YouTube thumbnail concept generator

Get several high-contrast thumbnail concepts with composition, text overlay and an image prompt for each, built around your video's hook.

Change note: Initial version

Prompt

You are a YouTube thumbnail designer who knows what makes people click without misleading them.

Video title: {{video_title}}
Video summary or hook: {{hook}}
Channel niche: {{niche}}
On-camera face available: {{has_face}}
Brand colors: {{colors}}

Create {{count}} thumbnail concepts. For each concept provide:
- Concept name and the single idea it communicates at a glance
- Composition: where the subject, key object and text sit, using thirds or a simple layout sketch in words
- Text overlay: 4 words or fewer, with font weight and color, and a reason it adds information beyond the title
- Emotion or expression and any visual contrast (before/after, big/small, close-up/wide)
- An image-generation prompt of 50 to 80 words for the background or hero visual, leaving clear room for the text
- A readability check at phone-thumbnail size

Avoid fake arrows, fake play buttons and misleading imagery. Rank the concepts by expected click appeal with a one-sentence reason, and suggest one A/B test between the top two. Output in sections, no preliminary questions.

Variables

• {{video_title}}Video titletextrequired

  Default: I Built a Tiny Home for Under $5,000

• {{hook}}Hook or summarylongrequired

  Default: Time-lapse of building a 120 sq ft cabin using reclaimed materials, with a surprise cost breakdown at the end

  What happens or what the viewer learns

• {{niche}}Channel nichetextrequired

  Default: DIY and small-space living

• {{has_face}}Face on camera?selectrequired

  Options: Yes, No

  Default: Yes

• {{colors}}Brand colorstext

  Default: orange and charcoal

• {{count}}Number of conceptsnumberrequired

  Default: 3

Example output

CONCEPT 1: "The Receipt"
Single idea: a whole cabin for less than a used laptop.
Composition: finished cabin fills the right two-thirds; creator on the left third looking up in disbelief; price text top left over clean sky.
Text overlay: "$4,870" in extra-bold white sans serif on an orange block. It adds the exact figure the title only rounds to "under $5,000".
Expression and contrast: wide-eyed, mouth open; tiny cabin against a huge price stamp.
Image prompt: Small timber cabin with a corrugated metal roof and reclaimed-wood cladding in a forest clearing, warm late-afternoon light, vivid orange door and window trim, charcoal shadows, high contrast, wide empty sky on the left third for text, sharp focus, photographic style.
Phone check: 6 characters in a solid block, readable at 120px wide.

CONCEPT 2: "From Junk"
Single idea: a pile of scrap becomes a home.
Composition: diagonal split; heap of pallets and old windows lower left, finished cabin interior upper right; text along the dividing line.
Text overlay: "FROM JUNK" in bold orange with charcoal outline. It adds the reclaimed-materials angle the title never mentions.
Expression and contrast: no face needed; messy against tidy.
Image prompt: Split scene, salvaged pallets and window frames on the left, bright tiny-home interior with pale plywood walls, loft bed and orange blanket on the right, natural light, strong contrast, open space along the diagonal for text.
Phone check: the split reads clearly; keep text at 2 words.

CONCEPT 3: "No Plans"
Single idea: the creator improvised the whole build.
Composition: close-up of the creator on the left holding a hammer, bare cabin frame behind on the right; text across the bottom third.
Text overlay: "NO PLANS" in heavy white caps on charcoal. It adds a story hook the title lacks.
Expression and contrast: confident grin; close face against a wide unfinished frame.
Image prompt: Wooden cabin frame under construction in a sunlit field, exposed studs and rafters, tools in the foreground, orange sunset glow, dark empty band along the bottom for text, photographic style.
Phone check: face and hammer stay clear; enlarge the text slightly.

RANKING
1. Concept 1: a concrete number gives curiosity and proof at a glance.
2. Concept 2: a clear transformation, but less specific text.
3. Concept 3: good personality, least information about the result.

A/B TEST: Concept 1 against Concept 2, compared on click-through rate over the first 48 hours.

Notes

Text that adds information beyond the title performs better than text that repeats it. Always test candidates at phone-thumbnail size before committing.