Reimagine Podcast Website - A Design Case Study
When I work, I always listen to podcast, usually I go to Youtube and search for specific topic or sometimes go to Ted. Youtube and Ted are more than enough for my podcast need, they are simple, lot of topic and good quality (audio and visual).
I’m thinking about that Youtube have a great thumbnail, engaging, but too crowded because titles compete with thumbnails. Ted Talks have clean thumbnail, not crowded but the text heavy content make the website feels like i will click a news rather than a talk or podcast.
I’m reimagining can a podcast website have design that not too crowded but engaging to click? Then, I go to Netflix to see how they display their content. Netflix takes a different approach. Instead of separating the thumbnail and title, it blends them into a single visual. Each title has its own typography, color, and placement, making every poster feel unique while keeping the browsing experience easy to scan.
And I remember that AirBnb did this kind of design when they launch their experience feature in 2018.
What we have now
YouTube
Photo thumbnails create curiosity. Titles compete with the text on the thumbnails
Ted Talks
Clean Photo. Too many texts to read, looks like news website
Netflix
Typography is part of the artwork. Thumbnail photo feels premium.
Airbnb Experiences
Editorial photography are cool. Every card tells a story before you click. White space on the thumbnails gives premium perception.
Design plan
Let’s do exploration with some guidelines below:
Choose photo that looks premium from Pexels or Unsplash
Whitespace on the thumbnail is a must
Text is part of the thumbnail
What’s next?
Let’s choose one thumbnail style and apply to the design. And here is my first experiment. Netflix vibes with one big episode on the top and follow with some thumbnails.
Let’s do another design exploration with different vibes of thumbnail. I’m curious if I do exploration with some clean touch and little bit editorial, would be boring or not. And here is the result
Conclusion
Actually I do not know which design will work better. I like both design because they have personality, what do you think? which one will work better for a podcast website. Also, thanks for read the article, I really appreciate it.
