Remember when none of us thought Instagram Stories were going to take off?
Since launching in August of 2016, Instagram’s story feature has completely blown Snapchat out of the water. Let’s unpack that.
While the two essentially do the same thing, Instagram stories seem to encourage one essential element that users are more attracted to: creativity. I remember reading once that we can consider cell phones and our online presence as extensions of our own body. Many people immediately write off this idea as a negative aspect of being constantly connected; zero privacy, and the notion that social media only showcases someone’s highlight reel. Of course, all of these points are valid. I am here to say that social media can still be an extension of ourselves, so long as we are transparent and treat it as more of a creative outlet, hobby or artful experience rather than a means to constantly compare ourselves to others. Social media, and particularly Instagram, is something I have taught myself to be a creative expression of who I am, what I’m interested in and what I think will inspire or spark creativity in others.
That being said, Instagram stories are where I have the most fun, and is also where I think users have the most potential to showcase who they really are in an engaging and interesting way, all while being unique to that particular person’s style, interests or experiences.
This guide will tell you how to highlight your content in an imaginative and eye-catching way, whether you’re trying to grow your following and catch the eye of your viewers, or just into creating cool stuff and having fun with your own corner of the internet.
I’ve separated this ultimate Instagram story design guide into four parts, breaking down the entire Instastory process: capturing, editing, framework and flair.
CAPTURING
Huji – The start of any stand out Instagram story is the content itself. There’s no getting around that. One of my most-used apps for snapping photos in a more eccentric way is HUJI. HUJI is an awesome photography app that allows you to snap photos like it’s 1998 all over again. Each photo that you take is transferred to the “lab,” in which your snapshot is transformed into what looks like a film camera photo. This app is ideal for vintage lovers and those who want their pictures to have more of a nostalgic feel. While this app isn’t exactly a hidden gem anymore, one tip I have is to remove the time stamp from your photos that HUJI automatically applies. This way, your pictures don’t always look like they have the same effect as everyone else’s. To do so, open the app, go into your Lab and at the top of the page you will see three lines—tap that. You’ll now see a menu. From here, click on Date, and select “none.” Now your photos will just have the HUJI effect rather than the timestamp. If you’re into the timestamp, that’s cool too! You can also make it so the stamp reflects the date the photo was taken, rather than the year 1998. Pro Tip: Photos taken with Huji often come out on the darker side, so be aware of the surrounding lighting when using this app.
8MM – One reason why people like Instagram stories so much is that they offer a glimpse into what often goes unseen. Behind the scenes and snapshots of someone’s daily life, rather than one snapshot of what could be staged in a photo. 8MM is what I primarily use to capture videos I want to post to my stories. This app offers a variety of film-like filters to capture your video, including black and white noir, sepia tones or washed out indigos. I love this app because it makes everything seem more lived-in and cozy. While whatever your capturing may not be extremely clear, that isn’t really the point of this app. I use it to shoot outfit try-ons in my mirror, outdoor scenes or just everyday life. 8MM also makes your life much easier due to that fact that your videos are automatically saved to your camera roll for easy access later on. My favorite filters are 70’s, 60’s and two-color. Pro Tip: 8MM also lets you add “frame jitters” to your video for that added film-camera-like touch. While your filming, click on the small button below where you select your filter to add a jitter.
EDITING
While I won’t go into too much detail here since I’d rather focus on the actual construction and design of the story itself, I’ll still mention what I use to edit my photos and why I like each one for its own separate reason.
Lightroom CC – Preloaded with awesome presets that still maintain the integrity and quality of your picture.
ColorStory – Great presets for film and vintage vibes, fun add-ons for grain, texture, holographic elements and glows. PicsArt – Ability to add small doodles or abstract lines and shapes.
InShot – Editing software for smaller video clips that anyone can use (not an adobe nightmare).
FRAMEWORK
Unfold – This is the app you’ve likely been seeing more and more of lately. It is basically a selection of plain backdrops with pre-selected frames and layouts. Some expansion packs of Unfold offer ripped paper frame effects, polaroid frames and rounded frames. I find Unfold to be the best app to highlight a particular theme, mood, event or anything products or subjects similar to one another. When you have one story slide after another with various layouts, it can get a bit confusing. Try to stick to similar colors, patterns and subject matter when creating a story with Unfold, so what you’re showing seems fluid rather than jumbled. Pro Tip: If you want to add a slide with all text, use a blank background in Unfold rather than directly typing in Instagram; the font selections in Unfold are a lot easier on the eye and have better legibility.
Story Luxe – Very similar to Unfold, in relation to choosing between various story layouts with different frame options. I find that Story Luxe is a bit more user friendly and has more creative options for slide backgrounds. Pro Tip: Story Luxe has better options for film and polaroid frames!
FLAIR
WordSwag – Out of all of these apps that I am featuring today, WordSwag is undeniably my favorite. I am a total font nerd. Seriously, I can identify fonts like a champ and it is one of my favorite things to do out in public. WordSwag is where you can upload images or story layouts (such as ones you’ve already created in Unfold or Story Luxe) and add text in a wide variety of playful fonts. Some are more script like, some have paint splatters and others have punch outs and gradients. This element is what I think can really set your story apart from everyone else’s. Plus, it’s honestly just fun to play around with to see what you can create. Pro Tip: The number one thing to worry about here is to just make sure your text is legible! Avoid busy text combined with busy backgrounds; both will distract the viewer.
HypeType – HypeType goes one step beyond WordSwag and lets you add text with animation to any photo, video or layout. Blinking text, fading, and flying text are all options you can choose from. I personally feel that HypeType is great every once in awhile when you’re trying to grab attention for something new or important, but I don’t think it should be used repeatedly day after day. It can get distracting and just slightly annoying to always have moving or blinking text to read. Pro Tip: At the end of the day, your best bet is to go with a combination of fonts from apps, including Instagram’s text options as well. If you’re looking to develop some kind of uniformity, try sticking to fonts with a similar style or within the same font family.
Even though I am now focusing on creating stories to mostly highlight my blog, the reason why I love this feature of social media so much is that it still allows me to do something I love: playing with design and having fun with the content that I create. All of these editing apps and creative outlets for Instagram story production are in no way necessary for your online existence—they are rather a way to bring back life, creativity and intriguing design to what often looks like a very cookie cutter application. Instagram doesn’t just have to be a highlight reel, and this handful of apps will help you in taking that next step to have a bit more fun with what you’re putting out into the world.
P.S. I’d love to see what you all create with our stories! Tag me if you use any of these apps after reading the guide, I’d love to check them out. Cheers, Paige.
If you’re interested in reading more by Paige about lifestyle, design, personal style and wellness, check out her blog at MyBlankPaige.com.
