Key visuals are defined in the field of media studies as "functional equivalents to keywords" that "emerge, or... are strategically produced and distributed... and considered worth being archived, remembered, called for and used as a major element in (audio-) visual horizons of actions and means of co-ordination or (ex-)communication for some time.
"[1] Key art is most commonly understood as advertising for entertainment media such as films, television and video games.
[6] Key art is often shaped by contracts with actors, directors and others, and so post-release adjustments to advertising can be limited by these contractual agreements.
[8] Netflix state that their research indicates that people focus on key art for 1.8 seconds, and that such artwork is the biggest influence upon their viewers' decisions to engage with content.
[9] Netflix key art is currently thumbnail- rather than design-based, as artwork is shaped by user activities and demographics, and built by algorithms extracting screenshots from video.