How to Craft a Meme: Designing the Viral Sensation

A meme is a funny and captivating image or clip that circulates widely on the internet, often propelled by social media platforms. Whether you’re just discovering this digital trend or are already familiar with it, this guide outlines the fundamental steps to craft both original and timeless memes.

• What Defines a Meme?
• 6 Iconic Meme Formats Through the Decades
  2. OG Memes
  3. Videos
  4. Rage Comics are a series of web comics that gained popularity in the late 2000s and early 2010s. They typically feature simple, crudely drawn characters expressing exaggerated emotions, often using the iconic “rage faces.” These comics usually follow a four-panel format and are known for their humorous, relatable, and sometimes absurd content. The genre became a significant part of internet culture, spawning numerous memes and variations.
  5. Memes Featuring Multiple Panels
  6. Crispy Internet Jokes
• 6 Strategies to Make Your Memes Go Viral
• How to Design Your Own Trending Meme Using a Free Meme Generator

2. Vintage Internet Humor
3. Videos
4. Rage Comics are a series of web comics that became popular in the early 2010s. They typically feature simple, crudely drawn characters expressing exaggerated emotions, often using the “rage face” meme. The comics usually follow a four-panel format and depict relatable, everyday frustrations in a humorous way. Rage Comics gained a large following on platforms like Reddit and 4chan, where users would create and share their own versions. The genre is known for its over-the-top reactions and use of recurring characters, such as “Forever Alone” and “Trollface.” Despite their decline in popularity, Rage Comics remain a nostalgic symbol of early internet culture.
5. Memes Featuring Multiple Panels
6. Crispy-Fried Memes

What Defines a Meme?

Ever wondered what the dictionary says a meme is? The definition is: “A concept, practice, trend, or custom that passes from one individual to another within a society.”

A different interpretation, likely closer to our collective grasp of the concept, is: “A humorous or engaging piece (like an image with a caption or a video), or category of such content, that circulates extensively across the internet, particularly via social platforms.”

A more useful approach to defining a meme might involve highlighting some of the most well-known examples:

• The triumphant child
• Live like Bill
• “Imagine if I revealed to you . . .”The Matrix)
• “It’s a trick!” (fromStar Wars)
• The boyfriend who can’t keep his focus
• “Merely attempting to…” (inspired byThe Lord of the Rings)
• The man who says “Change my mind”
• Grumpy Cat
• The canine in “This is fine” (created by KC Green)
• Mischievous girl

Over the past ten years, anyone active online has likely visualized every one of those memes in sequence—even if they hadn’t encountered or recalled them for ages.

Internet memes, often combining text with visuals, resonate strongly because they reflect shared human experiences. They capture thoughts, emotions, or situations we’ve all encountered—frequently with a clever, ironic, or humorous twist.

And, one last interesting tidbit: The wordmemeThe term was first introduced by Richard Dawkins, the famous evolutionary biologist, in 1976. Little did he anticipate the explosive popularity memes would eventually achieve!

6 Iconic Meme Formats That Have Dominated Through the Years

A complete thesis could be dedicated to exploring the evolution and history of internet memes. Given the vast number of memes spread across the web, it’s impossible to discuss them all, so we’ll highlight some of the most widely known and iconic formats instead.

One of the earliest forms of internet memes, top-and-bottom text memes (typically featuring the iconic white Impact font) remain widely recognizable. These memes place humorous or relatable captions above and below an image, creating a simple yet effective format. Their straightforward structure has made them a staple in online humor, often used to convey sarcasm, irony, or absurdity. Despite evolving trends, this style persists as a foundational element of meme culture.ImpactThe font) is immediately identifiable and highly adaptable.

The most effective memes in this style leverage the line break to heighten impact—placing one idea at the top and then expanding, opposing, or wittily responding to it below.

2. Original Gangster Memes

Looking back at the earliest internet memes remains a widely favored option.

This type of self-referential comedy works effectively with any subject and boosts the visibility and shareability of memes—particularly among those who are old enough to feel nostalgic for films as far back as the ’70s, likeStar Wars.

3. Video content

Unlike memes built from photos, which typically rely on overlaid text, videos convey their message independently.

They gain popularity because the content is naturally entertaining, but they turn into memes once they’re altered and spread.

Perhaps the video is blended with different tracks or paired with voiceovers to create a comedic tone.

4. Comics Depicting Rage

A relatively early meme that has regained popularity lately is Trollface (often grouped under the rage comics category).

This character is widely beloved and frequently employed in a self-mocking manner, where the creator of the meme portrays themselves as an online troublemaker gearing up to engage in, let’s say, mischievous behavior.

5. Memes with Multiple Panels

This meme format displays a sequence of images or visuals to depict a progression, a series of events, or a direct comparison.

Consider the meme of a clown preparing (featuring four sequential panels) or the Drake approval-rejection meme (with two contrasting panels).

6. Crispy-Fried Memes

Absurd, surreal, disorienting, strange, and shadowy. “Deep-fried” memes originate from and frequently defy all logic. They might conceal sharp societal critique underneath, or they might not. That’s the whole point.

Deep-fried memes are usually crafted to mimic the aesthetic of a ’90s-era desktop paint application, featuring intensely vibrant hues, distortion artifacts, grainy textures, and undulating visual distortions—each effect stacked repeatedly atop the others.

