The podcast is the brand heard rather than seen, which puts all the visual weight on one square image that has to work from a full-screen player down to a 40px list thumbnail. The show is ours, but it reaches people through directories we do not control, so it inherits their rules. The studio team owns it.
Regulations
These come from the directories the show is distributed through, chiefly Apple Podcasts and Spotify, rather than from the technology itself. Nothing here is ours to negotiate.
| Format | Size / ratio | Safe area | File format | Max weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show cover | 3000×3000 · 1:1, platforms accept 1400 to 3000 | full bleed, and it has to read at 40px | JPG/PNG, RGB (sRGB) | 512 KB target | one export serves Apple Podcasts and Spotify |
| Episode artwork | 3000×3000 · 1:1, same range | same | JPG/PNG, RGB (sRGB) | 512 KB target | optional per-episode override, same rules as the cover |
The 512 KB ceiling is Apple's validation limit. Spotify enforces none, so a file that passes Apple passes everywhere. Apple says RGB and Spotify says sRGB, and sRGB satisfies both. Verified 2026-07-05.
Standards
- Logo: the cover carries the mark at sizes where clear space is survival rather than polish. Variants and rules: 4.1 Logo
- Colour: the cover is a brand-palette composition. It competes in a directory full of loud artwork by being unmistakably ours: 4.2 Colour
- Type: the show title on the cover uses the brand type roles, sized to stay legible at thumbnail: 4.3 Typography
- Design at 3000×3000. The directories accept less; Apple requires this size for featuring eligibility, and it is the size the Spotify profile reuses unchanged.
- Judge the cover at 40px, not at full size. That is where listeners actually choose, and it is the only review that catches detail dying in the thumbnail.
- Voice: the podcast is the tone of voice made literal. The register in 3.3 How We Communicate is how the show sounds, not only how it is written about. Episode titles and show notes follow the same rules as any other copy.
Formats
Design is building the cover source file and an episode-artwork variant. Each frame below holds its format at the exact ratio until the template lands.
Show cover, 3000×3000 (1:1)
Episode artwork, 3000×3000 (1:1)
Tools
- Image Placeholder, square blanks for laying out cover drafts before the artwork exists
No podcast-specific tool exists yet. A thumbnail preview that renders the cover at 40px next to the full size is the obvious first one, since the whole page turns on a judgement nobody can make by eye at export size. Request it when the show is scheduled.
Don't
Don't design detail that dies at 40px
Podcast apps show the cover as a list thumbnail first. Fine linework, small type, and subtle contrast vanish exactly where listeners choose.
Don't export outside the square range
Anything under 1400×1400, over 3000×3000, or non-square fails Apple's validation. The feed stalls at submission, not at design review.
Don't ship a non-sRGB file
CMYK or a wide-gamut profile shifts the palette in every player. Export sRGB and the colours stay the brand's colours.
Checklist
- Cover exported at 3000×3000, sRGB, under 512 KB
- Legibility checked at 40px before submission
- Logo clear space held; title readable at thumbnail
- Episode titles and show notes pass the voice check