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Design an Instagram carousel with boards

A carousel is a sequence: a cover that stops the scroll, slides that each make one point, and a last slide that says what to do. How to build it as boards in one design, keep it consistent, and export the slides in order.

Beginner2 min readUpdated 27 September 2026Editor · Boards

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Build it

  1. Start from the Instagram post preset. Design the cover on it.
  2. Choose File, Boards…. The single canvas becomes the first board when you add another. Add Instagram post boards for each slide. Boards sit side by side; Organise boards into a clean grid tidies them.
  3. Name each board for its slide (Cover, Point 1…, Last) in its card or by double-clicking its name in the Layers panel. The names become the file names.
  4. Copy the headline, page number and logo from the cover to each board (drag a layer's centre onto another board to move it there; duplicate first with Ctrl+J to copy).
  5. Write each slide: one point, one headline, a short supporting line. Zoom out with Ctrl+0 to see the sequence together.
  6. Export: Ctrl+E, All under Boards to export, PNG, 1×, tick Number files in board order (01, 02…), then Download N PNGs (zip). Upload the files in number order.

A photo across two slides

Layers are clipped to their board, so an image that should flow across two slides goes on both: duplicate the photo, move the copy to the next board, and position it so the join matches, checking the seam at 100 per cent. Keep faces and text away from the join, because the platform may show a small gap or crop between slides.

Slides that get swiped

  • The cover shows the payoff ("5 layouts that…"), not a logo.
  • One idea per slide; if it needs two paragraphs, it needs two slides.
  • A visual cue that there is more: a page number (1/7), an arrow, or an element crossing the edge.
  • The same type sizes on every slide. Changing sizes mid-carousel reads as a mistake.

Square or 4:5?

4:5 (1080 × 1350) takes more of the screen. Every slide in a carousel must be the same shape; the first slide sets it.

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