Can you promote your game with a 5-10 second image?

I occasionally make amateur youtube videos for myself or another youtuber. It is very difficult to get noticed among the other 100s of videos, but that initial thumbnail image is vital to help you stand out. By nature we are drawn to visual images, and having a strong image for your Kickstarter campaign can make someone click on your project. You want to use that image to draw them in, so they spend some time looking at your campaign.

Here are my personal tips that I use for making Youtube thumbnails / product placement images.   

1. Keep it simple

The aim of that image is to catch people's attention and draw them in. Showing the board game box clearly, or the components clearly is a great way to do this. People can easily understand what the product is.

2. Remove distracting background 

Sometimes we want to add many layers to the image: add a background, add some text, add people playing the game so it looks like fun. But sometimes too much will distract from making the image stand out. The eye has nowhere to focus on .. 

3. The game / item you are promoting should be the focus  

Your game should be the main focus, in the foreground. Also, when looking at an image or text, we scan from left to right, top to bottom . So either the game should be right in the center of the image, or spans from I recommend putting the box on the left and some components on the right. For me if the box is shown on the right side, it looks off balance. My preference for making a 3D photo rendering of your box, you should also have it from left to right. You will see this a lot on other board game company box renderings.

Izayoi's image is great. The box is on the left, and your eyes are drawn gradually down toward the right to see the components. 

Reference: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nanatsumu/izayoi-board-game-made-in-japan

4. Don't add unnecessary text

Text when shrunk down may not be visible on a smaller screen. Don't add any extra text to your campaign image. It may not be legible and it will be a distraction. Here are some of my old old Youtube thumbnails. When shrunk down the text is illegible and a distraction.

If you want your image to be featured by Kickstarter, don't add stickers that say “on Kickstarter” or “100% funded on Kickstarter”.

5. Use bright images  

When taking a photo of your game, make sure it is in a bright setting. If the game box or components are dark and you are able to crop the image and apply it to an contrasting background.

Crash Octopus's image is great. It is bright. The game is very visible. 

Reference: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/itten-games/crash-octopus

THE FINAL MISSMERC CHECK: shrink the image

Often when we create the image we might use a big computer monitor. We can see the image in its biggest size. As devices get smaller, often people are viewing the pages on their 13 ”laptop, a 10” tablet, The screen size can be very small. Personally I don't have good eye-sight, so if the image is dark and unclear, I will often skip that project

Also, consider that a viewer might only have about 5-10 seconds to scroll through the list of projects while they switch between email messages, facebook messages etc. So if the image cannot catch them in the first 5 -10 seconds, they may have will your image stand out and be seen among all the 1000s of Twitter posts a day?

My rule of thumb is, shrink the image down to a small thumbnail, then ask these questions: 

Is the image still clear?
Can you discern what the product is?
Are the colors clear, and the product clear enough to catch the eye?

 If the answer is yes to these questions, then your image should be good to go.

Finally, as always if it's for the international audience, it's a good idea to have a 3rd party check it over one more time.

Other good examples of eye-catching campaign images

Reference: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sinisterfish/streets?ref=discovery&term=streets

Reference: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tsunagujapan-crafts/traditional-japanese-ceramic-craft