YouTube Thumbnail Brief + 168x94 Legibility Check
Turn a YouTube title and summary into a thumbnail brief, then check it for mobile legibility at about 168x94 px with an issues table and an image prompt. Thumbnail Brief + Legibility Check turns a YouTube title and a one-line summary into a thumbnail brief, then checks it for mobile legibility before you make any image. It plans and audits; it does not draw or inspect images.
Example input
[HAND-WRITTEN FICTIONAL SAMPLE - invented for testing.] Title: "I Repaired a 40-Year-Old Radio in 30 Days (Here's Every Mistake)". Summary: A hobbyist restores a broken 1980s tabletop radio over one month and walks through five mistakes with the power supply and the speaker. Thumbnail text I already plan: "I FIXED A 40 YEAR OLD RADIO!!"
Example output
"I Repaired a 40-Year-Old Radio in 30 Days (Here's Every Mistake)" — 6 issues (3 BLOCKER, 3 FIX) — verdict REVISE. ## Intake - Title (64 characters): I Repaired a 40-Year-Old Radio in 30 Days (Here's Every Mistake) - Summary: A hobbyist restores a broken 1980s tabletop radio over one month and walks through five mistakes with the power supply and the speaker. - Planned text (Option A): "I FIXED A 40 YEAR OLD RADIO!!" - (assumed) faceless workshop channel; hero object is the radio. ## Draft brief 1. Concept: a dead old radio comes back to life after a month of repairs and mistakes. 2. Focal subject: the 1980s tabletop radio, back panel open, smoke rising from the back. 3. Overlay text: A "I FIXED A 40 YEAR OLD RADIO!!" (7 words, 29 characters); B "5 MISTAKES" (2 words, 10); C "DAY 30: SOUND?" (3 words, 14), recommended. 4. Color: navy #1B2A41 background, yellow #FFD23F text on an orange #FF5A36 burst shape, no stroke. 5. Composition: radio in left and center columns, middle and bottom rows; two-line text (DAY 30 / SOUND?) top-right; soldering iron bottom-left; bottom-right corner empty. 6. Element budget: radio, text on burst, soldering iron, smoke = 4. ## Reviewer findings (blind) ### R1 — Thumb-Size Reader - R1-1 BLOCKER — Option A is 7 words and 29 characters (limits 4 and 20); it needs 3+ lines, each under the 12% capital-height floor. Reject A. - Checked: C is 14 characters on two lines of about 15% frame height (about 14 px at 168x94, floor about 11 px); B is 10 characters; badge zone unused. ### R2 — Contrast and Clutter Inspector - R2-1 BLOCKER — #FFD23F on the #FF5A36 burst = 2.15:1 (script-computed), under 3:1. Put the text on plain navy: #FFD23F on #1B2A41 = 10.0:1. - R2-2 FIX — 4 elements, budget is 3. Drop the soldering iron. ### R3 — Subject-Size Scout - no findings. Checked: radio about 55% of frame height (floor 30%), faceless hero object, plain navy behind it, no overlap with text or badge zone. ### R4 — Title-Promise Auditor - R4-1 BLOCKER — The smoke implies a fire or failure; the summary mentions power-supply and speaker mistakes only. Replace with a warm glow from the speaker grille. - R4-2 FIX — Option A restates the title; B reuses the title's word "mistake". - R4-3 FIX — C's "DAY 30" repeats the title's "30 Days". Alternative: "DOES IT PLAY?" (13 characters). - Gap check: the title names the topic, the thumbnail adds the stake; together a complete story. ## Cross-check - R1-1: R4 corroborates (A also restates the title); R3 corroborates (29 characters would crowd the radio). …
Real output from running the skill on a sample problem, shortened. The skill file itself is not published here.