We scored Johnny Harris thumbnails, then tried to beat them
Johnny Harris packages himself big, in the middle, with almost no text. We scored two of his thumbs through Thumbly Score, made edits, and re-scored. The $100 bill went 65 to 72. The fur hood went 70 to 69.
4 min read ThumbnailsYouTubeTeardownCreator BreakdownPsychologyJohnny Harris makes explainer videos, and his face is the thumbnail. In the two we scored, he sits big in the middle of the frame with almost no text. One object or one setting tells you the topic.
We took two thumbs, a big one and a smaller one, and ran them through [Thumbly Score](/thumbly-score). Same flow as the [Tom Scott](/blog/tom-scott-thumbnail-teardown) and [Kurzgesagt](/blog/kurzgesagt-thumbnail-teardown) teardowns. Score the original, make the edit, score again.
At the time of writing (Oct 26, 2026), "How Money Actually Works" had 3,615,398 views and "The world's most extreme places, explained" had 741,378.
Thumbnail 1: "How Money Actually Works"
His face is drawn as an engraved portrait in the middle of a $100 bill, with the bill's own print around it. Two small labels sit on the frame, "NEW SUBJECT" and "COMPILATION". There's no headline.
**Thumbly Score: 65/100**
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Virality | 65 |
| Clarity | 50 |
| Idea | 80 |
| Curiosity | 70 |
| Emotion | 55 |
Idea at 80 is the strength. Putting his face where Benjamin Franklin's portrait goes is a clear, odd concept.
Clarity at 50 is the weak spot. Score's verdict says the concept is strong but the small text is hard to read.
We made two changes by hand. We added one big, plain question top left, "WHO'S ON THE $100?", and cut the "COMPILATION" label. We left the portrait alone.
*Our edit of Johnny Harris's published thumbnail, not the one he uses.*
**72/100, up seven.** Clarity rose from 50 to 85 and curiosity from 70 to 85. Idea held at 80. Virality dipped from 65 to 60 and emotion from 55 to 45.
The question did the work Score asked for. The new verdict says the face carries little emotion, and its top tip was to change his expression. We skipped that tip because we didn't alter his face.
Thumbnail 2: "The world's most extreme places, explained"
A tight photo of his face in a fur hood, looking straight at the camera. A red helicopter sits on the snow at the left. There's no text.
**Thumbly Score: 70/100**
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Virality | 60 |
| Clarity | 80 |
| Idea | 65 |
| Curiosity | 75 |
| Emotion | 75 |
Clarity at 80 and emotion at 75 come from the eye contact and the snow. Score's verdict praises the eye contact and calls the lighting flat.
We made the red helicopter stand out more and added a short question top left, "COLDEST JOB?". We didn't touch the light on his face.
*Our edit of Johnny Harris's published thumbnail, not the one he uses.*
**69/100, down one.** Virality rose from 60 to 65. Clarity held at 80 and curiosity at 75. Idea fell from 65 to 55 and emotion from 75 to 70.
The question made it a touch more clickable but cost some idea and emotion. Our read is that his big face with no text was already doing the work. Score's tips here were to relight him and rescale him, and we skipped both because we didn't alter his face.
What held up
One face, centered and big. Very little added text. A single strong object, like the bill, or a setting cue, like the snow and the helicopter, that tells you the topic.
Text helped where the frame was busy and the labels were small. It didn't help where the face and the setting were already clear.
What to steal from Johnny Harris
Put your face inside the topic object. The bill works because you get the subject and the person in one look.
Let one setting cue carry the place. A helicopter on snow says remote and cold without a word.
When clarity lags, we'd add one short line before anything else. When clarity is already high, we'd leave the text off and test it before adding any.
Soft close
Run yours through [Thumbly Score](/thumbly-score) and re-score after each change. Our [guide to Thumbly Score](/blog/how-to-use-thumbly-score) walks through it.
This piece is commentary on public packaging. We are reading the picture, not claiming Johnny Harris's CTR.
*Thumbnails © Johnny Harris, shown here for commentary and analysis. The 'improved' versions are edits made to illustrate the suggested changes; his face is left as in the original.*
