Updated: 23 October 2026

Online course cover thumbnail

This prompt makes a 16:9 course thumbnail with the title on the left, an illustrated instructor or icon set on the right and a small level badge, in a clean flat e-learning style. A single clear focal image works best.

image-course-cover-thumbnail — gemini — 45 words

Course cover thumbnail for an online course titled "[COURSE TITLE]". A confident illustrated [INSTRUCTOR / ICON SET] on the right, big readable title on the left, bright [COLOUR] background with simple shapes, a small badge saying "[LEVEL]", clean flat design, professional e-learning look. --ar 16:9

Edit in the builder Copy & open Gemini ↗Copy & open ChatGPT ↗Copy & open Midjourney ↗

A single clear promise in three to five words works better than a long title.

Get a better result

What you will get

A wide 16:9 course cover with a big readable title on the left, an illustrated instructor or icon set on the right, a bright flat-colour background and a small level badge.

Common mistake

A long course title gets misspelled or crowded.

Fix: Keep the title on the cover to 3 to 5 words and put the full name in the course listing. In ChatGPT or Gemini, write “wide 16:9” instead of “--ar 16:9”.

Other ways it goes wrong

The illustrated instructor looks nothing like the real one. Describe the figure: “a friendly woman in a green sweater with short hair, holding a laptop”. Do not expect a likeness.
Too many icons crowd around the title. Limit them to three, tied to the topic. Thumbnails are seen small, so empty space helps.
The level badge text is garbled. Use one word, such as “Beginner”, or add the badge afterwards. Tiny badge text is often wrong.

Try a variation: video thumbnail

Add “bright yellow title with a dark outline, high contrast, a surprised face”. That gives a more clickable video thumbnail than a calm course cover.

Still not right? Reply with this

Make the title huge and spelled exactly as in my prompt, on the left half. Keep the illustration on the right.