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This cheat sheet provides all the essential visual, text, and layout specifications for Instagram Stories. It helps you get your designs right every time, ensuring your content is professional, readable, and perfectly optimized for the platform.
A Technical and Design Cheat Sheet for Perfect Instagram Stories
The Instagram Story Design Cheat Sheet is a technical and creative resource designed to eliminate guesswork from your design process. Its purpose is to provide a quick-reference list of all the key dimensions, safe zones, font sizes, and best practices you need to create polished and effective stories.
Understanding the technical specifications
To ensure your content displays correctly, it’s crucial to start with the right technical settings. All designs should be created with dimensions of 1080 x 1920 pixels, which is a 9:16 aspect ratio. The maximum file size is 30 MB for images (like .jpg or .png) and 4 GB for videos (like .mp4 or .mov). Recommended font sizes vary by purpose: use 80-100 pt for a main Header or Hook, 60-80 pt for a Subheading, 35-55 pt for Body Text, and 25-35 pt for smaller Captions or Notes.
Mastering the layout with safe zones
To prevent important elements from being obscured by Instagram’s user interface, you must keep them within the designated safe zones. This means leaving 250 pixels of space at the top of your design to avoid overlap with the profile avatar and 250 pixels at the bottom to avoid clashing with the reply bar and other icons. You should also maintain side margins of 90 pixels on each side to keep your layout clean and centered.
Applying visual and design best practices
Beyond technical specs, strong design practices are key. Always ensure there is high contrast between your text and the background for readability, and stick to a maximum of 1-2 fonts to stay on-brand. Since most people watch stories on mute, including text overlays or captions is essential. Each story slide should be a maximum of 15 seconds. While motion can be effective, it should be used sparingly with subtle zooms or pans to avoid overwhelming the viewer. Finally, consistently using your brand colors helps build recognition, and adding interactive stickers can increase engagement.
Application with Instagram Story Design Cheat Sheet
This resource, provided as an editable Google Doc, acts as a quick reference you can use side-by-side with your design tools, whether you use Canva, Mojo, Unfold, or Instagram’s native features. It allows you to quickly check dimensions, safe zones, and font sizes to ensure every Story is visually optimized.
Who is this Instagram Story Design Cheat Sheet perfect for?
This cheat sheet is perfect for anyone who designs Instagram Stories, including social media managers, designers, virtual assistants, or business owners who want to ensure their visuals are always aligned and professional.
Concluding Thought
By consistently referencing this cheat sheet, you can ensure your Instagram Stories are always visually polished, easy to read, and professionally designed to capture your audience’s attention.
How to Use This
- Make Your Own Editable Copy:
- Open the link provided to access the master Google Doc.
- Once the Google Doc is open, navigate to the menu: File > Make a copy.
- A dialog box will appear. You can rename your copy if you wish and choose where to save it in your personal Google Drive.
- Click “Make a copy.” This action saves an editable version of the document to your Google Drive.
- Using Your Cheat Sheet:
- Bookmark It or Print It: Bookmark the document in your browser for one-click access, or print a copy to keep by your desk for quick reference during content creation.
- Use It During Design: Open this cheat sheet side-by-side with your design tools to check dimensions, safe zones, and font sizes.
- Add Personal Notes: Make the document your own by adding notes about your brand’s favorite fonts, colors, or links to templates you use.
- Share With Your Team: If you work with a designer or social media manager, share this resource with them to keep your whole team visually aligned.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the correct dimensions for an Instagram Story?
The correct dimensions are 1080 x 1920 pixels, which corresponds to a 9:16 aspect ratio.
What are the “safe zones” and why are they important?
The safe zones are the areas of the screen where your content won’t be blocked by Instagram’s interface. You should leave 250 pixels of space at the top and bottom, and 90 pixels on the sides, to prevent overlap with your profile avatar and the reply bar.
What are the recommended font sizes for readability?
Recommended sizes are: Header/Hook (80-100 pt), Subheading (60-80 pt), Body Text (35-55 pt), and Captions/Notes (25-35 pt).
How many different fonts should I use in a Story?
It is best practice to stick to a maximum of 1-2 fonts to keep your story on-brand and visually clean.
What is the maximum length for a single Instagram Story slide?
A single video story slide can be a maximum of 15 seconds long.
Why are text captions important in Stories?
Captions are essential because most people watch Stories with the sound off, so text overlays ensure your message is received.
How can I make my text easy to read?
To ensure readability, use the recommended font sizes and maintain high contrast between your text and the background.