Guide
How to design an Instagram story
To design an Instagram story, start from a 1080 × 1920 px page, keep words and faces out of the top and bottom 250 px where Instagram shows your name and the reply bar, use big, short text that reads in the two or three seconds a frame gets, and leave space for any stickers you will add in the app. MyCanvasDesign opens a story-sized page free in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Stories are watched fast: people tap through in a second or two and skip anything hard to read. This guide covers the size and the safe zones, text that works at a glance, how to plan a run of several frames, and how to make highlight covers so the stories you keep on your profile look like a set.
At a glance
- Size
- Instagram story, 1080 × 1920 px
- Time
- 15 to 30 minutes
- You'll need
- What you want to say, a photo or two, and any link you want people to visit.
Design an Instagram story in seven steps
Give each frame one idea
One frame, one idea: a new product, a date, a question or a result. If you have more to say, plan a short run of frames, each with its own point, rather than squeezing it all onto one. Write the words for every frame first; each should be read in two or three seconds.
Open a 1080 × 1920 page
Choose "Open a story-sized page": 1080 × 1920 px is the 9:16 shape Instagram shows stories in, so nothing is stretched or squashed on a phone. Add a page in the pages panel for each frame of a series; one design holds up to 50 pages.
Mark the safe zones with guides
Instagram shows your name and profile photo across the top of a story, and the reply bar across the bottom. Turn on the rulers from the View menu and drag guides about 250 px in from the top and the bottom, then keep words, faces and logos between them. Leave a little room at the sides too, so nothing touches the edge of the screen.
Make the text big and short
Use a bold font such as Poppins, Montserrat or Bebas Neue, keep body text at least 48 px tall on this page and make the main line much bigger. Ten words or fewer per frame is a good limit. Put words on a solid shape or a strip of colour when they sit over a photo: pale text on a busy picture disappears on a small screen.
Leave room for stickers and links
Links, polls, questions, countdowns and music are stickers you add in the Instagram app after uploading, so leave a clear space for them, usually in the lower middle, and point to it with an arrow or a word such as "Tap the link". A link drawn into your picture can’t be tapped; only the sticker works.
Plan a series that flows
For a run of frames, keep the same background colour, font and logo position on each so they read as one story, and change only the picture and the words. Duplicate a finished page to start the next. Put the hook first, the detail in the middle and the ask ("Book now", "Vote below") on the last frame.
Download and post them in order
Download a PNG at 1× for a 1080 × 1920 px file, or a JPG for photo-heavy frames to keep the file smaller. With several pages, each page downloads as its own file, numbered in order (p1, p2, p3). Move them to your phone, post them in that order, and add stickers and links in Instagram as you go.
Highlight covers that match
Stories disappear after 24 hours unless you add them to a Highlight on your profile. Each highlight has a small round cover, cut from the middle of a story-sized picture. Design covers on the same 1080 × 1920 page: a plain background in one of your colours, with a single icon or a short word in the centre, well inside the middle third of the page, because everything outside the circle is cut off.
Make one cover for each highlight (Menu, Reviews, Events, FAQs) as pages in one design, so they share colours and sizes. To match the icons to your colours, select each one and change its Line colour in the properties panel. Download them, then choose the cover for each highlight from your phone’s photos when you edit the highlight in Instagram.
Story ideas that work
Stories suit quick, time-sensitive and behind-the-scenes posts. These kinds of story are easy to design and make people tap through rather than away.
- Announcements
- A new product, an event date or changed opening hours: one big line, one picture and a link sticker.
- Questions and polls
- A background with a short question and a clear space where the poll or question sticker will go. Answers make good follow-up stories.
- Tips in a series
- Three to five frames, one tip each, numbered and in the same layout, with the last frame telling people where to find more.
- Countdowns
- A frame for the launch or event with space for the countdown sticker, so followers can ask to be reminded.
Instagram story mistakes to avoid
The usual problems are words hidden under the name bar or the reply bar, text too small to read before the frame moves on, too many words on one frame, and a link written into the picture that nobody can tap. A design with no space left for the sticker you meant to add is another. Check each frame at its real size on a phone before posting, because the safe zones are easy to forget on a big screen.
Questions about designing an Instagram story
What is the safe zone on an Instagram story?
On a 1080 × 1920 px story, keep words, faces and logos about 250 px in from the top and bottom, where Instagram shows your name and the reply bar, and a little way in from the sides.
How long does an Instagram story stay up?
24 hours. After that it is kept only in your private archive, if archiving is on, or on your profile if you add it to a Highlight.
What font size should I use on an Instagram story?
At least 48 px for body text on a 1080 × 1920 page, and much larger for the main line. If you can’t read it on your phone at arm’s length, make it bigger.
How do I make Instagram highlight covers?
Design each cover on a 1080 × 1920 page with one icon or word in the very middle, download them, and choose them as covers when you edit each highlight in Instagram.
Can I design stories on my computer and post them from my phone?
Yes. Design and download them in MyCanvasDesign, which is free in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark, then move the files to your phone by email, a cloud drive or AirDrop, and post them from the Instagram app.