How to Create a Podcast Logo? Ideas & Free Tools to Use

If you are starting a show or just redesigning your existing logo, you think about how to create a podcast logo that will encourage people to listen. There are many paths to a great podcast cover art.

In general, to create a podcast logo ,you need to set expectations of what value your show will deliver. Hinting at a mystery and promise of answers work consistently well. The cover art file itself has to be 2MB max, up to 3000×3000 px large (no less than 1400×1400 px), RGB, and either .png or.jpg.

To create a podcast logo that will attract a new audience and build you a great podcasting brand remember the design rules.

5 key podcast logo design rules:

1. Comply with technical requirements of main podcasting directories
2. Consider the branding and marketing message you want to send
3. Use what is best appropriate: your picture, photography, or a graphic to peak interest
4. Obey basic color principles – human brains automatically reacts to those
5. Make good use of the typeface and font – to highlight the tone of your show

Below you will find great free tools you can use to try the DIY approach or tested premium services where you fill find professionals to create a podcast logo for you.

Best Tools and Services to Create a Podcast Logo

DIY your podcast logo using Canva (free tool)

Canva is the most advanced and feature-rich editor that is at the same time easy to use. It has many excellent templates, graphics, and stickers you can use to create unique visual projects. It also allows you to create impressive marketing materials to promote your business and show. All of our podcasting resources are done in Canva.

My personal endorsement:

The logo for the Improve Podcast School show and all the checklists and tools you get access to when you join my newsletter were all created in Canva!

Canva also has a premium version, but everything you see below was created in the free version.

DIY your podcast cover art using Snappa (free tool)

Snappa is a must have tool for the non-designers who publish content online and want to do it quickly. It is the easiest tool to use and has great templates with an ideal size for any social media you are using for marketing. Despite its simplicity, Snappa offers unlimited possibilities for creative ways you can use to promote your podcast.

Creating a podcast logo using Snappa is very easy. The tool is fast, reliable, and simple to use.

Launch a competition for a podcasting logo using 99designs

99designs is a great platform with pro graphic designers for any project, but there is 1 service they have I love and recommend the most – a logo competition.

When you start a contest, artists worldwide submit anywhere from 30 to 90 concepts for you to choose from. You then can pick which one you like the best to be your podcasting logo. The creator of who’s work you have chosen gets the whole cash pool.

That is so cool! You will never use any other service for designing logos!

Order a professional podcasting cover art on Fiverr

Fiverr is my go-to marketplace if I need a professional for a quick job. You can browse through a long list of professionals, where they display their previous work, to find someone whose work you like.

Pros on Fiverr will complete your request quickly, and the best ones do it on the first take. I love the flexibility – you can test out multiple experts fast and cheaply.

My personal endorsement:

I’ve been using Fiverr for many years now. I even hired there a voice-over talent for a 1 minute trailer for the Improve Podcast School show.

Overall, this is a great marketplace, but you need to learn how to search for a good creator and then clearly specify what you need from them. I fully recommend Fiverr!

Requirements for a Podcast Logo

In general, technical requirements for a podcast logo covert art include maximum file size up to 2MB, maximum image size 3000 x 3000 px, minimum image size 1400 x 1400 px, and RGB colorspace. Your logo can be either .png or .jpg, but .png will be higher-quality.

The biggest TOP 5 podcast directories (places where you want to submit your podcasts): Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Soundcloud & Google Podcast.

This is important for this topic, as different directories have different requirements of minimum resolution size or maximum file limit.

If you want to avoid rework, stick to those requirements, and you will be able to create 1 file for top directories.

