# Gift guide design: carousels and pins that sell in December [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/holiday-gift-guide-design) A gift guide is a small catalogue that answers one question: what should I buy for them. Design it like a catalogue, not a collage, and it will be saved, shared and shopped. ## The short version - Good gift guide design starts by organising products around the shopper's question, usually by who the gift is for or by price tier. - A gift guide carousel works best with a cover page, one product per page in a repeated layout, and a final page that says where to buy. - Price tiers such as under 25, under 50 and splurge help people shop quickly, as long as the prices shown are current. - Pinterest gift guides use tall 1000×1500 or 1000×2100 pins, so they need a vertical layout rather than a cropped carousel page. - Making every page from one template keeps the guide consistent and lets you update prices and products quickly. Good **gift guide design** is catalogue design in miniature. Pick one way to organise the products, usually by person or by price tier, give each product its own page in a layout that repeats exactly, and make a version for each place people will see it: an Instagram carousel, a Pinterest pin and an email. The repetition is what makes it feel curated. A guide where every page is laid out differently reads as a jumble sale, however good the products are. ## How to organise a gift guide Shoppers arrive with a person in mind and a budget in their head. Organise around one of those, not around your product categories, because "candles" does not answer "what do I get my sister". | Organise by | Example pages | Best for | | --- | --- | --- | | Person | For the host, for the cook, for the one who has everything | Broad catalogues, general shops | | Price tier | Under £25, under £50, the splurge | Any shop; easiest to scan | | Mood or moment | Cosy nights in, stocking fillers, last minute | Brands with a strong point of view | | Mixed | Under £25 for the cook | Large guides split into several carousels | Four ways to organise. Pick one per carousel; mixing them inside one guide confuses the scan. Keep each guide to five to eight products. More than that and the carousel becomes a chore; fewer and it barely feels like a guide. If you have more to show, make two guides. ## Designing a gift guide carousel An Instagram carousel currently takes up to 20 pages (limits change, so check Instagram's help), each at 1080×1350. Treat it as a booklet with a front cover, a run of identical product pages and a back page. 1. **Cover page** Who the guide is for, in the biggest type, and a hint to swipe. No product here: the cover sells the idea of the guide. 2. **Product pages** One product per page: photo, name, one line on why it suits the person, and the price. The photo sits in the same place on every page. 3. **A breather page** In a long guide, a page with only a short line, such as "Still stuck? Gift cards are on page 8", resets attention. 4. **Back page** Where to buy, the last order date and a reminder to save the post for later. The cover of a gift guide carousel titled For the one who hosts, six gifts under fifty pounds The cover page names the person, the budget and the action. A gift guide product page for linen napkins with the price and a one line reason to buy A product page: number, price, name and one reason, in the same positions every time. Numbering the pages (No. 1, No. 2) is a small touch that makes the guide feel edited and lets people say "I want number four" in the comments. More on page order in [Instagram carousel design](https://gradiently.design/guide/instagram-carousel-design), and on joining pages into one continuous image in [carousels that flow across pages](https://gradiently.design/guide/seamless-carousel). ## Price tiers that help people shop Price tiers are the fastest way through a guide. Give each tier its own colour or shade so people can tell where they are at a glance, while keeping the layout identical. A tonal step from light to deep works well: the more expensive the tier, the richer the ground. - Under 25: light: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 25%, #fff1e0 0%, #f6dfc2 50%, #e9c9a0 90%)` - Under 50: warm: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 25%, #f0b27a 0%, #c46a3a 50%, #7a3a1c 90%)` - The splurge: deep: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 25%, #d4a24c 0%, #5a3a14 45%, #1a1006 90%)` Three tiers from one family. The shade tells people where they are before they read a word. > **Keep prices true** If a price changes or a product sells out, update the guide or say so in the caption. A gift guide is a promise, and a wrong price in December costs more goodwill than it ever earned. ## Gift guide pins for Pinterest Pinterest is where many people plan gifts, often weeks ahead, and pins keep being found long after an Instagram post has faded. A pin is tall, so do not crop a carousel page into it. Design a vertical layout: a title band at the top, three or four products stacked beneath, and your shop name at the foot. - Carousel page 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350 - Pin 1000×1500: 1000 × 1500 - Long pin 1000×2100: 1000 × 2100 - Email header 1200×600: 1200 × 600 The four gift guide formats. The long pin fits a whole tier on one image. Write the pin title the way people search: "gifts for coffee lovers under £30" rather than a clever pun. [Pinterest pin design](https://gradiently.design/guide/pinterest-pin-design) covers text placement, and [Pinterest pin size](https://gradiently.design/guide/pinterest-pin-size) has every format. ## Catalogue, not collage ### Collage - Every page laid out differently - Ten products crammed on one page - Prices missing or in tiny type - Photos with clashing backgrounds - No date or place to buy ### Catalogue - One layout, repeated exactly - One product per page - Price in the same spot every time - Photos tinted or set on one background - Last order date on the back page Clashing product photos are the usual weak spot. Shoot on one surface if you can; if not, cut products out or tint every photo in the same two colours so they sit together. The Studio in Gradiently can tint photos in a Mark's colours as a duotone or a wash, which turns mismatched product shots into one set. For a large guide, bulk create (part of Gradiently Pro) builds the product pages for you: design one page, connect a spreadsheet of names, prices and photos, review every version and create them all, with one Undo if anything is off. The same sheet updates next year's guide. See [bulk create from a spreadsheet](https://gradiently.design/guide/bulk-create-from-spreadsheet). ## FAQ ### How do you design a gift guide? Organise products by person or price tier, give each product its own page in one repeating layout, and add a cover and a back page with where to buy. ### How many products should a gift guide have? Five to eight per guide is easy to swipe through. If you have more, split them into several guides by person or price. ### What size is a gift guide pin on Pinterest? Use 1000×1500 for a standard pin or 1000×2100 for a long pin that fits several products stacked vertically. ### Should a gift guide show prices? Yes. Prices help people shop quickly, especially when the guide is organised in tiers, but keep them current. ### When should I post a holiday gift guide? Late November into early December, before most people's last order dates. Pins can go up earlier because Pinterest users plan ahead.