How to Create Your Own Instagram Highlight Covers + Free Icons

Do you want to change the aesthetic of your brand or personal Instagram, but are unsure where to start? You don’t need Photoshop to create beautiful Instagram covers and completely customize the overall visual appeal of your page.

Apps like Canva allow users to easily customize graphics to fit their personality or brand identity. This step-by-step guide will show you how you can create your own Instagram Highlight Covers – or if you want, scroll down to get your own FREE covers!

NOTE: For this demo, I will be using the desktop version of Canva. Feel free to follow along on the mobile version as it is extremely similar.

Step 1:  Login in to Canva.com and create a Free Account. In the top right hand corner of the homepage, select custom dimensions.

• Enter “1080 x 1920” pixels then click Create New Design.

Step 2: Select your Background Color.

Canva comes with a number of pre-selected background colors, however – if you have a particular color needed for your brand identity, you can select this here on the color picker by selecting the +.

Step 3: Add and search for your custom icons

Select the Elements tab to search the millions of Canva icons available for use. Canva has a number of free (and not free!!) icons available. Simply type in what theme you are looking for in the search bar. In this example, we will search for Food.

Step 4: OPTIONAL – Recolor your Image

Note how our food image isn’t exactly the correct color? We can fix that! In the top left hand corner, while your image is selected, select the Color Selector and change to any color you like. In this example, we will be changing to white to match our free icons below.

Step 5: Download your Instagram Cover Story

Now that you have your own custom, Instagram Cover, it’s time to download it and begin building your aesthetic! Select the downward arrow in the top corner to select your file download type and begin your journey to a better Instagram page.

Thank you for checking out my tutorial – and as promised, skip the steps and click here for your free Instagram Cover Stories! If you want more free creative, stay tuned by following me on Instagram @jillross_, and share with me what you make!

Free Cover Preview – Click for More!

XOXO – Jill