Features › Headline text
Headline text that still reads on a phone
Most thumbnails are judged at the size of a postage stamp, on a phone, in a feed. Three or four words is usually the limit. Tell the builder exactly what the words should be and it sets them into the image rather than pasting them on afterwards.
How it works
Put the words in quotes
Say the headline exactly. The model treats it as text to render, not as a description.
Say how it should feel
Heavy and blunt, handwritten, stencilled, outlined so it survives a busy background.
Check it small
Shrink the result on your screen until it is the size of a phone thumbnail. If you cannot read it there, cut a word and run it again.
Things people ask it for
Headline "I QUIT" in heavy condensed capitals, cream on deep red, bottom left
The words "3 YEARS LATER" small in the corner, not competing with the face
No text at all, leave the right third clear so I can add it myself
Questions
How many words should a thumbnail carry?
Three or four. Every extra word costs you legibility at the size it is actually seen.
Can I leave space and add the text myself?
Yes. Ask for a clear area in the composition and add your own type afterwards.