Podcast / Video Cover Art Maker

Design square cover art for podcasts and video episodes with photo, title, and branding.

Tested tool guide Tested browser tools Checked August 16, 2026

What Podcast / Video Cover Art Maker does and how it behaves

This tool assembles the square image that represents a show or a single episode: a photo as the base, the title as the foreground text, and brand colors and identity holding the two together. You bring the photo and the words; the tool handles the square canvas and the output sizing that podcast and video directories require. The thing most people get wrong is designing for the full-size image. The same artwork is rendered by players as a thumbnail a few hundred pixels wide, so small text and busy detail that look fine zoomed in become unreadable smears. Design for the thumbnail first.

How the result is produced

Layered composition

The result is one flattened square image composed from three inputs: the photo as the background, the title as the foreground text, and the brand palette and identity details as the connective layer. Portrait and landscape photos are cropped to fit the square canvas, so the subject must be centered; whatever the crop removes is gone from the final art unless the original photo is re-uploaded.

Square output and platform floors

Podcast directories set a floor on artwork size: Apple Podcasts requires at least 1400 by 1400 pixels and recommends 3000 by 3000. An export below that floor is rejected when the feed is submitted, so the output must clear it. The opposite constraint is the display side: players render the art as a small square in lists and queues, so the same image must stay readable at thumbnail scale.

Good uses

Launching a new podcast: create the required square artwork before the RSS feed is submitted to Apple Podcasts or Spotify, where undersized or non-square images are rejected at submission.
Episode-specific art for a video or interview series: generate a fresh cover per episode with the guest, topic, and episode number, while the show's colors and logo stay constant so the full set reads as one show.
Rebranding an existing show: regenerate the cover when the name or visual identity changes, so listings in every directory and embedded player pick up the new look from the updated feed artwork.

Limits and checks

The square crop is easy to underestimate. A portrait or landscape photo is cut to fit the 1:1 canvas, and anything outside the square is dropped, so subjects framed at the photo's edges can vanish from the final art.
Legibility at thumbnail scale decides success, not legibility at full resolution. A title that reads clearly when enlarged can be unreadable in the small square players show in lists, so judge the result at small size before exporting.
A low-resolution source photo cannot be fixed by the tool. The export must clear the 1400-pixel floor, and scaling a small image up to that size softens it; the tool renders what the photo contains and cannot invent missing detail.

Common questions

What size should I export the artwork at?

Export at the largest size the tool offers. Apple Podcasts will not accept cover art below 1400 x 1400 pixels and recommends 3000 x 3000; larger images display identically on every platform because players always scale down, never up. If the tool caps exports below 1400, the resulting file will be rejected at submission.

Can I use a photo that isn't square?

Only in the sense that it will be cropped: the canvas is square by construction, so a landscape or portrait photo is cut to fit, losing whatever lies outside the square. Center the subject and keep important content away from the photo's edges before uploading. For full control, crop the photo to square yourself first.

References and verification

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