6 Strategies to Make Your Memes Go Viral

Memes have evolved significantly since the internet’s early days, yet in many respects, they remain unchanged.

Whether it’s or Bernie Sanders wearing mittens in 2021, the core of meme culture remains unchanged—especially the factors that drive memes to spread rapidly.

Follow these suggestions to craft content that resonates and spreads widely.

Create Something Unique

The beauty of memes lies in their limitless creative potential—you can make virtually anything. anythingCreate content and share it with an audience. If inspiration strikes, use an online meme generator to bring your idea to life!

There is no correct or incorrect response, and the process of creation holds intrinsic value on its own.

To maximize your chances of going viral, creating something humorous is likely your best bet. Funny content is the most widely shared, and there are countless approaches to making people laugh:

• Mock something (like the brilliant example provided earlier!)
• Be sardonic or dryly humorous
• Amplify something for humorous impact
• Act foolishly or ridiculously
• Design an image-based joke or witty play on words
• Make fun of yourself

Many memes gain popularity not due to their originality but because they build upon other memes and current online trends.

Memes function as a massive shared joke, and the goal is to strike the perfect balance for yours—where a sufficient audience recognizes it to gain momentum, yet it hasn’t become so widespread that it feels outdated.

Creating your own mashup from an existing meme can be done easily with a few straightforward methods.

• Alter the wording while preserving the visual content
• Alter the visual while preserving the written content
• Cook it in hot oil until crispy
• Turn this into a meme with multiple panels
• Maintain the overall structure but introduce fresh visuals
• Transform it into a meta version by blending it with another popular meme style, caption, or visual.
• Add arbitrary terms or crop sections of the picture, ensuring the meme stays identifiable yet absurd.

3. Keep Your Audience in Mind

Want to make a splash with Reddit’s deep-fried meme enthusiasts or charm your Auntie Lee on Facebook? Keep in mind, the memes that resonate with these groups will vary wildly.

Imagine an adorable squirrel offering heartfelt guidance compared to a surreal 3D animation filled with chaotic remarks and a burst of vibrant hues.

4. Apply the Meme Appropriately

When creating a remix of an existing meme for a younger audience, accuracy in its usage is absolutely critical. There’s no room for error here. (Otherwise, you might end up trending—but not in the way you’d hoped!)

The internet is filled with instances of memes being misused, and nothing conveys “I don’t belong in this group” more than a meme aimed at an audience that immediately recognizes its incorrect application.

This advice is particularly crucial for brands because regaining trust can be challenging among digitally aware consumers if their marketing comes across as insincere.

5. Ensure It Resonates with the Audience

The widespread sharing of memes happens because audiences find them relatable. For a meme to thrive, it must contain a universal element—whether a shared truth, experience, perspective, observation, or critique—that resonates with people.

1. Create a meme that resonates with a wide range of viewers by keeping it universally relatable.
2. Create a meme that resonates deeply with a highly specific group of people.

The first option naturally provides access to a broader audience, while the second offers a more committed and tightly-knit community with a clearer shared identity.

Connecting with a specific audience—like die-hard fans of a certain K-pop group—tends to be simpler than engaging with Facebook’s entire user base.

6. Publish and Distribute It

To boost your meme’s visibility, share it across multiple online platforms. Consider posting it on:

• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• Reddit
• 9GAG
• KnowYourMeme

To make your memes go viral, share them with your network or mention friends in your posts to increase visibility.

How to Design Your Own Trending Meme Using a No-Cost Meme Generator

Interested in creating memes? Shutterstock Create is a web-based meme generator designed for simplicity, offering a variety of trending meme templates to help you begin.

Follow these simple steps to craft your own meme in just a few minutes:

1. Explore the collection of meme templates and select your favorite to begin designing memes.
2. In the editor, substitute the template’s content with your personal text.
3. Add your own images, browse through countless stock photos, or keep the existing template image—choose whatever enhances your content best.
4. Feel free to incorporate extra artistic touches, like sketching by hand, including emojis, or outlining your text for a creative flair.
5. Save your file in PNG or JPEG format and share it online!

To customize your meme’s design for various platforms, experiment withIntelligent Resizing, too.

Click Smart ResizeChoose from the options on the left-hand menu and pick any layout designed for Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms. Create will instantly adapt the layout to meet the specific dimensions needed for each social media site. Simple.

Also, don’t feel disheartened if your initial meme doesn’t take off—or even your fiftieth one! Achieving online popularity often requires a significant dose of sheer luck.

Even if your content doesn’t go viral immediately, you’ll still gain valuable experience in crafting memes that resonate with others—the essence of meme creation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Creating Memes

How to turn a photo into a meme?

Memes display text superimposed on an image. After selecting the desired picture, you need to add the text overlay to provide meaning to the visual.

Memes often carry sarcasm, mimic other memes, or include self-mocking jokes. You can create them using design software or begin with a pre-made meme template from Shutterstock.

Which meme creator is the simplest to use?

Most meme generators are user-friendly, but if you’re unsure how to begin, try Shutterstock’s free meme maker. It includes trending meme formats and helps you quickly learn how to craft a humorous meme for sharing across your social media platforms.

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