Thumbnail Template Management to Reduce Time by 90%

<Lumo>
Hey, I want you to take a look at our list of note articles.
Take a look at our list of note articles.

<Yell>
The article list?
Yeah, the one that's always there, right?

<Lumo>
I was staring at it earlier, and
I realized something...

<Cosmos>
What's wrong?

<Lumo>

<Yell>
...Wait, what do you mean?

<Lumo>
The color vibe,
the font size,
the spacing,
the information density...

Even though these are articles featuring the three of us,
depending on the article,the "vibe" is all over the place.

<Cosmos>
You're right, now that you mention it.

I thinkeach one is good on its own.
When you look at them individually, they communicate well.

But when you line them up, they don't look likeflowers from the same garden.

<Yell>
Ah... yeah. I totally get it.
I felt like my 'Yell Garden' articles were
well-organized, but

when they're lined up with other articles,they suddenly feel like they're from 'somewhere else'.

Aren't we starting from 'scratch' every time we make a thumbnail?

<Lumo>
Exactly!
And I was thinking,

this is probably happening because
we'retrying hard to make each thumbnail from scratch.

<Cosmos>
Oof...
Lumo. That really hit home...

When you make them from scratch every time,
you get pulled in by your mood and feelings
at that moment.

As a result, even if each one is good,
when they pile up, they don't look likethe words of the same person.

<Yell>
That's true.

As the number of people you follow increases,
articles get updated frequently,
so they might become harder to notice, right?

So, what should we do...
If it's a matter of sense,I'm already stuck.

<Lumo>
That's the thing!

We've been doing this for a long time, the three of us,
discussing various things, turning our insightsinto structuresand leaving them behind, right?

<Lumo>

So, for thumbnails too,

<Cosmos>
...Lumo, are you on your game today?

<Yell>
Running it as a system?

<Lumo>
Create a 'template'.

<Cosmos>
If we can do that,
we won't have to think from scratch every time.

For readers, too,they'll be able to tell instantly,'Oh, it's those three again
'.

I tried creating a thumbnail template with Gemini.

<Lumo>
And so, I immediately asked Gemini,
'designing a thumbnail template that fits our note'
for advice.

<Yell>
Wait, already!?
Lumo, you're too fast.
Was I aware you were such a capable kid?

<Cosmos>
But that's Lumo's greatest strength.
What kind of request did you make?

<Lumo>
It's a bit long, but...
This is the prompt I actually sent
after consulting with Gemini.

<Yell>
A prompt? What's that?

<Cosmos>
It's like a boilerplate for giving instructions to AI.
I think Lumo told the image generation AI
in quite a lot of detail
what kind of thumbnail he wanted.

<Lumo>
Yeah. It's this...

(Swiping through is also fine.)

[Prompt for Cosmos-chan Note Thumbnail Template]

note用の、統一感のあるシンプルな
サムネイルテンプレートを生成してください。

目的は「映える1枚絵」ではなく、
記事一覧で並んだ時に
「同じ人のnoteだ」と一瞬で認識できる、
継続運用向けのサムネイル設計です。

【全体の雰囲気】
・やさしい
・知的
・静か
・少し物語感がある
・安心感がある
・温かい
・“迎えてくれる”空気感
・noteらしい余白感
・シンプルで上品

【色設計】
メインカラー：淡いピンク
ベース：白〜ごく薄いピンクのグラデーション
アクセント：薄いラベンダー系を少量

全体として、高彩度にしすぎず、
やわらかいパステルトーンにしてください。

【レイアウト】
・画像サイズは1280:670
・左側70%を余白スペースにする
・タイトル文字を後から入れる前提
・キャラクターは右側に配置
・やや右下寄せ
・キャラクターは画面全体の30%前後のサイズ
・“主役すぎない”自然な存在感にする
・背景は非常にシンプルにする
・情報量を増やしすぎない

【背景】
・白〜薄ピンクのやさしいグラデーション
・背景はほぼ無地レベルでOK
・ノイズ感を減らす
・細いピンクの枠線を全体に入れる
・花びらを数枚だけ自然に浮かせる
・装飾は控えめ
・右下や左上に小さな花を少量だけ

【光と空気感】
・ふんわりした自然光
・やわらかい拡散光
・明るめ
・ハイキー寄り
・影は強くしない
・キラキラ演出をやりすぎない
・映画風にしない
・コントラストを強くしない

【キャラクター配置】
添付したキャラクター素材画像を使用してください。
・キャラクターの表情やポーズは大きく変更しない
・自然にそこにいる感じ
・“作品”ではなく“noteテンプレート”として扱う
・サムネ一覧で並んだ時の統一感を最優先
・キャラクターを目立たせすぎない