In order to create a podcast logo satisfying the requirement of TOP 5 directories, apply those setting:

• File size up to 2MB (SoundCloud limit). But work on compressing it and going below 500KB.
• Image size of 3000 x 3000 pixels, 72 dpi (this is the maximum limit accepted by Apple Podcasts).
• Keep the image as big as possible as some people listen to podcasts on smart TVs, so you want the image to be nice and sharp. If you have issues keeping within 2MB limit, reduce the size a little but not less than 1400 x 1400 pixels. This is the minimum limit acceptable by Apple Podcasts. Most directories accept lower limits, but avoiding rework and maintaining multiple files doesn’t go below this resolution.
• Use file format PNG with the appropriate extension (.png) to avoid losing quality, as this is the image your audience will see most often.
  • Alternatively, all the directories also accept JPEG format with the appropriate extension (.jpg), but you will lose image quality.
• Use colorspace RGB (this is Google’s requirement, they don’t support CMYK).

Create a Podcast Logo Using Your Marketing Plan

Create something that will last and can be usable in your other promotion efforts – as an avatar for your other social media accounts, you will choose to support your podcast’s promotion.

The purpose of your podcast cover art is to attract an audience. Visual representation is very important for brands around the globe, and your podcast art is the most important component of your brand’s visual identity. For most podcasters, it will be the only element they will use. This will be the only visual they will get to know regarding your podcast for most of your listeners.

You can find more useful tips and solutions on podcast brand building here.

Brand elements to use when you create a podcast cover art

• Podcast’s topic – can you and do you want to represent the topic you are talking about visually? If you talk about firefighting, car racing, or books, you can easily choose symbols representing those topics. You will have to get creative for most of the topics. For example, if you are talking about the food industry, how will you highlight that and not create a podcast logo suggesting you are talking about cooking?

“In the Dark” clearly tells us this will be a crime/prison-related podcast.

• Podcast’s tone and angle – funny, serious, sensational, analytical, etc. visual clues can represent all types of tones of your podcast. If you are going with your face on the cover (picture or graphic), your facial expression can hint towards the tone of your show (comedic, serious). If your podcast is analytical, you can have visual hints, like a chart or a magnifying glass. This will communicate to your audience you are going to focus on details.

“Swiss Marketing” with its minimalistic art announces they will be talking about details.

• Speaker’s personality – as all podcasts are opinion-based, most rely on the speaker’s personality. That will be most true when the tone of the podcast is comedic, and entertainment is an important part of your show. When the concept of your show is built around your personality, consider adding your picture or graphic of yourself. In consequence, this will help your audience get to know you a little better and establish a better relationship.

“Armchair Expert” doesn’t hide this will be a fun podcast relying on the author’s personality.

• The audience’s age and gender – could be relevant for some podcasts targeting specific demographics. If you target young people, you can use more vibrant colors. If your podcast is for mothers having a picture of a mother or a baby can help in building long-term brand commitment.

“Binge Mode: Harry Potter,” with its colorful art and lightning, suggests they will be talking to Harry Potter’s book audience.

We have great insight and statistics in our Podcasting Marketing Guide if you want to learn more about podcast listeners.

Should you use your image in your podcast cover art?

When you create a podcast logo, you need to decide the main motive dominating your logo.

• Your picture – this is a good choice if you are developing your personal brand. When you want to highlight that your opinion, curiosity, or approach to life is the core of the show. This can work regardless of whether you are planning to have visitors or not.
• Photography related to the podcast – it will work well to inspire curiosity and set the tone of the podcast.
• Designed graphics – pictures and photos can be stylized, but never as much as the dedicated graphic. Using this form for your podcast cover allows you for more control in regards to setting the mood.

“The Habitat” here is a great example. It tells a story of a NASA experiment in which six volunteers are sent to live in an isolated habitat in Hawaii to simulate the Mars environment. The graphics created for this podcast perfectly capture the atmosphere of Mars and loneliness better than any photoshopped photo would.

What colors should you use for podcast cover art?

When you start to create a podcast logo, simply remember that some colors simply work better in a certain combination.

