Social media
Every platform size, and designs people stop scrolling for.
200 guides · 11 topics
Social mediaSocial media image sizes: the complete cheat sheet
5 min read
Every platform wants a different shape, and a design that fits one gets cropped on the next. Here is every size you need, the few shapes behind them, and how to keep one look across all of them.
Social mediaInstagram post sizes: every format, and which to use
5 min read
Instagram accepts several shapes, but they don't all perform the same job. Here is every format, when to use each, how the profile grid crops them, and how to export so they stay sharp.
Social mediaInstagram Story size and safe zones
4 min read
A story fills the whole phone screen, and Instagram lays its own interface over the top and bottom. Here is the size, the zones to keep clear, and how to design inside them.
Social mediaTwitter header size: X header and post image sizes
5 min read
The X header is wide, short and partly covered by your profile photo. Here is the size, the area to keep clear, ideas for what to put on it, and the right sizes for post images.
Social mediaLinkedIn banner size, and what to put on it
5 min read
The LinkedIn banner is the widest, shortest image most people ever design, and your photo sits on top of it. Here are the sizes, the area to keep clear, and ideas that actually help people understand what you do.
Social mediaYouTube thumbnail size and design rules
4 min read
A thumbnail is made at 1280 pixels wide and judged at the size of a stamp, on a television, a laptop and a phone at once. Here is the size, and the rules that make one work at every scale.
Social mediaYouTube banner size: designing for TV, desktop and phone
5 min read
YouTube channel art is uploaded as one large image and shown as a completely different crop on every device. Here is the size, the safe area, and a layout that works on all of them.
Social mediaPinterest pin size: the formats that get saved
4 min read
Pinterest is a tall, busy grid that people search and save from. Here is the pin size that fits it best, when longer or square pins make sense, and how to set type that reads in the grid.
Social mediaTikTok cover size and a profile grid that looks planned
4 min read
A TikTok cover does two jobs: it sits under the app's buttons in the feed, and it becomes a tile in your profile grid. Here is the size, the safe middle, and how to make a grid that looks planned.
Social mediaFacebook cover photo size, event covers and post sizes
6 min read
One wide banner, seen on a laptop, a phone and a tablet, each showing a slightly different slice. Here are the sizes, and the layout that survives every one of them.
Social mediaOG image size: 1200×630 link previews that work everywhere
6 min read
Every time someone pastes your link, a small picture decides whether anyone clicks it. Here is the size, the tags and the layout that make that picture work.
Social mediaInstagram carousel design: slides people swipe through
5 min read
A carousel is a small book people flick through with a thumb. Here is how to write the first page so they turn it, and design the rest so they keep going.
Social mediaInstagram grid aesthetic: a consistent feed without a rigid template
6 min read
Visitors judge your profile in a glance at nine tiles. You don't need a puzzle grid or identical posts to pass that glance, just a few decisions you keep.
Social mediaHow to design an announcement post people actually read
5 min read
Announcements fail in a predictable way: the excitement is big and the facts are small. Here is how to put the news first and make the date impossible to miss.
Social mediaQuote post design that doesn’t look like every other quote
5 min read
Quote posts are easy to make and easy to ignore. The difference between the two is mostly typography, and a background nobody else is using.
Social mediaTwitter image size and X post designs that get noticed
5 min read
On X the words come first and the image has to earn its place beside them. Here are the sizes, how the timeline crops, and designs that add something the text can't.
Social mediaLinkedIn post design: carousels, quotes and announcements
5 min read
LinkedIn rewards posts that teach something and look considered. Here are the formats that work, the sizes, and how to stand out without looking like a stock photo of a meeting.
Social mediaInstagram story ideas: 12 designs that keep people tapping
5 min read
Stories are quick, personal and full screen. Here are twelve ideas that give people a reason to keep tapping, and the design basics that make every one of them read.
Social mediaSocial media templates: how to use them without looking templated
5 min read
A template is a head start, not a finished look. Keep the part that saves you time, change the parts everyone else is also using, and it becomes yours.
Social mediaProduct launch graphics: the launch day checklist
5 min read
Launches go wrong in the small places: an old header, a missing link preview, a story nobody resized. Here is every asset, its size and when it goes live.
Social mediaYouTube thumbnail design that earns the click honestly
5 min read
A thumbnail is a poster the size of a stamp. Here is how to make one that reads at that size, looks like your channel, and promises only what the video delivers.
Social mediaBatch create social media content: a month of posts in one afternoon
5 min read
Making one post a day means designing from a blank page thirty times. Making them all at once means doing it once. Here is the afternoon, step by step.
Social mediaAnimated Instagram posts vs static: when motion helps
5 min read
Motion is not automatically better. A still post with a strong line often beats a busy animation. Here is how to tell which one a post needs, and how to animate it well.