Learn the basics of great Instagram ad design and how to make your dream ad a reality.
There are more ways to place ads on Instagram than ever before, but sometimes, advertising on social media can feel like shouting for nothing. To create ads that convert and engage, you need to plan your Instagram ad design strategy before you pull the trigger when purchasing an ad.
With these 11 design tips, you’ll learn how to create Instagram ads that get noticed by your audience. You can also take advantage of free templates to streamline your design process.
Use simple designs to stand out
A smartphone screen doesn’t provide much space for your ad masterpiece. When it comes to attracting users’ attention, a minimalist approach is often the most effective.
Try to break down your ads into as few visual elements as possible. Great ads can be nothing more than an image of your product with simple text or even just text on a contrasting background!
Source: Instagram (@risedesk.io)
This Risedesk ad has an image that says it all in just two parts: the product image and a short value proposition. Most of us can only dream of having a desk as tidy as in this ad, but that doesn’t mean we can’t advertise to our audience as clean and well-organized as the desk we want.
Bright colors attract eyes
Bright, contrasting colors grab attention, and attention is the name of the game when it comes to designing a great Instagram ad.
When you use colors, you make it easy for users to select the important elements of your ad at a glance. A bright color scheme can also evoke positive feelings about your company.
Source: Instagram (@renklistandart)
Color Standard indicates that the product itself doesn’t have to be full of saturated colors to create an eye-catching palette. Even though the socks are pale, the background adds brightness and also provides contrast.
If you’re not sure where to start, you can use a color wheel when designing. Try matching colors on opposite sides of the wheel for the most visual contrast.
Keep your product front and center
As much as we love a compelling mystery, that doesn’t mean you have to unknowingly play to your audience to understand what you’re selling.
Instagram users will only take a second or two to decide whether to scroll through your ad or stop and stare. Don’t let them wonder what your product is.
Make your product the center of attention in your ad. You can do this, for example, with the color, size or image placement of the product. No matter how you do it, make it clear to your customers what you offer.
Source: Instagram (@real)
This video ad from Truly begins with a well-framed shot of their product. While the ad contains plenty of dynamic movement, we know right away what is being promoted, which brings us to the next clue…
Make moving videos
A burst of motion at the beginning of your video ad will help your ad get noticed. This is especially important for ads that appear on the Instagram feed or Discover page because they have limited time to grab users’ attention before they catch their attention.
Engaging video ads, more than any other format, give you the opportunity to tell a story that your customers connect with. Don’t miss this chance by shooting static videos!
Show your range
Video, Collection, and Carousel all allow you to show multiple products or multiple aspects of a single product. This is your chance to truly show your customers what you have to offer.
A good ad will have variety, but it will also have a coherent message that ties everything together. Your customers are much less likely to interact with a set of random items.
Source: Instagram (@ruesaintpatrick)
In this example, Rue Saint Patrick takes a minimalist approach to the Carousel ad. The use of a single shirt style keeps the message focused, while also giving the user an interactive experience inside the ad that mimics navigating an online store.
Blast your text
Your ads’ images are the most important part of their design, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only important part. And when it comes to text, like images, less is often more.
Keep your message short and concise.
Word of mouth can confuse your ad and make your audience work harder to understand the message you’re trying to convey. And no one wants to have to work while browsing their Instagram feed.
The text you add should be in a large, easy-to-read font. The majority of your audience will be looking at your ad on a small screen.
Make it as easy as possible for them to receive your message.
Source: Instagram (@headspace)
The text in this Headspace ad does everything it needs and more. The placement of the text is integrated into the overall design of the ad, and the well-proportioned block of text almost takes advantage of the warmth of the sun.
Moreover, the shapes of the geometric sans-serif font echo the simple shapes of the eyes and mouth in the attached image.
keep it consistent
Any ad you make will quickly disappear, but having a consistent visual identity that ties all your ads together will help your company stay in users’ minds.
Source: Instagram (@kritikhq)
The ads in this example are not the same, but they do share the key elements that make their style recognizable. Critical creates a transition line in social media assets with the use of triangles along with color scheme and text formatting.
If that seems like a lot to follow, there are plenty of tools out there that show you how to design an Instagram ad with your company’s unique style. One way is to use the templates, which we’ll cover later in this article.
