How to add images to cards in Trello for a more effective and efficient board

Jack Wallen shows you how to easily add images to Trello cards to help make them stand out as well as why you should do so.

Trello is my go-to kanban solution. Not only does the service make using kanban incredibly intuitive, but it also offers plenty of extra features to supercharge your boards. One feature I find to be more helpful than it might seem is the ability to add images to cards.

Let me explain. Have you ever used a kanban board that was exceptionally busy? Those boards not only get crowded, but they can also become rather hard to read. Since the driving force behind kanban boards is the ability to quickly discern what needs to be done and what is done, having a cramped board makes it harder and harder to see what’s what, and it makes kanban less than effective and efficient.

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Trust me, you don’t want to wind up in such a situation. This is especially so with more complex projects requiring a large number of cards with numerous teams working together to make it all happen. For that, you need a kanban board that is very easy to read and cards that can be quickly distinguished.

That’s why I often add images to those cards. For example, you could have a specific image that represents a task of critical importance. You could also have images for things like:

• Bug fixes
• Feature requests
• Low importance items
• Medium importance items

You could also have images that designate specific staff members or teams. Anything you can do to make that busy board a bit easier to read should be considered a plus. That’s why I add images to cards. Not only does it make them stand out, but it also makes it easier to manage a board and for individual team members to know what applies to them with a simple glance.

What you’ll need to add images to cards in Trello

The only things you’ll need for this are a valid Trello account and a board to work with. You can use the free Trello plan, as this feature is available to every tier.

How to add an image to a Trello card

Log in to your Trello account and open the board you wish to work with. Once you’ve opened the board, either open an existing card or create a new one. In the card, you should see a button labeled Cover (Figure A).

Figure A

Click the Cover button and you can either select a color, choose a predefined image or upload one from your computer (Figure B).

Figure B

For example, I could add my headshot to a card which would indicate the card was mine to work on (Figure C).

Figure C

That’s all there is to adding images to Trello cards. You might not think this is an important feature at first, but once you start employing it, you’ll come to understand how it can make your board a bit more efficient and even easier to use for all involved.

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