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Design a social template system you can reuse weekly

A template system is three to five layouts, each in every format, built from the brand kit and locked where it should not move. How to design one, how to fill it in five minutes a week, and how to keep the formats in step.

Intermediate2 min readUpdated 27 September 2026Editor · Templates, Boards, Brand kit

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Build the system

  1. Set up the brand kit (Edit, Brand kit…): colours, the two fonts, the logos. New text starts in the brand font.
  2. Start an Instagram post. Lay out the first template: background, photo area, headline, supporting line, logo. Use guides for the safe zones.
  3. Name the layers for what they are (Photo, Headline, Date, Logo). Names drive the brand checks and the format re-layout.
  4. Lock the layers that never change (background shapes, logo) from the Layers panel so nobody nudges them.
  5. Choose File, Boards…, Cascade to touchpoints, and add Story or Reel cover and Square post. Adjust each board by hand once.
  6. Choose File, Save as template. Repeat for each layout.

Use it every week

  1. Start a new design from the template.
  2. On the master board, replace the photo and retype the words.
  3. Choose Layer, Formats, Update formats from master: the other boards take the new text and pictures and keep their hand-made layouts.
  4. Check each board at phone size, then press Ctrl+E, choose All under Boards to export, PNG at 1×, and Download N PNGs (zip).

What makes a system rather than a set

  • The same grid, margins and logo position on every layout.
  • One headline size and one body size across layouts.
  • A limited set of backgrounds: a brand colour, a photo, a neutral. Variety comes from content, not from the frame.

How many templates should a brand have?

Three to five layouts, each in the formats you post. More than that and the feed stops looking like one brand.

Will editing the template change posts I already made?

No. A template is a separate copy; designs started from it are independent.

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