Still Hours
Still Hours is a cinematic true-crime media brand I created and developed from concept to full visual system. The goal was to build a consistent, recognizable visual language across thumbnails, motion graphics, typography, and long-form video presentation.
My role: Brand identity, visual system design, thumbnail framework, motion graphics, editing, and creative direction.
Live Project Link: Still Hours Youtube Channel
The Challenge
Most true crime channels rely on inconsistent visuals and sensational graphics. I wanted to create a restrained, atmospheric design system that felt premium, cohesive, and instantly recognizable across episodes and platforms.
Thumbnail System
Still Hours thumbnails use a restrained, high-contrast visual system designed for instant readability at small sizes. Each design is built around a single dominant focal element, controlled lighting, and minimal text to communicate tone and subject at a glance.
Across episodes, the system stays consistent: monochrome portraits, dark atmospheric environments, and a limited red accent for key words. This creates immediate brand recognition while allowing each story to maintain its own visual hook.
Typography is short, bold, and placed for mobile-first viewing. Layout structure remains stable from episode to episode, while imagery and focal symbols change — supporting variety without breaking visual identity.
The result is a repeatable thumbnail framework that scales across a series, improves recognition in crowded feeds, and relies on composition and contrast rather than visual noise.
Results
Launched and scaled a cohesive visual thumbnail system across a multi-episode video series, establishing consistent brand recognition and mobile-first readability. The channel reached 100+ subscribers within the first 72 days, with multiple videos showing strong early retention and repeat visual engagement. The structured thumbnail framework reduced production friction while maintaining visual consistency and narrative tone across episodes.
