Louis Angerer is a 25-year-old designer from Cologne, Germany. He started making thumbnails in 2022, first as a backup designer for one of Germany's biggest content creators, then levelled up — today he works with brands like Netflix, Red Bull, and Adobe. Along the way he shifted his focus toward much bigger work: key art, concept design, and more. Louis is available for hire.
Twitter (X) → @louis_angerer
Instagram → @louisangerer
Featured design
Workflow
The creator contacted me to discuss his new series, where he wanted to try out a new job every day. The first video was ice-hockey training with a professional team. There was no brief, so I created my own hook: him getting hit by a puck. I drew a rough sketch and sent it over so he could see my vision before he took the photo.
Rough sketch
Then I searched for high-resolution stock of an ice-hockey outfit. I found two images, and I was able to use the second one for the stick behind him.
The main stock outfit shot
The second stock image, used for the stick behind him
Rick also sent me his own photo, where he'd already acted out being "hit" by the puck. That helped a lot. Thank god I did a sketch.
Rick's photo asset
I wanted to frame the whole thumbnail as a close-up shot. For a beginner, it's such a new world, a new experience. He doesn't know what to do, his thoughts are only with himself, there's a lot of self-talk happening. I wanted to keep that as intimate as possible by showing only his face, with no other players in major focus.
I also wanted to add a bit more story, which is why I put a red time-code behind him. It shows the audience that time was running out, giving the story more tension and pressure.
For the editing, I kept it rough. I wanted to show how visually hard it is, so I also added a blood effect. Realism was the key, so I didn't pop the colours too much. German audiences often want authenticity and a believable image. No comic, goofy colours or compositions. So that's what I did.
Unlayered
Workstation
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER
i9-14900K
64 GB RAM
Tools
Communication: Discord
Editing: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects
AI: Magnific
Image assets: Envato Elements
Sending files: SwissTransfer / WeTransfer
Your favourite thumbnail style to work in — and one you avoid?
My favourite style to work in is "cinematic gaming", where I can just go crazy with lighting, realism, blood, and visual effects. I love it. The most boring thumbnails, in my opinion, are the comic, goofy-looking ones for kids. Building the world's biggest pool, cooking the world's biggest burger. It's often so inauthentic, and just not my taste.
What makes a thumbnail stand out?
A good thumbnail stands out when it tells you a story, combined with a good hook where you can only get the answer by clicking. It doesn't matter if it's a gaming video, a vlog, or a documentary. It's the same either way.
Best thumbnail you've ever made?
I love the depth, the focal point, the overall look, and how he turned out — the hair, the pose. The monster was drawn by hand; I'm very proud of it. It was for a gaming video and it hit the spot. Love it.
"TRAPPED INSIDE OF A HORROR TRAIN" — 2.7M views
Best thumbnail you've ever seen?
Simple, clean, wonderful composition. One of the best thumbnails I've ever seen. Even the colour grading is so clever and amazing.
1 Day as a Gynecologist
If you found this edition of Unlayered helpful, please consider sharing it with someone who might benefit from this workflow too! 💙