Podcast Cover (Vector)

[graphitebouquet]

Hey everyone! Not sure if I'm supposed to post this here, but I could use some input for a podcast cover I've done for my best friend. She already likes it a lot, but I'm not super happy with the composition, and I feel like something is really missing. I don't want to get lost in the details though. I already have sent her this copy and I think she's going to go with this (she isn't super picky), but for my own sake I want to know what I could fix.

For clarity's sake, the podcast is called Meet Cute Mubarak! and it is an interview/discussion podcast for talking about marriage and dating culture among young Muslims. The figure illustrated is my friend. I did a bunch of thumbnails and this is the one she liked the best, but I'm still hesitant that it doesn't convey the topic well.

I did this in Vectornator on the ipad, because I didn't want to have to worry about things getting blurry when I resized it (I don't currently have photoshop, though I do have procreate which FINALLY has the resize and crop function).

My main issues is that the entire right side feels empty, that the details on her face don't look right (but if I add more detail it just gets lost at the thumbnail size), and the colors feel off (this is the color scheme she asked for). Also, because I am a fragile flower, please let me know what you think I did right. :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_smiling_eyes: I'm so new to both vector illustrations and podcast cover design (which really thrives on being simple and straightforward), that it would really help to know what direction to go in.

Anyway, your help is very appreciated!

[davidhohn]

When asking for feedback like this it's always best to let us know what your keywords are. How do you want the viewer to feel as they look at this image? What is the tone of the podcast? Light and friendly? Serious? Darkly funny? That's what I mean when I refer to "keywords".

An image's composition fundamentally communicates keywords. How you design the image tells the viewer how they should feel.

Currently the colors are light and friendly. Type choices are round and soft. Drinking tea, reading a book. All making this image feel pleasant and quiet. I would note that the typeface is friendly but challenging to read as a script.

At the moment the figure is shoved to the left side of the image in a way the feels uncomfortable. Almost like she's trying to leave the image.

The book covers most of her face in a way that feels (to me anyway) that she's trying to hide.
Her eyes are cast down. Deeply engrossed in the book or trying to ignore the viewer?
There is a realism to the hands and teacup that is contradicted by the very stylized eyes.

This is a solid start to an image, but asking yourself these fundamental questions and then actively making choices that reinforce whatever the answers might be will make this cover that much more effective!

[graphitebouquet]

@davidhohn Thanks so much! This helps quite a lot!
I’m definitely trying to go for light and humorous. It is a dating/online dating/conversational podcast.

Ok, so getting to the biggest problem first, should I center the figure, and change the face a bit to make her vision have more focus? My issue seems to be less stylistic (I’m sure I can figure that out), but rather how to convey the type of podcast with larger shapes without sacrificing some detail. The text is bothering me as well, but I’m not sure how to make it readable without making it blocky.

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to critique!

[graphitebouquet]

I did what I could to make the suggested changes, and it is definitely an improvement over the original. Not perfect, but she was really happy with it. I keep finding things I want to nitpick in it, but I figure my efforts are better spent on another idea.

(Had to resize it, so it might be blurry).

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@graphitebouquet amazing! Finished not perfect. That’s what’s important.

[graphitebouquet]

@nyrrylcadiz Thank you! That is so sweet of you. ^ - ^
I keep trying to remind myself of that.