrasts perfectly with the black channel name, grabbing the viewer’s attention. He’s also added a grain effect and bold red geometric shape outlines to balance out the negative space.

It’s neat, uncluttered, and allows the audience to focus on the essential element – the channel name, ‘MKBHD’.

Free YouTube banner makers

Here are some free YouTube banner makers to help you get your banner and channel up and running.

1. Snappa: Snappa provides high-quality custom graphics, including YouTube banner templates. The tool is intuitive and doesn’t require any design skills.
2. Fotor: Fotor is a versatile design tool, offering a range of YouTube banner templates. It includes a drag-and-drop feature and a broad range of design elements.
3. PicMonkey: PicMonkey allows you to create a banner from scratch or customize a pre-designed template. It offers a variety of design elements, such as textures, graphics, and fonts.
4. Adobe Spark: Another excellent resource that allows users to create professional-level designs. It offers a wide range of templates, customizable text, and the ability to upload your own images.
5. Looka: If you create a logo with Looka, our Brand Kit package gives you access to pre-designed and branded YouTube banners (and social media assets) that you can start using right away. It’s one less thing to worry about!

How to make a YouTube banner

You can make a professional, branded YouTube banner in minutes on Looka’s Brand Kit.

Here’s how:

• Sign up to Looka for free: It’s free to sign up and design your logo with Looka. Once you’re happy with your logo you can opt to purchase it!
• Easily design your logo and brand identity: Looka uses AI to apply design elements and create incredible logos and branding. You don’t need a degree in design or to pay a designer to get your business up and running!
• Use the Brand Kit for instantly branded design assets: The Brand Kit instantly generates every branded asset you would need to run your business. From social media posts to invoices and business cards, you’re covered!
• Customize your YouTube banner art to suit your vision: You can easily customize your YouTube banner templates with new elements and colors to better suit your brand personality.
• Publish your banner on your channel: Your YouTube banner is already the perfect size to be uploaded! You can instantly resize if you need to.

How to upload a YouTube banner

With your custom YouTube banner ready to go, here’s how to upload it onto your profile easily.

And there you have it, folks! You’re ready to make informative and entertaining videos that could land you on the YouTube channel highest-paid list. Try the Looka Brand Kit banner maker and get your branded YouTube banner template in no time.