Aesthetic Instagram highlight covers, which they are. Highlights on Instagram are one of the features of the social network designed to organize the profile and divide it into important sections. This is important so that the user who first came to your page can identify whether it interests them. This article will tell you how to design highlights on Instagram and what covers to choose from in 2023.
Why do you need Instagram highlight covers?
The visual design of the Instagram page is no less important than its content. For a long time at the peak of popularity were aesthetics, pastel colours, images with underexposure and minimalistic shots taken out of the composition.
For the covers of the saved stories, the same type of images with a filled background and an icon was often chosen. Some bloggers made them themselves. However, according to our observations, most blogs have on their profiles images saved from collections on Pinterest or bought in stocks.
Approximately all of these aesthetic Instagram highlight covers look as follows:
An illustration from Pinterest
Advantages and disadvantages of the same type of aesthetic Instagram highlight covers
We understand why the overwhelming majority of blogs publish aesthetic template Instagram covers. Arguments in their favour:
- They suit you by category;
- They are ready-made and there is no need to spend time or money on drawing;
- They suit you according to the heading or design;
- You like the found templates and do not want to change anything.
We are sure that everyone who has published such images in their profile will find many more arguments in favour of ready-made covers.
However, we want to assure you that you should also read the list of disadvantages of ready-made aesthetic covers for Instagram.
- Instagram is one of the social networks with the largest number of users. We are sure that if you analyze even a hundred pages of your niche, then someone will see the same images that you uploaded. Do you want to repeat after someone?
- Instagram algorithms “value” unique content. Accordingly, using someone’s images that have been frequently published by other users can harm your ranking.
- Instagram has a high level of competition. That is why, if you want to develop your blog, you need to highlight how you differ from competitors in your niche. Our main argument against template covers is the importance of your own style and personality.
So, it is your individual style and special vision that should be visible on your page. This is what will help you stand out from the competition and bring to your blog an audience that is close to your values.
You might find it interesting as well: Best Practices for Getting High Engagement on Instagram
How to find your style and what covers you should make
To answer these questions you should make 2 stages of your blog analysis: content and visual.
Content analysis of Instagram profile
- Define your niche (for example travel blog);
- Highlight the main topics of your blog (for example personal travel, hotel and country reviews, travel consulting or tour selection services);
- Create saved stories based on the main topics. Remember that these should be the topics that your potential followers should notice in order to subscribe to you.
- Based on this, choose Instagram highlights names.
Visual analysis of Instagram profile
Highlight your main profile colours. If you don’t have any, be sure to take the time to choose them and form your visual identity. Choosing the right brand colours is important to form the right emotional and associative connections between your followers and your blog. Adherence to one style will help to form a consistent, established image of your brand in the audience. To choose the right colour, make a list of 10 adjectives that characterize your blog (associatively). Also, pay attention to how you want to influence your subscribers. Then go through the list and look for the colours most often used by brands with a similar goal.
For example, popular colours for travel Instagram highlight cover are blue and orange. They are associated with relaxation, sunny beaches and bright blue waters.
Choose one accent, one complementary and 2 achromatic colours. Based on this, build the style of the feed, stories and, of course, Instagram highlight covers.
The biggest trends in design for 2023. Bonus block
These are the hottest trends that graphic designers will be moving towards in 2023:
- Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time; however, it has only recently become popularized by some big companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple. These companies have invested millions of dollars into AI technology and now they want to offer their services to everyone else who wants them. One of the main reasons why AI became so popular was because it allowed computers to learn from their mistakes instead of humans having to do everything manually over and over again like they used to do years ago when there were no computers around at all! This way, programmers don’t need to spend months testing every single possible scenario that could ever happen on their websites or apps before releasing them live online; instead, they can just let their AI program do all the work for them!
- Collaborative Design. Collaborative design plays a big role in how businesses are run today. This means that many companies are looking at ways to collaborate with their customers to help them improve their products or services. The idea behind the collaborative design is that it allows people from different backgrounds to come together and work on projects together. The collaborative design has become so popular that many businesses have started using it as part of their service delivery model so they can better serve their customers’ needs and produce better results faster than ever before.
The biggest graphic design trends for 2023
In the field of graphic design, some trends are here to stay. These are the hottest trends that graphic designers will be moving towards in 2023 (Collected by the team from 99designs ):
Conclusion
So our advice is to find your own style and don’t be afraid to be creative. Aesthetic Instagram highlight covers are something that everyone can do. In 2023, the audience will appreciate even the most shocking ideas. Stand out!
Read also: Starting Your Blog on Instagram in 2022: Main Tips to Follow
4 months ago.