How to Create a Standout Instagram Aesthetic [Free Templates]
Scroll on for aesthetic advice when it comes to posts, captions, stories, bios and more (and, perhaps most importantly, how to get that elusive aesthetic grid). Examples included, of course.
Bonus: Claim your free pack of 15 creative Instagram post templates made by Hootsuite’s professional graphic designers. Easily customize them in Canva, and start getting more engagement today.
What is an Instagram aesthetic?
The term “aesthetic” is basically a synonym for beautiful (like, you know, the Northern Lights or Blake Lively). But when it comes to Instagram, your aesthetic is about more than purely visuals: it’s about the mood that those visuals convey, and the overall vibe (if any) that can be felt from the content as a whole.
The biggest component of an Instagram aesthetic is a color palette (which should be part of your style guide). Picking a cohesive, consistent and eye-catching color scheme as a guide for all of your Instagram content is the best way to curate a specific aesthetic. That said, your use of fonts, spacing, and even emojis can contribute to your aesthetic, as well.
Usually, Instagram aesthetics are beautiful—for example, there’s the warm, natural vibe of this interior design studio’s profile.
Source: Instagram
There’s more bold examples, too—take the IG profile of Cheetos Central America.
Source: Instagram
The concept of an aesthetic might be simple, but not every account has one (actor Jake Gyllenhaal, for example, has yet to find a cohesive vibe).
Source: Instagram
Instagram aesthetic examples
Visual learners, you’re in luck: the best way to learn more about different Instagram aesthetics is to study examples. Here are some standouts on the ‘gram.
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Aesthetic Instagram bios
There isn’t a ton of flexibility when it comes to IG bios, meaning that you have to be creative to come up with a unique aesthetic. Emojis are your friend.
For example, you can pick an emoji for each snippet of information in your bio (exemplified below). This gives your profile a clean, organized look, and also injects a bit of personality into the feed.
Source: Instagram
Another, even cleaner option is to pick your favorite emoji and use it over and over, almost like a bullet point. If it’s a weird, niche emoji no one’s ever seen before, even better.
Source: Instagram
Or switch it up and put your emojis at the end—it’s a less organized look, but also creates a cartoony vibe.
Source: Instagram
You can also use an Instagram font generator to change the look of the font in your bio, creating an aesthetic that stands out immediately.
Source: Instagram
Whether your bio leans more minimalist or info-packed, whether you use emojis liberally or not at all, don’t forget to use a link in bio to drive traffic—you can link to your blog, YouTube channel, online store, etc. using this handy-dandy link. Hootbio is one of the best (okay, we’re biased!) link-in-bio solutions there is.
Aesthetic Instagram Highlight covers
Instagram Highlight covers are an effective and simple way to give your profile some extra oomph—plus, they’re an opportunity to really unify your aesthetic. The key to Highlight covers is keeping them simple: because they’re so small on the screen, less is definitely more.
This cosmetic company uses icons for Instagram highlight covers. They are clean, clear and communicative, and use a single color that matches the brand’s visual identity and Instagram palette. Highlight covers like these can be made easily using Canva (and if you need a template to get started, here’s 40).
Source: Instagram
This donut shop’s creative covers show off the drool-worthy donuts (donuts are round, highlight covers are round—it’s delicious serendipity).
Source: Instagram
And this tattoo artist’s highlight covers feature some of their artwork. Because the background color is consistent, these highlight covers have a unified, professional look, despite the fact that the actual drawings are quite different from one another.
Source: Instagram
Not sure where to start? Hootsuite offers 40 free templates for aesthetic Instagram highlight covers — download them here.
Aesthetic Instagram captions
Aesthetics are mostly about visuals, but you can communicate a consistent brand aesthetic in your captions, too.
For example, this flower company’s minimal captions all employ the same spacing, punctuation and use of a few choice emojis (plus some relevant hashtags, of course).
