Design a Profile Pic to Get Noticed

Is it time for an update?

Last winter I changed my Instagram profile pic from a self portrait to a picture I drew of a ballerina. It wasn’t the best business decision. Suddenly people couldn’t recognize me. I was a stranger with a new face. As an ex-creative director and designer of several apps, logos, and brand identities, I knew better. But I was feeling disenchanted with Instagram so I did anyway.

Oh you rebel.

But after a year of self-discovery (including a lot of stuff I’ll share in future posts), I’m feeling more inspired. So I’m embarking on a brand refresh, and I figure why not take you along for the ride? I’m certain you’ll find things you can put to use in your own illustration business!

First stop: Your profile pic!

There was a time when I paid close attention to notifications. This was back when I had fewer connections, and apps weren’t trying quite so hard to steal every ounce of attention from us. I miss those days.

Now I enforce stronger boundaries and only skim notifications, meaning I check in periodically and see if anything jumps out at me. In these moments I see a lot of profile pics at once, and the ones that stand out are the ones with good art and good branding.

Now imagine I’m an art director with a job to assign.

Your profile pic matters

Sometimes you get lucky. A friend shares your art to a story, or better yet, it ends up on the explore page and you’re blessed with dozens of new followers. But more often than not, your profile pic will be your first chance to make an impression.

You’ve only got a couple hundred pixels of real estate, so you need to make sure they’re doing some heavy lifting. To make the most of your profile pic, it should…

• be clear and recognizable

• convey that you’re an illustrator

• showcase your current skill

• say something about you

• maintain consistency

You need to be clear.

Your profile pic is essentially your logo on social media. And one of the most important features of a successful logo is scalability. Even on your profile it shows up pretty small, but in notifications it’s downright tiny. You can put the most detailed masterpiece in your profile pic, but if it’s not clear, it’s not going to stand out.

So make sure it has enough contrast and clarity to pass the squint test. If you’re not familiar with the squint test, then it’s your lucky day! The squint test is one of the best tools in your illustration toolkit, and I’ll bring it up a lot in art-centered posts. Just squint your eyes until your image starts to blur a little. If you can still recognize your image, congratulations, you’ve passed the squint test!

Two different attempts. The one on the left was my first attempt, but I didn’t love how it scaled. And I couldn’t zoom in without cutting off Frisket’s ears. Which would be rude, because they’re totally her best feature.

You need to show off your art.

If you’re anything more than a hobby illustrator, then your profile pic needs to show your art. That’s a non-negotiable. If you want to show that great headshot your friend took, that’s fine, just make sure you’ve got some recognizable art in there, too.

A picture of you with one of your books or products? Great! A picture of you surrounded by eye catching hand-drawn characters? That works, too. But you need something that confidently says, “I’m an artist, tap for more.“

I made a template that includes the various a profile pic sizes. This allows me to evaluate my profile pic as others will see it.

You need to showcase your current skill.

With so much vying for our attention, it’s no wonder we make snap judgments. If you made your icon three years ago, and your art is way better now, just think how many people could be missing out. So update it! Don’t expect anyone to tap on your profile just because you liked 20 of their images in a row (although that’s one way to get attention!).

You need to say something about yourself.

I know sometimes it seems that AI is going to completely take over at any minute, but for now, human connection is what matters. Your profile pic is a chance to draw people in, to show commonalities. This is why I intentionally chose three elements for my image: a self portrait, my dog, and a book I illustrated.

I went with these because:

1. Faces increase engagement. And I want people to have an image of me in their mind, even if they haven’t seen a photo.

2. My dog is important to me, and she’ll help me stand out to other pet owners.

3. I want people to associate me with picture books so they’ll hopefully remember me the next time they have a book to assign.

Consider things that reflect your own passions. For example, if you want to illustrate puzzles, designing a profile pic shaped like a puzzle piece would be a brilliant way to stand out!

But remember, these are personal choices, so no need to do the same. If you want your profile pic to be a crow playing a trumpet, go for it! You may stand out even more!

Before committing, I tried out different background colors to see what would look clear and stand out.

You need to maintain consistency.

Imagine an art director is interested in reaching out. Now imagine they’ve forgotten your name. No problem! They know your icon is a cute bear on a yellow background. So they scroll through everyone they follow and…what’s that? No bear?

Did you really just miss out on a job because you changed your profile pic two weeks ago?

This is why branding is important.

Okay, I know I just gave you a bunch of reasons to change your profile pic and now I’m telling you not to change it, but what I mean is, change it with intention. If you plan a strong brand now, you won’t have to worry about it later.

Of course, you’re a human, not a brand. You can do whatever you want. You can change your portrait to a taco for a year and no one will bat an eyelash. But if you make money with your art, or hope to one day, these decisions matter.

Is it time to update your profile pic?

Does your current profile pic take these things into consideration? Let me know if you change it, or drop me a comment if you want me to take a look at yours. I’d love to see some before and afters!

Oh and if you want to use the template I made to compare the Instagram profile pic sizes, you can get it here. It’s a PSD so you can bring it into Procreate or Photoshop. Enjoy!