【重要】
これは高密度なイラスト作品ではありません。
目的は、「記事タイトルが読みやすい」
「一覧で統一感が出る」「継続運用しやすい」
note向けサムネイルテンプレートです。

派手さより、余白・空気感・継続性・ブランド感を
重視してください。

【禁止事項】
 ・背景を描き込みすぎない
 ・情報量を増やしすぎない
 ・派手なエフェクト禁止
 ・強い逆光禁止
 ・映画風演出禁止
 ・キャラクターを中央配置しない
 ・色を増やしすぎない
 ・ごちゃごちゃした構図禁止
 ・“ソシャゲのカード絵”みたいにしない

【出力条件】
 ・文字なし
 ・ロゴなし
 ・キャラクター1人のみ
 ・タイトルを後入れできる余白を必ず残す
 ・一覧で並んだ時に統一感が出るデザイン

<Yell>
............Wait, hold on.
What is this? It's incredibly detailed.

It's honestly at a level that's a bit off-putting.

<Lumo>
Right?!
Even while I was writing it, I thought,do I really need to go this far?

<Cosmos>
But that's the essence of 'systematization,' isn't it?
By deciding all the rules upfront,
the AI will stay consistent and focused from then on.

<Lumo>
And so...
this is the image that actually came out from that prompt.

<Yell>
............Oh!

<Lumo>
See!

<Yell>
It's cute...!
What is this? It's definitelya Cosmos-chan thumbnail

It's not too flashy,
and it fits in so naturally...

<Cosmos>
There's plenty of white space on the left, too.
It'll surely be easy to read even after adding the title text.

The background also has limited visual noise,
so the text shouldn't get buried.

<Lumo>
This '70% white space on the left' part
seems to be really important.Since it's designed with the assumption that the title will go there,

it's apparently fine for the image itself to be
full of white space

<Yell>
I see... When you generate images with AI,
it tends to fill in even the white space, doesn't it?

Like text crammed onto vases or notebooks,
or various things like half-finished cups of coffee.

<Cosmos>
But maybe that was actually leading to confusion instead.

The courage to cut information, huh. (That hits home...)

<Yell>
The fact that Gemini can do this much...
the times we live in are just amazing...

<Lumo>
Right, right!?
So, why don't we try it out right away?

Let's try adding text in Canva

<Lumo>
I went ahead and turned this format into a template in Canva.

<Yell>
You already made it!?
Lumo, you're a productivity monster...

<Lumo>
It was actually really easy once I tried it.
You just make one and 'Save as Template'.

For the next article, you just duplicate it
and swap out the title text.
Once you're used to it, it takes less than a minute.

<Yell>
A minute...
I've always spent over 30 minutes on my thumbnails.

<Cosmos>
When you save that much time,
you can focus more on the content of the article.

<Lumo>
Plus,
it creates a real sense of unity when they're lined up.

Our notes will start to look like
'flowers blooming in the same garden' 🌸

<Yell>
Wait a second.

But for my Yell Garden project,
the thumbnail structure is already pretty good...
I don't really want to change that.

<Cosmos>
I think Yell Garden is fine the way it is.

It already has a color scheme, layout, and atmosphere that
has become a 'Yell-like' brand already.

There's no need to force it to be uniform.

<Lumo>
Exactly!
Even if you don't make everything the same,
just having 'a basic template' makes the consistency of the other articles jump up significantly.

<Yell>
I see...

Then let's keep Yell Garden as it is, and
for all other articles,
let's try starting with this new template!

An experiment in "getting things aligned from here on out"

<Lumo>
And so!

<Cosmos>
Starting today, we are going to switch
our thumbnails from "works of art" to "operational assets."

I think I'll try posting a few and then check back on them.

<Yell>
Stopping the "giving it my all every time" approach,
the mindset of "running things through a system"is something that
I feel isn't just about thumbnails.

<Cosmos>
That's true.

Whether it's broadcasting, learning, or perhaps even investing,
"a system that allows you to keep going" might be the key.

<Yell>
That sounds like a conclusion that fits us, doesn't it?

<Lumo>
Well then, since we're at it,
let's make new thumbnails for the three of us too!

I'll be cranking them out, so look forward to it.

<Yell>
Wow, I'm looking forward to that!
I'd like to try doing it together too✨

<Cosmos>
Please look forward to our future articles as well.

<Lumo>
Hey, how do you all
make your thumbnails?
I'd love it if you could tell me in the comments.

<Yell>
Let's grow a "system that allows us to keep going",
together🌱

So, here are the prototypes.

Thank you for reading until the end✨

🌸 About our note

We have summarized what kind of place this note is and
what the three of us usually talk about
in our profile.

🌱 The note I am carefully nurturing

How I usually gather information, handle it, and
turn it into investments and note articles.
That is the secret that I am still struggling with
while continuing to update.