TikTok is a rented channel and the brand is not live on it yet. These guidelines exist so launch day starts on-brand instead of from scratch. Its defining constraint: the platform UI overlays more of the frame than any other channel, and it moves. The studio team owns it.
Regulations
TikTok sets these per format and changes them without notice. Nothing here is ours to negotiate.
| Format | Size / ratio | Safe area | File format | Max weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profile photo | 500×500 · 1:1, min 200×200 | circular crop, centre the mark | JPG/PNG | not published | current working values |
| Video canvas | 1080×1920 · 9:16 | roughly 130px top, 484px bottom, 140px right, 44px left | MP4/MOV; stills at 1080×1920 | not published | right column is the action rail; bottom band is username, caption and music ticker |
TikTok publishes no formal spec for either format. The safe-zone margins come from its ad and creative guidance, and the UI shifts several times a year, so treat these as this quarter's working margins rather than platform guarantees. Verified 2026-07-05.
Standards
- Logo: the avatar variant fills the profile photo, which TikTok displays as a circle. Variants and clear space: 4.1 Logo
- Colour: designed overlays and end cards use the brand palette; native footage stays true to its grade: 4.2 Colour
- Type: designed text in the frame uses the brand roles, not the platform's caption styles, wherever the asset is composed rather than captured: 4.3 Typography
- Compose for the middle band. With the action rail on the right and the caption stack at the bottom, the message lives in the centre of the frame or it does not land.
- Re-check the overlay before every ship. These margins are the one set of figures on this page that go stale on their own. A template that was safe in spring crops wrong by autumn.
Formats
Design commissions a 1080×1920 canvas template, with the current safe zones marked, when the channel activates. Each frame below holds its format at the exact ratio until the template lands.
Video canvas, 1080×1920 (9:16)
Profile photo, 500×500 (1:1)
Tools
- Image Placeholder, blanks at the canvas and profile sizes, for laying out drafts before the footage exists
No TikTok-specific tool exists yet. A safe-zone overlay that sits on top of a 9:16 export is the obvious first one, and it is worth more here than on any other channel, because these margins are the ones that move. Request it when the channel activates.
Don't
Don't design under the action rail
The right edge belongs to like, comment, and share. Text or a logo there sits behind buttons for every single viewer.
Don't use the bottom third for the message
Username, caption, and the music ticker stack over the bottom of the frame. The message lives in the middle band or it doesn't land.
Don't trust last year's safe zones
TikTok redraws its UI several times a year. A template that was safe in spring crops wrong by autumn. Verify against a live overlay before ship.