10 Examples of Creative Podcast Art

Podcast cover art holds the power of first impressions. Check out these stand-out podcast cover art. 

In recent years, podcasting has seen a significant rise in popularity. The demand isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. Clearly, the medium brings a plethora of opportunities, thus many creators go above and beyond to gain their fair market share of listeners.

Over 80% of regular podcast listeners spend around 7 hours a week listening to their favorite podcasts. They consume the medium while doing housework, walking, and driving, showing how accessible they have become thanks to streaming service providers such as Spotify and iTunes.

Hundreds of influencers and artists have podcasts where they share their stories. Many businesses use podcasting for a variety of reasons like building customer relationships and sharing insights about their services. There are countless podcasts for various interests and hobbies, from sports to pop culture to creepy stories.

One way to stand out in podcasting is to have creative cover art that immediately grabs attention. If you’re planning to start a new podcast, get inspired by reading this piece where we showcase some creative podcast art out there. We’ll also go through everything you need to know about what makes them great podcast art.

Want to work with a partner that can help you create the cover art you dream of? Take a look at Top Design Firms’ list of top graphic designers.

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The Value of Cover Art For Podcasts

There’s this famous saying that “pictures are worth a thousand words”, and that’s literally what sums up why covers are important. You can write an excellent description for your podcast but potential listeners won’t read it if they don’t gravitate toward your cover art — after all, it’s the first thing they’ll see when they search for new podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Podcast artworks are like business cards — they’re important to attracting new listeners and showcasing what type of content you do. Just like business cards, they carry the weight of first impressions.

Spending time conceptualizing and designing your cover art is worth it. Just like with logos, movie posters, and book covers, podcast cover art should ultimately be what catches people’s attention. 

Well-designed podcast cover conveys a sense of professionalism and credibility. In contrast, poorly-designed cover art that looks like any other generic template can give off the feeling of lower-quality content.

What to Consider When Designing a “Creative” Cover?

When designing a podcast cover on Canva or Adobe Photoshop, there are a variety of factors you should consider. A creative podcast cover takes into account the interests of its audience — what trends they’re attracted to, what their age group is, and even where they’re from. 

Another variable that you should think about is the color you will use for your podcast cover. If you’re quite new to designing, color psychology is the study of how colors affect perceptions. Every color conveys a different emotion or feeling, that’s why it’s imperative to know what clicks for the type of podcast you’re producing.

Podcast covers aren’t meant to be too abstract. At first glance, they are visual representations of the personality, style, genre, and topic of your podcast. A creative design doesn’t need to be complex or intricate. 

You can design the best cover you can think of, but it won’t be considered effective if it fails to look high-quality on different mediums, sizes, and settings. The rule of thumb is to create a podcast cover art that is easy to read and not too cluttered. Filling it with a ton of elements can make it look too much when viewed on smaller screens or mediums.

10 Examples of Creative Podcast Cover Art

Now that we’ve covered those, here are 15 podcast cover artworks that look great:

Code Switch

Hosted by journalists Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby, Code Switch is a podcast that dives into important conversations that affect society. From politics to history, Code Switch is an amazing podcast that honestly spotlights culture and meaningful topics. Its cover art is intriguing and eye-catching. Right off the bat, you can tell that it’s a podcast about culture and society.

Code Switch cover art

Dear Sugars

Produced by WBUR and hosted by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond, Dear Sugars is an impactful podcast that’s not afraid to talk about relationships and directly connect to the hearts of its listeners. The beautiful symbolism represented by the bandaids forming a heart speaks volumes about the podcast.

Dear Sugars cover art

The Mum & Dad Show

Tackling everything from relationships to feminism, The Mum & Dad Show is a podcast hosted by Clare and Isaac Butterfield. The podcast is funny, personal, and relatable, and the cover art it uses greatly captures the tone of its content. 

The Mum & Dad Show cover art

Dirty John

Dirty John is a true crime podcast that tackles the tale of John Meehan, nicknamed “Filthy”. Narrated by Christopher Goffard, the chilling podcast explores the exploits, abuse, and deceits, and that is captured beautifully by its cover art. The last episode of the podcast was released in 2018 but its cover art still pops because of its simplicity, legibility, and sophistication.

Dirty John cover art

Microdosing: Arian Foster and PFT Commenter

The cover itself immediately encapsulates what Microdosing: Arian Foster and PFT Commenter is all about. The podcast is about conspiracy theories, dark stories from the deep web, and all sorts of conundrums, and right away you can clearly see that from its unique, thought-provoking, and head-turning cover art. 

Microdosing: Arian Foster and PFT Commenter cover art

Just Sleep

Bedtime stories aren’t just for kids, and the Just Sleep podcast is the perfect podcast to help adults relax and drift off to sleep. The cover art is recognizable, straightforward, and simple, working great for its genre. The design isn’t busy, flowing gracefully and calmingly. It shows how much the designer thought of the concept and the target audience when creating the artwork.

Just Sleep cover art

Sounds Like a Cult

Co-hosted by Isa Medina and Amanda Montell, Sounds Like A Cult is literally what it sounds like. The podcast explores modern-day “cults” that people follow, from astrology to beauty pageants. Just like its premise, the cover art is striking, intriguing, and memorable. The design pretty much speaks for itself.

Sounds Like a Cult cover art

Greeking Out

Targeting kids from ages 8 to 10, Greeking Out is a fun and informative podcast that retells the stories of famous Greek myth heroes and gods. The cover art is brilliant, using vibrant colors that kids will immediately gravitate to and elements that reflect Greek excellence. It’s perfect for its category and its target audience.

Greeking Out cover art

Working It

Working It is Financial Times’ award-winning podcast that takes a deep dive into the post-pandemic trends that currently move the global job market. Hosted by Isabel Berwick, every episode analyzes and breaks down relevant topics and stories that personally connect with young working professionals. The cover art for Working It is clean and easy on the eyes. You can instantly tell what the podcast is about but it’s not too boring that it fades. The artwork is relevant and not misleading for its target audience.

Working It cover art

The Fast And The Curious

The Fast And The Curious isn’t related to a certain movie franchise but it also talks about fast racing cars, F1 in this case. Hosted by Greg James, Betty Glover, and Christian Hewgill, the podcast regularly features world-class drivers and team principals. The cover art is punchy and exciting, using a bold font with a color-blocking palette. 

The Fast And The Curious cover art

Make a Brilliant Impression

Nailing the cover art for your podcast is a must. The truth is that people will see your podcast cover first, playing a crucial role in convincing them to hear your content. We always say that don’t judge a book by its cover, but nearly everyone is guilty of doing just that — the same principle applies to podcast cover art. 

Ultimately, focus on showcasing your brand and what your podcast is about. After all, no listener wants to be misled by cover art that doesn’t reflect the content they thought they would get. Your podcast cover art is a valuable investment, it’s as significant as the recording equipment you have.

Starting a podcast isn’t easy! Make sure you have a simple checklist of things when you’re designing your cover art so you don’t get sidetracked; is it saved in PNG and JPEG format, look up the optimal pixel dimensions, etc. 

There are a ton of moving components that can give you a hard time — from designing cover art to deciding the podcast title and recording the first episodes, the responsibilities can be overwhelming. Working with a reliable graphic designer can take the burden of creating cover art off your shoulders. Work with the best graphic design agencies ranked on Top Design Firms now!

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