How to add instagram story highlight covers

Aaron is a 15 year graphic design veteran and lives in Denton, TX. He likes road trips, cameras, and complex concepts in design a whole lot.

Alex Clem

Alex is a passionate graphic designer from Texas. She grew up captivated by the world of color, typography, and print design.

Instagram highlight covers (a.k.a. Instagram story covers) are those snazzy circles that live under your IG profile, inviting followers (and would-be followers) to check out your brand’s saved stories.

They’re useful for organizing content and giving customers a snapshot of what your business has to offer, whether that’s a product, service, sale, or even a vibe.

Instead of expiring at the 24-hour mark like regular stories, highlights last until you take them down. Given their prime real estate and potential for longevity, you’ll want to make those highlights count. The right story cover will help.

Here, we’ll explore various tips for designing your Instagram highlight covers, sizing, and design tips with Create.

Let’s get started.

Tips for Designing Your Instagram Highlight Covers

If your goal is to get users to watch your highlights—which, duh, why else would you save them?—then you need to entice them with an attractive highlight cover.

Here’s how:

1. Stick to a Look

Aesthetics are everything on Instagram, and in order to establish a strong aesthetic, you have to be consistent.

Rather than use, say, a photo for one cover, an illustration for another, and an icon for the next, stick to the same style across your Instagram story covers.

Doing so will make your collection easier to follow and more visually appealing.

2. Be Clear and Precise

Each highlight cover has only a small viewing window, so it’s essential to make the designs clear and easy to read.

Icons and other simple designs are ideal for highlight covers because they’re easy to see at even the smallest sizes.

3. Organize Your Highlights

It’s up to you how many highlight covers you want to include on your IG page. Some accounts feature only a handful, while others have upwards of ten.

The more content you have, the more story covers you may need—but, keep in mind that too many covers can quickly become overwhelming. Curation counts.

4. Incorporate Your Brand Voice and Style

IG highlights are an extension of your brand, which means their cover designs should go hand-in-hand with your brand style—color palette, fonts, etc.—and voice.

If your brand is vibrant and cheerful, for example, your highlight covers should reflect that same energy.

For some guidance on which colors to choose, consider color science. Not sure what that means? No problem. Refer to this quick tutorial as you go.

The Right Way to Size Your Instagram Story Covers

Instagram story covers are small, and it’s crucial to have the correct file types and dimensions. Starting off with the proper height and width ensures you don’t need to crop any of your design.

The Instagram highlight cover dimensions are the same as Instagram stories: 1080 pixels x 1920 pixels or within a 9:16 aspect ratio. Only a small portion of the highlight cover will be shown on the profile page, so you need to keep all your cover designs the same dimensions for consistency.

In that same vein, be sure your most important information or logo lands in the center of the cover so as not to have details cut off. It’s easiest to just use one or two design elements, like a title word and a graphic.

To find customizable Instagram highlight templates in Create, simply click Templates, then scroll or type “Instagram story” into the search bar. Peruse and click to customize.

If you’re starting with a blank canvas, simply click File > Create new > Blank canvas and scroll or Command + F (on Macs) for “Instagram Story” canvases. Click to open the canvas.

When you’re ready to export your design, it’s also important to know which file types to use. Highlight cover designs are ideally exported as a JPG or as a PNG. While JPG files are smaller in size and are ideal for online uploads, PNG files can also work because they retain image quality.

• JPG vs. PNG vs. PDF: Which File Format Should You Use?

To select your preferred file option in Create, simply click the big red Download button and choose from the drop-down menu. Click Download again to save to desktop or upload straight to Instagram.

Remember, your work will always be autosaved in our cloud storage, so if you want to come back and re-edit, simply click File > Edit a copy to save your original version.

How to Make Instagram Highlight Covers Using Create

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of IG highlight covers, it’s time to create your own. To start, check out Shutterstock’s vast (huge! enormous!) collection of images, icons, and backgrounds for inspiration. Or download and browse our FREE pack of 145 highlight cover elements.

Even if you don’t download that free pack (but we think you should), you can head into our intuitive editing tool, Create, to make highlight covers easy-peasy.

Once you’ve opened up your canvas as described earlier—with a blank canvas or pre-made template—it’s time to customize. Whichever option you choose, your subsequent design choices remain the same.

Once your canvas is open, click on one of five icons in the upper-left: Text, Images, Graphics, Shapes, or Drawing.

For purposes of this tutorial, we’ll select Graphics and scroll through the section menu for high-quality iconography choices. (You also have the option to add your own graphics, just as you have the option to add your own photos or text in those respective sections.)

Once you’re in the Graphics tab, you can peruse our list of categories or type a keyword in the search bar to find an object. When your graphic is selected, you can click on the image and drag the corners to resize or move it.

If you do this, however, you’ll need to re-center the image by moving it around until you see the red guides illustrated below. These lines indicate your image is centered on the horizontal and vertical plane, as it needs to be for your highlight cover to be a success.

Want to adjust the colors of your image so that they align with your brand palette? No problem. Click on your icon and select Change colors in the menu on the left.

From there, your existing palette will pop up and you can alter the colors of your image element-by-element. Just select the circles at the top of the menu (below Change Colors and above Solid and Gradient) to isolate an element and change that color only.

Looking to change the background color, too? Click in the canvas area around the icon and the Background color picker will automatically activate, allowing you to choose a swatch from the list.

You can also select Gradient to add a gradient background, or click Transparent to make the background, well, transparent. But, keep in mind that your cover should feel uncluttered, easy to read, and in keeping with your brand colors and aesthetic.

When you’re happy with your colors, hit Download in the upper-right corner of the screen. Choose your file type and voilà! Your cover is ready for uploading.

