YouTube Thumbnail Designer (666 Media)

About us We're 666 Media, a video production company running a portfolio of YouTube channels. We produce 600+ videos every month with a team of 15+ freelancers: editors, designers, writers, and researchers. We're scaling fast and building a long-term team to grow with us. The role Thumbnails are one of our highest-priority levers for video performance. We need someone who understands what actually drives clicks in this space, not just clean design. Here's the part that matters more than design skill: strategy. A great thumbnail is not invented from scratch. It comes from studying the patterns already working in the niche right now, and mixing multiple winning patterns into one image. Pattern research first, design second. If you only design what you personally like, this role is not for you. If you obsess over what's getting clicks this month and build on top of it, keep reading. Your responsibilities: - Design thumbnails for new video releases based on the video's topic and hook - Study top-performing thumbnails in the niche and identify the patterns behind them - Combine multiple proven patterns into original, high-CTR thumbnails - Revise and refresh thumbnails on existing videos that are underperforming - Deliver clean, high-resolution files on schedule so releases are never held up Requirements (read before applying) - Strong portfolio specifically in YouTube thumbnail design, ideally in similar niches (creepy, mystery, horror, celebrity, caught-on-camera, commentary) - An eye for what makes a thumbnail stop the scroll, not just look polished - Comfortable with heavy Photoshop work combined with AI tools - Fast turnaround, comfortable with revisions - Reliable communicator, available consistently Pay There is no fixed budget for this role. It's about ROI. Paying you is an investment: if your thumbnails drive more clicks and profit than cheaper alternatives, we will happily pay you more than anyone else would. If a cheaper designer brings the same or better results, we go with them. Prove the return and the rate is never a problem. Paid on time, every time. Your work will be measured against our current designers and competitor benchmarks (CTR, view lift). The numbers decide, not the rate card.