How to Create an Instagram Highlight Cover?

How to Create an Instagram Highlight Cover

Instagram Highlight covers turn your Stories archive into a polished, organized profile. Let's design professional-looking covers in Canva.

Instagram Highlight Cover Specs

Spec	Details
Size	1080 × 1920 pixels (Story size)
Display size	110 × 110 pixels (small circle)
Format	PNG or JPG
Shape	Cropped to a circle on profile

The cover is displayed as a tiny circle, so keep your icon/graphic centered and simple.

Step-by-Step in Canva

1. Open Canva → "Create a design" → search "Instagram Story" (1080 × 1920)
2. Choose a solid background color that matches your brand
3. Go to Elements → search for a simple icon (e.g., "travel", "food", "camera")
4. Place the icon in the center of the canvas
5. Resize the icon to about 40-50% of the canvas width
6. Make the icon white (or a contrasting color) for visibility
7. Duplicate the page for each highlight category — change the icon on each
8. Download all pages as PNG

How to Set Highlight Covers on Instagram

1. Open Instagram → go to your profile
2. Long-press an existing Highlight → tap "Edit Highlight"
3. Tap "Edit Cover"
4. Tap the gallery icon and select your Canva design
5. Pinch to zoom and center the icon in the circle
6. Tap "Done"

Popular Highlight Categories

• 📍 Travel / Locations
• 🍽️ Food / Recipes
• 💼 Work / Portfolio
• ❓ FAQ / Tips
• 🎬 Behind the Scenes
• 🛒 Products / Shop
• 📣 Reviews / Testimonials
• 🎉 Events

Design Best Practices

• Use a consistent color palette — all covers should match
• Keep icons simple — line icons work best at tiny sizes
• Stick to one style — either all icons, all text, or all photos
• Use your brand colors — reinforces visual identity

Key Takeaways

• Design at 1080 × 1920 but keep the icon centered (displayed as a circle)
• Use simple, recognizable icons in a consistent style
• Match your brand color palette across all highlights
• Upload via Instagram's "Edit Highlight" → "Edit Cover" option