Resize Image for YouTube Banner (2560x1440)

YouTube channel art is the trickiest banner on any platform because the same upload is shown at three very different shapes. On a TV the full 2560 x 1440 image appears. On desktop you get a wide, short strip. On a phone you only see the central 1546 x 423 rectangle.

That is why so many banners look great on a laptop and then hide the channel name on a phone. Design the important stuff for the phone crop first, the central safe area, and treat the wider desktop and TV space as background that extends outward.

Think of the banner in two layers. The inner 1546 x 423 safe area holds everything that must be read: channel name, tagline, upload schedule, a logo. The space around it, out to the full 2560 x 1440, is for a background image or pattern that bleeds off the edges.

Upload at the full size every time. A common mistake is exporting only the safe-area portion, which leaves desktop and TV viewers with empty bars on the sides. Give YouTube the whole 2560 x 1440 canvas and it handles the cropping for each screen.