Introduction

In the visually driven world of Instagram, having a well-curated and consistent aesthetic is key to standing out. Your Instagram aesthetic is the overall look and feel of your profile, reflecting your brand or personality. It helps you make a strong first impression and keeps your audience engaged. Whether you’re a personal brand, influencer, or business, building a stunning Instagram aesthetic doesn’t have to be complicated. In this guide, we’ll walk you through five easy steps to create a cohesive and eye-catching Instagram aesthetic.

1. Define Your Brand’s Personality and Style

Before you begin designing your Instagram aesthetic, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of your brand’s personality and style. This will serve as the foundation for all your visual content. Ask yourself:

• What message do I want to convey to my audience?
• What values does my brand represent?
• Who is my target audience?

For instance, if you’re running a wellness brand, your aesthetic might be calming, with muted colours and natural elements. If you’re promoting a vibrant lifestyle blog, you might opt for bright, playful tones. Defining your brand’s personality will help you decide on the visual elements, including colour schemes, fonts, and imagery.

Tip: Create a mood board with images, colours, and themes that align with your brand. Pinterest is a great tool for gathering inspiration.

2. Choose a Consistent Colour Palette

Colour is one of the most powerful tools for creating a cohesive Instagram aesthetic. A well-thought-out colour palette can instantly set the tone for your profile. Choose a set of 3-5 colours that complement each other and reflect your brand’s style.

You can use your brand’s existing colours if you already have them, or you can create a new palette specifically for Instagram. Tools like Adobe Color or Coolors can help you generate a colour scheme that works well together. Once you’ve chosen your colours, be sure to incorporate them into your photos, graphics, and even captions, where appropriate.

Tip: Stick to your chosen colour palette in every post. This helps create a unified and polished look for your entire feed, making it visually appealing to anyone who visits your profile.

3. Pick a Filter or Editing Style

To keep your Instagram feed looking consistent, it’s important to stick to a particular editing style or filter for your photos. Instagram’s native filters can be a good start, but for more professional-looking results, you can use editing apps like Lightroom, VSCO, or Snapseed.

Here are some editing styles to consider:

• Light and airy: Bright, soft, and pastel tones, perfect for fashion, lifestyle, and travel brands.
• Dark and moody: Deep shadows and muted tones, often used by food and photography accounts.
• Warm and vibrant: Rich, saturated colours, ideal for summer and outdoor content.
• Minimalist and clean: Neutral tones and simple compositions, popular with modern brands and influencers.

Once you’ve chosen your editing style, apply it consistently to every photo to ensure your feed maintains a harmonious look.

Tip: Save your presets in editing apps like Lightroom so that you can apply the same filter or adjustments to all of your photos quickly and easily.

4. Plan Your Feed Layout

A stunning Instagram aesthetic goes beyond individual posts—it’s about how your entire feed looks as a whole. Planning your feed layout helps you create a visually balanced grid that draws people in. There are different approaches to planning your layout, depending on the look you’re going for. Here are a few popular feed layouts:

• Checkerboard layout: Alternate between two types of posts, such as images and quotes, to create a checkerboard effect.
• Row by row layout: Post three images in a row that share the same theme or visual style. Each row tells its own story.
• Border layout: Add borders to your images to create separation between each post. This can be particularly effective for art, design, or photography accounts.
• Puzzle layout: Post images that connect to form one large image when viewed in grid format. This is a more advanced technique but can create a highly engaging feed.

To visualise your feed before posting, you can use apps like Preview or Planoly. These tools allow you to drag and drop your images, so you can see how your feed will look and make adjustments as needed.

Tip: Balance your feed by mixing close-up shots, wide-angle images, and different colour tones. This prevents your feed from looking too repetitive or cluttered.

5. Create Engaging and On-Brand Content

Even the most visually appealing feed won’t succeed without engaging content. While aesthetics are important, your posts need to connect with your audience and provide value. Every post should serve a purpose, whether it’s to inform, entertain, inspire, or promote. Here are a few content ideas that align with a strong aesthetic:

• Product flat lays: Arrange your products in a visually appealing way and photograph them from above. Keep the background simple and stick to your brand colours.
• Quotes: Share quotes or phrases that resonate with your brand’s message. Use your brand’s fonts and colours to create on-brand quote graphics.
• Behind-the-scenes: Give your audience a peek into your process, whether it’s how you create your products or what goes on behind the camera.
• User-generated content: Encourage your followers to share photos of themselves using your products, and repost them on your feed. This not only builds trust but also adds variety to your content while still fitting into your aesthetic.

Tip: Keep your captions on-brand as well. Whether your tone is professional, casual, or humorous, make sure your messaging is consistent across all posts.

Bonus: Use Instagram Stories and Highlights to Complement Your Aesthetic

Instagram Stories and Highlights offer additional ways to express your brand’s aesthetic. While Stories disappear after 24 hours, Highlights allow you to save and categorise important Stories on your profile. Use custom cover images for your Highlights that match your aesthetic to keep your profile looking cohesive. You can also experiment with different fonts, colours, and stickers in Stories to reinforce your brand’s visual identity.

Tip: Don’t forget to engage with your audience through interactive features like polls, questions, and quizzes in Stories. This helps build a more personal connection while staying on-brand.

Conclusion: Build a Stunning Instagram Aesthetic in 5 Easy Steps

Creating a beautiful Instagram aesthetic doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By following these five easy steps—defining your brand’s style, choosing a consistent colour palette, sticking to a specific editing style, planning your feed layout, and creating engaging content—you can build a stunning and cohesive Instagram feed that reflects your brand and attracts your target audience.

Remember, consistency is key when it comes to maintaining an aesthetic. Over time, as you refine your style and visual strategy, you’ll see your feed transform into a powerful tool for brand recognition and growth. So, start planning, get creative, and watch your Instagram aesthetic work wonders for your brand!