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Pistil Flowers (@pistilflowers)
You can also create an aesthetic caption by using hard returns to make sure that your entire caption isn’t visible on someone’s feed. In the post below, the account uses spacing, colons and vertical bars to make the caption—which is quite long—easy to digest.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by New York Wedding photographer VovaChi (@vovachiphotography)
Here’s another example of careful spacing—at first scroll, only the recipe title and emoji are visible, so the entire caption doesn’t clutter up a viewer’s feed.
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A post shared by Chocolate | Desserts (@chocolaeite)
Aesthetic Instagram profile pictures
Just like highlight covers, Instagram profile pictures are small—but they’re also the single image that most represents your brand.
Still, you don’t have to overthink it. Below is an example of a straightforward but aesthetic profile picture: it’s the brand’s logo, in colors that match the rest of the feed.
Source: Instagram
Or, there’s a bolder take: if bright colors and high-impact fonts are your brand’s thing, make that statement in your profile picture.
Source: Instagram
Another way to go? Just choose an excellent photo—one that incorporates your brand’s identity and the overall vibe you want to communicate to your target audience. (Life hack: to test the impact of a potential new PFP, post it on your story or feed first to see what kind of engagement it gets).
Source: Instagram
All of the above considered, a profile picture doesn’t have to be beautiful to make an impact—Rihanna has a pretty iconic image repping her personal brand, and it’s not exactly a masterpiece.
Source: Instagram
(Maybe this isn’t a great example of “aesthetic,” but it is a great example of how you can use different parts of Instagram to show off different parts of your personality.)
Aesthetic Instagram story backgrounds
If something you want to post on your story doesn’t quite fit your overall aesthetic, no fear: use a story background to keep that cohesion going.
Say you’re sharing a post to your story and want a more unified look—just pick an aesthetic photo from your camera roll and set it as the background to create more dimension.
Source: Instagram
The same goes if you just want to post a link on your IG story—don’t just use the “Create” option for those standard ombre backgrounds (you’re better than that). Pick a beautiful, engaging photo to grab your audience’s attention, and layer the link over top.
Source: Instagram
Using images in a frame as a story background is another beautiful way to incorporate your aesthetic into your stories (if you’re stuck on where to start, we’ve shared 30 aesthetic Instagram story background templates at the very end of this blog post).
Source: Instagram
These next two are going to be video examples (bear with me—screenshots can’t quite convey video).
The information presented in the story below isn’t super interesting; it’s a class schedule for a fitness studio. But the brand used an oscillating, lava-lamp-like video behind the text, creating instant movement and visual interest.
Source: Instagram
You can also use a GIF as a story background. It creates a similar effect as above: instant motion, compelling imagery and a reason to keep watching. In the post below, a GIF of different images runs in the background of the central image.
Source: Instagram
Aesthetic Instagram posts
Here’s where the Insta magic happens: your feed posts are the backbone of your aesthetic.
There’s really nothing a delicious-looking food photo can’t do, as is exemplified here by this ice cream product shot. Rather than just a simple pic of a pint, this post adds interest with apples and apple pie, giving the viewer a more visceral idea of what the ice cream tastes like. It’s high-quality, well-lit and jibes with the rest of the brand’s Instagram feed posts (we’ll talk more about curating an overall grid in the next part).
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by earnesticecream (@earnesticecream)
And sometimes, simple doesn’t cut it—this post of a grandma-core, maximalist living space proves it. This post is bright, eclectic and detailed, with plenty of different elements to focus on. All together, it’s a very unique look (one that probably isn’t for everyone, but inarguably shows off a signature style).
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Architectural Digest (@archdigest)
The post below is also bright and colorful, but there’s a grid-like rigidity to it—organized chaos is a one-way ticket to aesthetic success.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Elyssia Ward (@expressiveforest)
And lastly, one more aesthetic hack: when in doubt, go for nature. Landscapes and photos taken outside almost always have a serene, organic vibe. If it suits your business or personal brand, use as many outdoor photos as possible, and you’ll naturally (pun intended) create a consistent aesthetic.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Tourism Whistler (@gowhistler)
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