Graphic Designer – YouTube Thumbnails & Channel Design

Location: Mumbai
Experience: 3–5 years
Function: Creative / Design
Employment Type: Contractual

About Rusk Media
Rusk Media is a creator-led entertainment company building differentiated content and entertainment brands for Gen Z and young audiences.
Through Alright! TV and our portfolio of digital channels, we create and distribute scripted, unscripted and creator-led content across YouTube, OTT, FAST, CTV and other digital platforms.

About the Role
We are looking for a Graphic Designer specialising in YouTube thumbnails, channel art and digital content design to join our creative team.

This is a performance-oriented design role where your work will directly influence how audiences discover, engage with and consume our content.

We're looking for someone who understands that great YouTube design isn't just about making something look good — it's about understanding what makes audiences click, watch and continue watching.

You will work closely with editors, content teams and brand partnerships to create high-performing visual assets across multiple shows and channels. You'll also use audience and platform data to test, learn and continuously improve your creative approach.

Key Responsibilities
YouTube Thumbnails & Content Packaging
Design compelling thumbnails for long-form YouTube videos and covers for Shorts across multiple channels and content genres.
Develop thumbnail concepts where the title and thumbnail work together as a single content proposition.
Create multiple creative variants for priority content and participate in YouTube's Test & Compare experimentation.
Refresh thumbnails for under-performing catalogue content and identify opportunities to improve content discovery.
Develop visual approaches for different genres, audiences, languages and content formats.
Channel Art & Digital Brand Assets
Design YouTube channel banners, profile assets, playlist covers and other channel branding.




Create promotional creatives for Alright! TV, FAST/CTV platforms, social media and other digital distribution channels.
Ensure designs work effectively across mobile, desktop and connected-TV environments.
Design Systems & Creative Excellence
Build and maintain scalable design systems and asset libraries for different shows and channels.
Develop reusable templates, visual elements, typography systems and production workflows.
Maintain a structured record of creative experiments, learnings and winning formats.
Track category, competitor and platform trends and translate relevant trends into actionable creative ideas.
Work closely with content and production teams to ensure appropriate photography and visual assets are captured for future thumbnail requirements.

What We're Looking For
Experience
3–5 years of professional graphic design experience.
At least 2 years of hands-on experience designing YouTube thumbnails for channels with meaningful audience scale.
A strong portfolio demonstrating actual YouTube work and an understanding of content packaging.
Design Skills
Advanced proficiency in Adobe Photoshop , including compositing, cut-outs, retouching, colour grading, lighting and image enhancement.
Strong proficiency in Illustrator and/or Figma .
Excellent understanding of typography, composition, hierarchy, colour and visual storytelling.
Ability to create designs that remain immediately legible and compelling at mobile size.
Strong understanding of facial expressions, emotion, visual tension and focal-point composition.




Ability to design effectively in Hindi and English ; regional language experience is a plus.
YouTube & Performance Understanding
Comfortable working with YouTube Studio and interpreting metrics such as CTR, impressions, views and audience retention.
Understands the relationship between thumbnail, title, click-through behaviour and viewer retention.
Experience conducting or contributing to thumbnail A/B tests and translating results into creative learnings.
Understands that successful YouTube design is ultimately about audience behaviour and content performance, not aesthetics alone.
AI & Emerging Creative Tools
Comfortable using AI-enabled creative tools such as Photoshop Generative Fill, Adobe Firefly, Midjourney or similar tools to improve speed and creative exploration.
Understands copyright, usage rights and likeness considerations when using AI-generated assets.

Good to Have
Basic motion-design skills using After Effects, CapCut or similar tools.
Experience designing for CTV, QUICK channels and streaming apps.
Experience working with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or other regional-language content.
Experience directing or briefing photography specifically for digital content and thumbnails.
Familiarity with YouTube research and optimisation tools.
Degree/diploma in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Visual Communication or a related discipline.

Portfolio and demonstrated impact matter more than formal qualifications.

What to Share With Your Application

Please include:
Your CV/profile
A portfolio containing 10–15 YouTube thumbnails
Live video links wherever available
Performance metrics such as CTR, views or before/after results, wherever you can share them
2–3 examples of channel art, banners or broader digital design work

The selection process will include a portfolio review, practical design exercise and conversations with the team.

If you don't just make thumbnails look good, but understand why audiences click , we'd love to hear from you.

📌 Graphic Designer (Mumbai)
🏢 Rusk Media
📍 Mumbai