How to Create Eye-Catching Instagram Carousels in Canva
Instagram carousels are like potato chips—you can't stop at just one slide! They're a fantastic way to engage your audience, tell a story, or share valuable content in a scrollable format. With Canva, designing seamless and visually appealing carousels is a breeze, even if your idea of design is choosing the least offensive PowerPoint template. Follow this step-by-step guide to create carousels that grab attention and keep your audience swiping!
Step 1: Create Your Design
Open Canva and create a new design.
Set the dimensions to 1080 x 1350 px (for portrait posts) or 1080 x 1080 px (for square posts).
Step 2: Design a Cohesive Layout
Use guidelines and rulers to divide each section (because precision is key unless you enjoy lopsided designs).
Choose a consistent color palette that matches your branding (or at least doesn’t look like a unicorn explosion).
Keep text placement uniform for readability—because nobody enjoys a game of “Where’s Waldo?” with your headlines.
Use high-quality images, icons, and illustrations to add some visual pizzazz (yes, that’s a technical term).
Step 3: Create a Seamless Transition
Extend background elements across multiple slides for a smooth, professional look.
Overlap text or images slightly between slides so your audience doesn't feel like they’ve entered a new dimension with every swipe.
Use arrows or design cues to gently nudge your followers to keep swiping—think of it as the digital version of “Just one more episode.”
Step 4: Add Engaging Text & Elements
Keep text concise and easy to read—this isn’t an eBook, and attention spans are shorter than ever.
Use bold headlines and subheadings to prevent your audience from zoning out halfway through.
Incorporate call-to-action (CTA) phrases, like "Swipe for more!" or "Like this post if you’ve ever forgotten what day it is!"
Step 5: Export and Upload
Once satisfied with your design, click Download and select PNG or JPEG.
Upload your slides in order to Instagram and write an engaging caption (or at least something wittier than “Here’s my new post”).
Bonus Tips for Maximum Engagement
Use the first slide as a hook—ask a question, make a bold statement, or throw in an emoji that makes people curious. 🧐
Maintain visual consistency across slides so it looks intentional, not like five different people designed it in a hurry.
End with a strong CTA (e.g., "Comment below!" or "Tag a friend who needs this!").
Test different styles and analyze performance—because what works today might be old news tomorrow (looking at you, Comic Sans).
With these steps, you’ll be crafting stunning, high-converting Instagram carousels in Canva that keep your audience engaged and swiping like they’re on a dating app (but way more invested). Happy designing!