10 More Instagram Highlight Cover Ideas

Not satisfied just yet? No sweat! Here are 10 more Instagram highlight covers to get you started.

1. Highlight Your Relationship

It’s called Instagram highlight, isn’t it? Consider these covers as the preface for the content you sport under that category. Pairing a simple icon or graphic with a floral circle frame is all anyone needs to see to know what type of lovey-dovey images will soon follow.

To find these types of design assets in Create, click Graphics to peruse our People category or for other related concepts.

For unique frames like this one, simply click Graphics and type in “circle” or other similar keywords for your favorites.

2. For the Fitness

If you’re an online influencer or just big into fitness, why not make an Instagram highlight cover specific for it? Show reels of you bench pressing your personal record, doing particular education videos, or offer goals and inspo you’re working towards.

Decide what type of color palette you’re aiming to achieve, as well. Make every highlight cover the same color or different, depending on what feels best. Choose colors to convey messages based on how you want followers to feel.

To achieve this look in Create, go back to the Graphics tab and type “circle” or “brushstroke” for this same look.

3. Beverage Enthusiasts

While you want to be careful promoting alcohol on social media, the food, wine, and beer industry is massive. For that reason, why not pair unexpected design elements together, like an explosive red cloudy graphic with a clear white beer icon?

If you’re looking to offer an instant experience to followers, this is the way to do it.

4. Texture + Nature

Going for something a bit more textured? Why not use an all-natural nature pic to do the trick? Even if you’re perusing your endless iPhone camera pics, use those for inspo to start.

Any favorite trips you haven’t posted about yet? Beautiful landscapes you won’t find anywhere else? Use them!

If not, choose from Create’s textures tab for all things nature, including categories for: Cloudy Ink, Metal, Wood, Ice, Water, Wildlife, Space, Light Trails, and more!

5. Flowers on Flowers

If you don’t have a particular concept in mind for your highlights, feel free to organize them by color or theme.

For example, one might be sunflowers with color-matching elements, whereas another might be yellow daisies, then white orchids, then red roses.

Ultimately, you want at least one binding force, or don’t! It also makes a different whether or not you have a professional vs. personal account—design accordingly!

In Create, take a peek at the Botanical Patterns to see which flowers suit you best. If you don’t go with a texture, you can also make a background image your background. Just click Images and upload your own landscapes or choose from our infinite, royalty-free image library.

Note: You don’t need to put your handle on your design unless you want to, as you’ll only be showing the main central part of the design. In other words, the handle won’t really show up anyway in the cover, so if you want your name shown, make sure to put it smack dab in the middle.

If you worry about folks taking your design (highly unlikely in this format), just put a friendly note in your bio to have them ask for permission first.

6. Insert Side Designs

If you’re looking for an immersive experience, try a side design instead of one that’s center-aligned.

To do this in Create, you’ll want to drag your graphics to the edges of the canvas. That way, you can see how much will appear to viewers versus how much you’re leaving off.

Add a geometric shape-like circle graphic with your title and done!

7. Color Gradient City

So, about those color gradients. Create’s full of pre-design gradient options to choose from, or you can select the + Add color button for a customizable blend.

Gradients are the easiest way to add dimension to a design and they’re perfect for Instagram. Clean and simple.

8. Artsy Face Features

For lifestyle influencers, skin care professionals, or boutiques, this boho-like vibe is perfect for your Instagram Highlight covers. You could duplicate this design for each in different colors and have an incredible profile face lift.

To find this face graphic in Create, just click Graphics and type in “face.” This graphic is specifically titled “Monoline Leaf Face.” Drag to position and adjust sizing.

Done!

9. Music & Podcasts

If you’re into music or podcasting, sponsor your latest EPs or episode releases under this cover. Especially if you’re in the influencing world, public speakers should always have free resources available to the public.

10. Abstract & Artsy

If you’re an artist, writer, poet, or even fashion / jewelry brand, this cover’s for you. Pair an abstract face graphic in Create with a background texture like Wood, Edifice, Smudge, or Boards for the ultimate abstract vibe. Layer on text or effects or leave it as-is for an ominous and intriguing look.

Remember, you only have a smidge of space to get your point across, but you don’t have to do it all in one cover. That’s why you have multiple opportunities to tell a cohesive story.

No matter what, going from no Instagram highlight covers to some will instantly increase your page’s look. Plus, it’ll give you ideas as to what new content to put out to keep things intentionally themed.

Tip: If you’re working on an Instagram highlight cover but also want to post it as an Instagram post, or to show it off on other platforms, Pros have access to a nifty asset called Smart Resize in Create. However many outputs you need, simply select your social media platforms and your canvas will be converted automatically without compromising image quality. Sweet!

A Quick Guide to Uploading Your Cover

Now that you’ve created your own Instagram highlight cover, let’s add it to your Instagram profile. 

1. First, save your image to your phone, if you haven’t already.
2. Then, go to your profile and tap the + button on the top-right corner. Click Story highlight. You’ll be prompted to pick your saved image before proceeding.
3. Tap your image cover, then hit Next in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen.
4. Hit Edit Cover, select your image, adjust it as needed, and click Done.
5. To name the highlight, tap in the Highlights field where the cursor is flashing. Then, hit Add, and that’s it. Your Instagram highlight cover is live.

Want to update or scrap a highlight? Tap and hold the circle, and a menu will pop up prompting you to Delete the story, Edit it, or Send it to another user.

What can you anticipate from your new and improved Instagram page?

• Fresh, cohesive look
• Increase in followers
• More engagement
• Inspiration for new content
• Refined and condensed brand color palettes

Not too shabby, eh? So, whether you start from scratch or customize a template, Create’s got whatever you need to achieve a particular look. Hop inside the tool and get crafting.

Happy ‘gramming!

License this cover image via GaudiLove.

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