Put your subtitles to work
Your Instagram ad is not just a photo or video. A creative caption is also part of the experience you offer your audience. Sound the same as the rest of your ad.
For ads with a fun tone, using emojis in the headline can add an element of visual interest and fun.
Like any text in your ad, make sure to keep it short. The most important part should be visible without clicking more.
Source: Instagram (@angusreidforum)
Angus Reid achieves a lot with this short title: It speaks directly to the audience and gives them a reason to engage.
And most importantly, it does this without clicking the user. more.
Make silent videos
Silent movies are still more popular on Instagram than movies with sound. Almost 99% of Instagram users will see your ad on a mobile device, which means most people will watch your videos with the sound muted. Video ads should say what they have to say, even when they’re muted.
If audio is important to your video, consider adding subtitles. This mutes the sound, making it easier to navigate and more accessible to the hearing impaired.
Improve your designs with A/B testing
It’s great to start with strong ad design principles, but nothing beats practical knowledge about what makes your audience stop and pay attention.
Once you have a few solid design ideas, you can use A/B testing to discover the ones that appeal most to your customers.
A/B testing is a way to find out which ads your target audience is responding to. It involves serving different versions of the same ad to different people and tracking how often each version engages. This gives you real-world data, for example, about which color scheme, caption, or call-to-action button works best for your advertising goals.
This may sound daunting, but there are several tools for A/B testing that can help you through this process, including AdEspresso from Moyens I/O.
Don’t let great advertising get in the way of effective advertisements
It’s important to think about your Instagram ad designs, but don’t be tempted by the perfect ad!
No matter how impressive your next creation is, if your audience sees the same thing over and over, they will start to experience ad fatigue and stop paying attention.
This is what makes ad templates so useful. Once you’ve set your ad look, you can reuse your templates as needed to freshen up your social media presence with new ads.
Instagram ad sizes
Depending on the type of Instagram ad you’re placing, there are different technical guidelines you should follow when creating it.
When designing your ad, you need to consider its format (image, video, Carousel or Collection) and where it will appear in the Instagram app (stream, Stories, Discover area or Reels); but not all formats can do this. should be placed in every part of the application.
Knowing these guidelines will help you create stunning ads wherever they appear. When in doubt, Facebook for Business has all the details for both recommended and required guidelines.
Instagram image ads
- Recommended formats: JPG or PNG
- Maximum file size: 30 MB
- Recommended aspect ratio: 1:1, for In-feed ads, 9:16 for Stories or Discover ads
- Minimum image resolution: 1080 × 1080 pixels
- Minimum dimensions: 500px wide
Instagram video ads
- Recommended formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Maximum file size: 250 MB
- Video duration: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Recommended aspect ratio: 9:16 for Stories or Reels ads, 4:5 for Discover or in-feed ads
- Minimum resolution: 1080 × 1080 pixels
- Minimum dimensions: 500px wide
Instagram Carousel ads
- Recommended formats
- Image: JPG, PNG
- Video: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Maximum file size
- Image: 30MB
- Video: 4GB
- Recommended aspect ratio: 1:1
- Minimum resolution: 1080 × 1080 pixels for In-feed ads, 1080 × 1080 pixels for Stories ads.
Instagram Collection ads
- Recommended formats
- Image: JPG, PNG
- Video: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Maximum file size
- Image: 30MB
- Video: 4GB
- Recommended aspect ratio: 1.91:1 to 1:1
- Minimum resolution: 1080 × 1080 pixels
- Minimum dimensions: 500 × 500 pixels
Instagram ad design tools
You don’t need to be a professional designer to make featured ads. Whether you’re looking for some inspiration or detailed guidance, there are many tools to help you unleash your creativity!
Most offer free accounts in addition to paid accounts with more advanced functionality.
- Advertisement Espresso It offers a full suite of services to manage your social media ads. It combines design tools and templates with features to help you plan your ad strategy and analyze results, and it’s also a very useful split testing tool to help you optimize your campaigns.
- Adobe Spark It provides design tools on an integrated platform with Adobe’s other products. It can be accessed from a desktop browser or a mobile app.
Post and analyze your Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn ads alongside your regular social media content with Moyens I/O Social Advertising. Stop migrating from platform to platform and see exactly what’s making you money. Book a free demo today.
