YouTube Thumbnail Designer (Minimalist Style)

Hello! We run a growing YouTube channel focused on mountains, extreme landscapes and unusual places around the world. We're looking for one creative, reliable designer (not an agency) for a long-term collaboration. We're not looking for someone to reinvent the wheel. We're looking for someone who can understand an established style, make it their own, and execute it consistently at a high level. The Style Please use the attached screenshots as your primary reference. Our thumbnails are: Clean Bright Photorealistic Minimalist Curiosity-driven The design should feel deceptively simple. Most of the impact comes from excellent composition, realistic editing, thoughtful typography and a clear visual hierarchy—not from excessive effects. We're not looking for dark, gloomy or overly dramatic thumbnails. We want viewers to click because the place itself is fascinating. Research Matters Many of our thumbnails include mountain routes, maps and geographical features. These should never be invented. If a climbing route is shown, it should broadly follow the real route and include the major landmarks where appropriate (for example Base Camp, camps, glaciers, ridges, Bottleneck and the summit). We expect you to spend a few minutes researching these details before creating the thumbnail. What We're Looking For Strong understanding of YouTube thumbnails and CTR Excellent composition Realistic image editing Good judgement Attention to detail Ability to work independently with minimal guidance Application Please include: Two thumbnails from your portfolio that you believe best match the style shown in the attached reference images. One or two sentences for each thumbnail explaining why you chose it and what makes it effective. Please don't send your entire portfolio. We'd much rather see the two pieces of work that you believe are the closest match for our channel. Next Step We'll review all applications and invite a small number of shortlisted candidates to complete a paid thumbnail assignment. This helps us understand your workflow and creative approach, while giving you a realistic impression of the type of work we produce. We look forward to seeing your work! Please start your application with the word: Mountain Landscape We look forward to seeing your work. Best regards, Jack