As a social media site focused on sharing photos and videos, Instagram is a highly visual platform that draws people in with eye-catching content.
And who doesn’t love a well-defined, visually appealing style or aesthetic to their content that conveys their brand’s personality?
In this post, you’ll learn how to create an Instagram aesthetic that reflects your brand and captivates users.
What is an Instagram aesthetic?
Your Instagram aesthetic is like the personality or overall vibe of your account. It’s what draws potential followers in and keeps them wanting more.
A strong aesthetic will help build brand recognition, making your content instantly recognizable.
It also shows that you care about the quality of the content, which establishes trust with your followers.
Plus, your aesthetic will be the first thing people notice when they find your page. First impressions are important, so maintaining a consistent, on-brand aesthetic is essential to help your page stand out and attract followers who appreciate the style and content of your account.
How to make your Instagram aesthetic
To create a powerful and pleasing Instagram aesthetic, you’ll need to consider various factors, including visual style, color scheme, theme, and tone.
For example, some Instagram pages may have a minimalist aesthetic, with clean lines, neutral colors, and simple compositions. Others might have a vintage aesthetic that utilizes filters or editing techniques to give their photos a nostalgic feel.
Whatever aesthetic you choose, all of these elements need to be cohesive so that your page is polished and recognizable.
If you don’t know how to make an aesthetic Instagram page, don’t worry – creating an aesthetic is simple. Follow the steps below, and you’ll be on your way to attracting new followers and growing your account.
Step 1: Make a mood board
To get your creative juices flowing, create a mood board to help map out your Instagram aesthetic. A collection of visual elements, a mood board allows you to explore styles and themes that reflect you and your brand.
Here, you’ll gather photos, videos, design elements, descriptive words, and anything else you feel represents your brand's vision and overall aesthetic. Use your mood board to brainstorm ideas for different Instagram aesthetics.
One way to gather inspiration is to look through the Instagram accounts of different brands and creators in your niche. For example, if you have a clothing store selling high-end fashion brands, it's a good idea to check out some of your competitors and how they've approached building their Instagram aesthetics. Or, if you’re running a beauty business, you can browse this list with inspiration for your Instagram. Find similar lists for your industry and use them as a starting point.
Step 2: Define your brand
A brand personality is what allows you to make an emotional connection with potential and current followers.
When deciding on your brand personality, think about it as if it were your ideal follower. Would they prefer a more professional voice, for example, or one that is light and playful?
Your brand personality should align with the brand values and guidelines you already have for your website and email. To help you develop your personality for Instagram, consider:
- Your target audience
- Your brand’s values, mission, and vision
- Voice and tone
- Personality traits that best reflect your brand
Step 3: Choose your design elements
Once you’ve got some inspiration and established how you want to convey your brand, you’re ready to define your Instagram aesthetic.
Here are the essential elements to consider:
- Color palette: Select a cohesive color palette to tie your page together. Your palette should fit your brand personality and resonate with your target audience. Experiment with different color combos and test them with your brand visuals to find the perfect match.
- Layouts: Pay attention to the composition of the photos on your grid. How will the individual posts interact with each other? Consider your posts' arrangement and overall flow to create a harmonious layout.
- Fonts: Matching fonts to your overall style and color palette can enhance the visual appeal of your feed. Plus, the consistent use of specific fonts can help reinforce your brand identity and make your content instantly recognizable.
- Theme: Decide on a specific theme or subject matter for your content. It could be anything from travel to food to fashion to nature. Regularly posting content related to your theme will help establish your aesthetic.
Here’s an example from content creator Kieun Choi. She decorates her Instagram photos with her handwriting, giving them a unique and recognizable touch.
Bonus tip: Create an Instagram style guide that details your brand’s style choices. Your style guide should include, among other things, your logo, color choices, typography, brand voice, and how you use emojis and hashtags. This guide will help you maintain a consistent aesthetic across your Instagram icons, Highlights, posts, Reels, and Stories.
Step 4: Maintain a consistent aesthetic
Your Instagram page is a collection of highly visual components. Maintaining a consistent aesthetic will require attention to detail and a commitment to your chosen style and brand identity.
To tie all of your chosen design elements together, use consistent filters and editing techniques. Choose effects for your images that align with your aesthetic and brand personality.
Here are some more tips for staying on-brand across your page.
Icon
Your profile picture should match your overall aesthetic. Whether a logo or a photo, it should be a visually engaging image representing your content and brand.
Post a potential profile pic to your story or feed first to test its engagement.
Bio
Your bio should communicate your personality and what followers can expect from your account. Use fonts and formatting that complement your aesthetic. Since there isn’t much wiggle room for what you can put in your bio, emojis can help inject some personality.
Highlights
To help tie your page together, Instagram Highlights are a collection of your top Stories, which you can save to your page indefinitely. This curated collection should showcase your brand.
Create custom Highlight covers that match your aesthetic using consistent colors, fonts, and graphics. Since they are tiny on the screen, keep the Highlight covers simple.
Feed
Your Instagram feed is the lifeblood of your page and should tell a story that shows you understand your audience's psychology. The chosen visuals for your feed should be captivating and have complementary design elements, filters, and editing styles.
Keep in mind your grid layout and carefully curate it to be organized and cohesive. Your feed should be fluid, so play around with your photos and videos sequence before posting to find the right flow.
If you’re using word-of-mouth marketing, you might want to share user-generated content on your feed. Edit this content to match the rest of your aesthetic Instagram feed.
Stories
While your feed is the permanent fixture of your page, Stories disappear within 24 hours and are a perfect place to experiment with different kinds of content. You can create fun, interactive posts using stickers, polls, and links.
You don’t need to craft Instagram Stories as carefully crafted as the content for your feed, but you should still stick to your overall aesthetic. If your content isn't necessarily on-brand, you can use an aesthetic photo as your story background.
Reels
Instagram Reels are all about quick and snappy content. The first few seconds should be attention-grabbing and hook your viewer. To increase engagement, you can try out the latest trends and infuse viral elements relevant to your brand into your content.
Ads
Instagram Ads are an important channel for introducing your brand to new audiences and growing your following. Lead ads, in particular, are designed to gather user data directly in the Instagram app. Using your brand aesthetic in paid content will make your ads more engaging and your brand more recognizable.
User-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) is created by real people who share their genuine experiences with products and services. UGC is valuable for businesses because it helps build trust and authentic connections with audiences. When working with UGC creators, communicate your brand guidelines and requirements in advance to ensure all of your content is on brand.
Step 5: Plan your posts in advance
Planning ahead is key if you want your Instagram aesthetic to be strong and consistent. Maintaining a well-curated Instagram page when you’re posting on the fly is tricky. Instagram marketing tools can help you plan and schedule your posts.
Planning your posts helps you maintain a consistent posting schedule, which builds reliability with your followers. Whether you post once a day or a few times a week, regularly posting reinforces your aesthetic and keeps your audience engaged.
Plus, you’ll be able to see how your posts will look together on your feed before posting them so that you can make adjustments.
Make the most of your feed
Following these steps and staying true to your vision can create a visually cohesive and appealing Instagram aesthetic that resonates with your audience.
Once you’ve got that gorgeous Instagram page up and running, embed your feed on your website. An Instagram aggregator provides an easy, effective way to do so. Embedding your feed is a great way to showcase your content and engage website visitors.