How to create graphics for a Product Hunt launch
Zara Anita Paul
19 replies
Monday 2nd of September, we did our first ever product hunt launch for Choppity.
We got to #3 product of the day, even though we only had 10 days to launch.
I feel that the graphics of the launch massively contributed to our launch’s success (the community were massively supportive, and it's a lot easier to root for something that you like the look of!)
So here are some tips and things we learned when creating our graphics for the launch
1. Size matters
How do you use Product Hunt? Do you open up every graphic of every launch page and spend the time to read all the text? Or do you glance over each launch page and delve a little deeper when one has caught your eye? I definitely do the latter.
I spent some time just glancing at other launch page graphics and making a note of the ones that a) stood out to me and b) I could actually read and understand at a glance.
The two most important components were color and size. Here are some graphics stood out to me:
https://imgur.com/gZqrQJd
https://i.imgur.com/uXaHIpV.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/3Yna0sK.jpeg
(Links and images don’t seem to work on the Android app so please open in desktop or browser to view these. And product hunt doesn't like my links so copy and paste in browser to open!)
Note that for the last one, while the purple color stood out to me, I couldn’t read what it said until I clicked on the image, so it was also a good reference for how small too small is.
2. Aspect ratio
Product Hunt lets you upload any aspect ratio, but most upload 16x9 aspect ratio graphics. Since these take up more width, we decided to make the first 2 graphics smaller (closer to 5x4 aspect ratio) so that users could see more on screen.
We tested this out on an Android app and were happy with it, but, after we launched, this is how they came out on the iPhone app (turns out there’s a reason everyone sticks with 16:9!):
https://i.imgur.com/LY79AQ5.jpeg
They were cut off at the top and bottom, so we won’t be doing that next time.
3. The video thumbnail is first in browser, but last on mobile phone app.
This means that the video thumbnail should look good and be eye-catching enough that if someone is viewing your launch page on desktop, you’re happy with it being the first thing they see, and you need a 1st graphic which works alongside the video thumbnail but that also works without.
We agreed that having duplicate content would look strange, so we made our thumbnail a “title page” and our first graphic our “what is it” page.
Thumbnail:
https://i.imgur.com/1bnTQSG.jpeg
What is it/1st graphic:
https://i.imgur.com/cvSH8jv.jpeg
4. As little text as possible on each graphic
Think about how you ingest graphics and materials on social media and Product Hunt.
Personally, if I’m looking to understand something, I want it in bullet points - one liners that tell me quickly what I want to know. If the bullet points have engaged me, then I’ll open up a website, or read a 1st comment to learn more details.
So keep your graphics simple, with one headline on each that you want viewers to take away, to convince them to find out more.
So those were the learnings from making graphics for my first product hunt launch (which you can see here: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/choppity )
I’d love to hear from you if you think I’ve missed anything, or if there’s anything you’d change? A sample size of one launch is obviously very limited :)
Replies
Vaibhav@vaibhavdwivedi
Woah, such a detailed post. Thanks!
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Bubbl Widget
Congrats on the successful launch. It seems like your links are not working on desktop either. 😥
Choppity
@saif_ullah_khalid thank you Saif! I’ll have to figure this out I think PH doesn’t like my non PH links haha
This post is useful for me, thinks for share.
Congratulations on your launch, Thanks a lot for sharing insights
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Yeah launching is hard with so many things to get right! For graphics, I recommend trying out Midjourney - it's an AI art tool that can generate all kinds of eye-catching images and graphics based on a text prompt. Super easy to use and the results look professional. Might be worth a shot to level up your visuals! Let me know if you need any other launch tips.
Links not working is a bummer! For graphics, Canva is my go-to. Their templates and drag-and-drop editor make it super easy, even if design isn't your forte. Could be worth a shot for your relaunch graphics! 🎨🚀
Great work. What tool did you use to make these graphics?
Procreate
Trangram
Your make me think PH missing an important function: save/bookmark a post!
Choppity
@derek_liu_dev Yeah totally that's a good idea! We could maybe request it somewhere: @product ? I'll send them an email also :)
Trangram
@product @zaraanita tbh, I did't know a proper channel to request features here on PH, but it's great you got their email! Let me know if I could help!
Great work. Your hard work paid you off.
Avoid cluttering with too many elements ; focus on your product's core features.
Use bold colors and interesting designs to grab attention. your graphics should stand out in a feed full of other product.