So I’ve been asked this question a lot, and for me, producing a coherent Instagram feed is a combination of trusting my eyes and having a strategy and philosophy behind it all.
When I’m not eyeballing it, I’ll show you exactly how I plan my feed.
In fact, I saw right away that people enjoyed what I was generating when I started carefully planning my grid. I was acquiring a lot of new followers compared to previously. After a time, I began to prepare less conceptually and rely more on my own judgement. I became accustomed to the appearance of my feed, and it took me less time (and less thought!) to build a feed that flowed.
So if you’re having trouble making your feed consistent and cohesive, I suggest you start with theory (that’s where this article comes in) and after a while, you’ll see that you’ll do it more and more spontaneously. It’s going to become second nature.
It’s hard to start, when your feed looks all over the place, right?
Start with planning at least 9 images ahead (12 or 15 are even better). This way you’ll actually be able to see how your new and shiny feed will look like!
So here are the steps that you need to take in order to create a stunning visually pleasing and cohesive feed:
- Make use of a planned programme.
- Select a design style and colour scheme.
- Decide on the arrangement of all the different sorts of information you’ll be sharing.
- The importance of colour theory and forms cannot be overstated.
- Take into account negative space and angles.
- The best isn’t always perfect.
- Make use of the best photographs you can.
Make use of a planned programme.
You may plan your grid online using software in a few different ways. Later and Planoly are two of my favourites (not sponsored). They’re free as long as you don’t make more than 30 posts every month. You may use them only for grid planning, or you can also post from their programme. You may plan using their website or their app on your phone. In any case, that’s probably the simplest approach to start thinking about how your grid would appear.
Select a grid style from the drop-down menu.
Do you like darker or lighter photographs, vibrant colours, monochrome images, desaturated images, warm or cold images, vintage, modern, natural, or a specific colour palette… There are so many different designs and colours to select from.
Choosing one style does not rule out the possibility of incorporating other types, but sticking to one or two is the best option.
Select the sort of material you’ll distribute.
Will you simply share images or will you also share movies, text, and graphics? You should think about all of the content you want to provide with your audience, as well as the kind of information they’ll enjoy. Just make sure they all go together well. If you’re integrating any graphical components, they must function together and complement the aesthetic of the rest of your feed’s content.
Choose a layout for all of the various sorts of information.
If you’re going to share more than one form of material, you’ll need to select how often you’ll post each one. If you’re sharing photographs and text, for example, you could do so on a one-to-one basis, so every other day you’d send words and every other day a photo. You can also think about different ratios. 6 to 1 is my favourite. There are six photographs and one text image in this set. Be inventive!
The importance of colour theory and forms cannot be overstated.
I usually take the colours of the photographs into account while planning my Instagram grid. In most of my photos, there are only one or two predominant colours. When I arrange a grid, I place photos with the same main colour on various portions of the grid so that they don’t overlap. I primarily share gloomy photographs, but I do include some brighter ones as well, and I adhere to the same principles there as well.
The same may be said about shapes. I won’t upload more photographs with comparable shapes in a line (unless it’s a diagonal) if I share a photo of a round cake in the centre of the frame. I also don’t want them all crammed into one spot.
One method to apply colour theory creatively is to create a color-coordinated grid in which you post one colour for a set number of days and then switch to another.
Think about the negative space.
When it comes to creating a unified Instagram feed, balance is the key. Consider your image as having some weight to it. Some people weigh less (indicating that they are less occupied), whereas others weigh more (busy images with big elements or multiple elements). Consider your feed to be an antique kitchen scale. You should balance your scale by placing the photographs in your feed. To balance things out, consider arranging photos with the same ‘weight’ in opposite regions of the grid, just as you would with colours and forms.
The same may be said of angles. In my feed, I upload photographs from various perspectives, which requires some thinking as well. I prefer to blend images shot at different perspectives so that they don’t compete with each other, just like I do with colour, forms, and negative space.
The best isn’t always perfect.
Please don’t go out of your way to strictly follow what I’ve just written. As I mentioned at the outset, occasionally things will appear to be better without a clear reason. Follow your instincts and your imagination.
Make use of the best photographs you can.
But, you may argue, I’m not a professional yet, and my photographs aren’t of great quality. It doesn’t matter; use what you have while remaining selective. Choose the finest photo you have, and if you can’t decide between two or three, ask your followers on Instagram stories. As an IG user, I can attest to the fact that I enjoy voting, and that people enjoy participating in things like polls and anything else that demands their participation in the story. So, why don’t you poll your followers? You’ll also learn what kind of stuff people enjoy seeing from you this way. Win-win!
It doesn’t end with a well-curated Instagram feed.
While putting out a consistent Instagram feed takes time and effort, it’s not the only thing you should do if you want to grow your Instagram following. Being personable and revealing who you are is one of the most critical aspects of having an Instagram account. Humans like to follow genuine people rather than computers!