Regardless of the style you are going to use, the color palette you choose will also affect your logo. The temperature of colors used affects the mood, so warm colors are connected with action, energy, and brightness. Simultaneously cool colors have the opposite effect and make you feel at peace and calm. Most common Most commonly used color relationships in logo design are:

• Monochromatic when an image is composed of one color (or values of one color)
• Complementary colors (i.e., colors from opposite sides of the color wheel) contrast strongly with each other. Orange and aquamarine, for instance, make an image pop.
• Analogous colors create a color scheme that feels consistent and is created by colors nearby on the color wheel. A dominant color can be chosen, and then other colors support it or accept it.
• Triadic colors are used to create contrast while still remaining in balance. You will reach this effect using colors evenly spaced around the color wheel. This pallet is appropriate for complex logos and will provide a solid visual distinction of your key elements. At the same time, it will allow your art to feel consistent.

A good, attention-capturing logo is an important element of driving traffic to your podcast. But there are also other very effective ways. If you want to check them out, read the article on how to drive traffic and promote your podcast.

What font should you use to create a podcast logo?

When you create a podcasting logo, make sure that the text on the logo is easily readable.

• Short – as it is the key element of your visual branding, you should fit your podcast title (or at least the most important part of it). If you want it to.
• Readable – not only the title needs to fit your podcast art, but it also should be readable when displayed on a smaller device.
• To the point – first impressions matter.
• Use the right font – let it help you with your  message.
  • “Late Night Whenever” using flashy neon lights clearly conveys the message of fun.
  • “The Wilderness” has its title written in brush strokes, uneven letters (all three Es and two Ss are different from one another). This beautifully suggests that the system we have is chaotic and there are no set rules.
  • “The Dream” cut out font, letters not aligned, some of them dirty. It tells us that something regarding the dream is broken and not in order.
  • “Caliphate” – is using the serif typeface (a serif is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter), which is commonly used in printed media and newspapers (opposed to sans-serif typefaces used online). It suggests this podcast will have traits of high-quality journalism.

Don’t infringe on other people’s property

When your podcast is about other people, especially public figures, do not use photos showing them in a bad light.

Regardless of what your opinion is or what you will be talking about. If you will have a negative opinion about them, use some smart, creative ways to show that.

When talking about brands, do not infringe on copyrights. Do not use other brand names in your name, and do not use their logos in your podcast logo.

Suppose you want to learn more about using other people’s property on your podcasts, especially music. In that case, you can visit our article Types of music you can play on your podcast – here, we talk about how you can legally use music samples when you edit your show.

Where can you find the best images for podcast cover arts?

If you need a photo for your podcast art, you can use one of the many free or paid photo directories online.

As a free option, I recommend Canva. You do not need to credit the author when using images from this website. This is important as you don’t want to use up the space of your art with additional text.

Here is a full list of recommendations:

• Canva – best editor with a lot of free images to use and easy to purchase premium ones if you need them,
• Snappa – my 2nd best editor, works similarly as Canva,
• Shutterstock – my go to source for premium images. If you are looking for something of better quality at a very reasonable price, consider Shutterstock. They offer high-quality images at one of the lowest prices on the market.

Where can I hire someone to design a podcast logo?

Simply go toFiverr and search for logo designers. You can find a lot of quality freelancers there.

Finally, when you have a beautiful logo, a key part of your visual identity, you should consider further reinforcing your brand by establishing a website with a clear purpose of getting more listeners. We highly recommend our Podcast Website Marketing Guide.

Conclusion

When thinking about how to create a podcast logo, you need to follow general technical guidelines set by the biggest podcast directories.

Make sure you follow some good practices established in graphic design.

Choose colors that work well with each other based on the color wheel concept.

Decide if you want to use a photo or graphics. Think about how this will work with the concept of your brand.

What element of podcast logo design always captures your attention?

About the Author

Chris Land

I'm the owner and creator of ImprovePodcast.com, the site dedicated to providing actionable solutions for podcast creators. My goal is helping people to develop their podcasts into effective marketing and sales tools.