How-to
Choosing Images for a Tier List That Looks Great
Pictures make tier lists easier to read. Here’s how to choose, crop and prepare images so your finished list looks clean.
By List Tier Maker Team Published
Images turn a tier list from a wall of text into something you can read in a second. A few simple choices make a big difference to how the finished list looks.
Prefer square images
Tier list tiles are square. Wide or tall pictures get cropped to fit, which can cut off faces, logos or the part that matters. If you can, crop images to a square before adding them, with the subject centered.
Keep a consistent style
Mixing cartoon art, photos and screenshots on one board looks busy. Try to use the same kind of image for every item — all official artwork, all photos, or all icons. Similar backgrounds help too.
Make the subject large
Tiles are small, especially on a phone. A close-up of a character’s face reads far better than a full-body shot with lots of empty space around it.
Use clear file names
When you upload an image, the tool uses its file name as the item’s label (shown on hover and used for accessibility). Renaming IMG_2041.jpg to Chocolate cake.jpg before uploading gives you a tidy label for free.
Respect image rights
For a personal list you share with friends, people often use official artwork. If you’re publishing more widely, use images you’ve made yourself, images with a license that allows reuse, or text items instead.
When to skip images
Not every topic needs pictures. Abstract things — music genres, study methods, holidays — often work better as clear text items. In the tier list maker, text items get their own colored tiles, so a text-only list still looks good.