How to Make an Icon on Instagram?

Instagram Highlights, collections of curated Stories, offer a unique opportunity to showcase your personality or brand narrative. However, the default cover images can often appear generic.  Instagram has a built-in tool that allows you to create simple Instagram highlight covers directly.

You can leverage existing story images that capture the essence of your Highlight’s theme or use photos from your camera roll for a more curated touch. This ensures a cohesive aesthetic that ties your Highlights seamlessly into your overall profile.

To create a custom Instagram Highlights cover, follow these steps:

• Step 1: Upload a story and wait for the 24-hour window until it disappears from your profile. Now go to “Story Archive” and select the stories you want to create a new Instagram highlight by clicking on “Highlight.”

• Step 2: Select “Edit Highlight” and then click on “Edit Cover.”

• Step 3: Now, you can either select a picture from your story images (like a thumbnail on YouTube) or upload a picture from your gallery.

• Step 4: Adjust the image by zooming in or out or selecting a specific area to serve as the cover.

• Step 5: Now, Select “Done” to save your changes.

The built-in feature for making Insta story highlight covers is very convenient, but it lacks customization or editing options. Instagram Highlights can be much more than just basic collections.

They act as visual powerhouses that speak volumes about your personality or brand. You can utilize third-party applications to elevate your brand voice by using pre-designed Instagram highlights cover templates on Canva, Pinterest, etc.

For users who wish to make their highlight covers not just visually stunning but also want to convey their brand message or personality, we have listed different third-party editing applications, including:

1. Canva

Canva is a user-friendly editing application that has a plethora of free and paid pre-existing templates for designing icons for Instagram highlights for beginners and pros alike.  Here’s how to get started with Canva:

• Step 1:  Open the Canva app on your phone or tablet (or open the canva.com on your computer). In the search bar, type “Instagram Story Highlight” or “Highlight cover for Instagram.”

• Step 2: Canva will present you with a wide range of pre-designed highlight cover templates. Browse through the options and select one that resonates with your overall Instagram aesthetic.

• Step 3: after choosing the template, you can utilize various Canva editing functions to edit the template. Canva allows you to change the background, add text, add color themes, etc.

• Step 4: Once you are done editing and happy with your final product, click on “Save” or tap the “Download” button. Make sure to save in either JPG or PNG format.

2. PicsArt

PicsArt is the most popular editing design application for editing, collaging, and creating various Instagram icons and thumbnails. Here’s how to use PicsArt:

• Step 1: Launch the PicsArt app and tap the “+” button to start a new project. Select “Templates” and then choose “Highlight Cover” from the options. You can also search for “examples of beautiful Instagram highlight covers.”

• Step 2: PicsArt, like Canva, offers many templates and designs. It also gives you a vast collection of stickers, which you can use as highlight icons and cover pictures. Select the one that is most captivating and resonates with your brand or personality.

• Step 3: Once you have selected your sticker or template, you can resize, rotate, and layer multiple stickers to create a unique design. Use the brushes and shapes to create basic elements, and then refine them with editing tools like “Cut Out” and “Erase” for a polished look.

• Step 4: Once your icon is perfect, tap the “Export” button and select “PNG.” Make sure “Transparent Background” is selected before saving the image to your phone’s gallery.

There are many websites and services that provide pre-designed Instagram highlight cover templates. To save yourself from the hassles of editing and creating your own Instagram highlights from scratch, you can utilize these pre-made templates based on your style.

The most widely popular applications for pre-designed templates are:

1. Pinterest

2. FreePiks

3. AdobeStock

4. Shutterstock

5. Dreamstime

Remember that designing impactful icons requires more than just picking a pretty picture. To truly grab attention and effectively communicate your message, your icons need to be strategically designed.

Here are 7 design tips and hacks to elevate your icon game and create visuals that pop:

1. Minimalistic

While designing custom Instagram highlight covers, remember that these icons are small visuals.

So, ensure the image, graphics, and texts are very clear, simple, and not too cluttered. Select steady and clean lines, easily recognizable symbols, and a simple color palette.

2. Consistency and Cohesive Look

To make the most stand-out highlight cover for your Instagram profile, make sure your editing follows a consistent visual style.

You must maintain and stick to the same color scheme and design elements across all your highlights to create a polished and professional look for your entire profile.

3. Iconography Hacks

While editing, make sure your icons and symbols are unique and universally recognizable. This will make it easier to communicate the content of your highlights.

For example, a globe for travel, cutlery icons for food recipes, etc, as these instantly convey the theme of your stories without needing text.

4. Add texts

Sometimes, icons and covers require more than just symbols and color palettes to communicate your brand’s message.

In such cases, you can consider adding short, clear text as labels. Choose legible fonts and size your texts to make sure they are accessible.

After creating your own Instagram highlights from scratch, using various pre-designed themes and templates, you must save them in a proper format for seamless integration into your Instagram highlights. You can consider the following points:

1. Image Format

Though Instagram supports all kinds of image formats,  it is highly recommended to save your icons in PNG format. PNG format preserves transparency and blends smoothly with the Instagram framework.

2. Dimensions

It is essential to save your icons in a certain way when it comes to dimensions. Instagram Highlight icons should be 1080 x 1920 pixels with a 9:16 aspect ratio. Make sure to save your icons in these dimensions from the design app.

3. Export With A Transparent Background

Just like saving your icons in PNG format, it is also important to export your icons with a transparent background. Most design apps offer an option to export your icons as PNG files with transparency.

How To Upload Instagram Icons As Your Highlight Covers?

Once you are done editing and completely satisfied with your design, it is time to upload the customized icons as highlight covers on Instagram. Follow these steps:

• Step 1: Select the highlight you want to edit.

• Step 2: After that, click on “Edit Highlight” and tap “Edit Cover.”

• Step 3: Now select the “Image” icon from the bottom left corner.

• Step 4: Choose your custom icon from your camera roll and adjust the placement as needed.

• Step 5: Click on “Done” to save your changes.

Instagram Highlights offers a powerful toolset for brands and creators. They enable the curation of premium content, fostering profile organization and audience engagement. By meticulously designing Highlight covers that resonate with your overall theme, you can craft a visually cohesive and captivating user experience.

To further amplify your Highlight’s appeal and effectiveness, consider incorporating custom graphics or showcasing examples of positive customer interactions. 

By harnessing Instagram Highlights’ full potential, you can elevate your brand presence, cultivate meaningful connections with your audience, and ultimately achieve your social media goals.