A Rant About Instagram Grid Layouts

In this not-exactly-short essay, I will explain what I think about “perfect”, pre-planned Instagram feeds and why I believe they can be harmful to your creativity.

A few examples of Instagram grid layouts

• Three similar photographs in one row — Probably the most common arrangement, and admittedly it can look great. But what happens when you have something genuinely important to publish that does not fit the next row of your feed at all?
• Patterns — Checkerboards, rows, columns and even diagonals. Creativity apparently knows no limits. Unfortunately, these self-imposed restrictions are the exact opposite of creative freedom. Is our storytelling really so one-dimensional that everything needs to follow a visually impressive template?
• Thumbnail panoramas — Dividing one panoramic image across three, six or, heaven forbid, nine posts can look impressive on your profile. But have you considered what your followers see when those posts appear separately in their feeds? Usually several meaningless fragments of a larger image.
• Borders — Not exactly a capital offence, but still limiting in several ways. Adding borders may make your profile feel more spacious, but have you considered how they look in dark mode?

Let’s clarify a few things

1. Nobody looks at your profile twice

Your profile grid is usually a one-time visual experience. Somebody opens your profile while deciding whether to follow you, looks through the grid and then forgets about the layout.

People open Instagram to consume content. They scroll through their feed, watch a few Stories and move on. When a strangely cropped fragment of your panorama appears in their feed, they may even unfollow you because the post makes no sense on its own.

“While I’m here, I’ll quickly check this Instagram creator’s profile. I bet they’ve designed another cool feed layout since my last visit.”

2. Instagram is not your portfolio

Instagram is only one of hundreds of social platforms where you can share your work and connect with people.

If you believe only your absolute best work can appear there, and that every post needs to fit into an elaborate visual pattern, you may be misunderstanding the platform completely.

Imagine that Meta decides one day that mobile screens have become large enough for four-column profile grids. Rebuilding your complete feed from the beginning would not be much fun.

3. You are wasting time

Planning a visually perfect profile takes time. You could spend those hours creating photographs, learning something new, writing useful content or speaking to the people who already follow you.

Your profile grid is not the work itself. It is only one way of displaying it.

I have made all of these mistakes too

• There was a time when I published three posts at once so the next row of my grid would not break. My followers suddenly received several posts from me at the same time, which was far from ideal. The posts also reached fewer people because publishing them in groups meant that none received enough engagement to be prioritised in people’s feeds. Whenever I had an important or particularly strong post, I had to find two other images that matched it. And explaining to a model who wants to publish a collaboration post with you why you need to wait another two days is both ridiculous and unprofessional.
• A long time ago, I also added borders to my photographs because it looked “unique”. *Cough* It was limiting in several ways. Every gallery needed to begin with a square photograph, which became frustrating whenever I had a strong image that simply did not work in that aspect ratio.
• I once had a landscape photography account where one panoramic photograph was divided across three separate posts. It looked excellent on my profile, but my followers only saw strangely cropped fragments in their feeds, none of which worked as individual photographs. It looked nice, but I am very glad I stopped doing it.

The sooner you stop, the sooner you become free

It is worth sitting down and deciding which option matters more.

Do you want to lock yourself into a three-column layout and publish planned filler posts even when you have nothing meaningful to say, just so your own profile appears unique to you?

Or would you rather allow yourself to publish freely, sharing what you want when it is relevant? You could create a photograph that genuinely affects somebody, write a story that somebody deeply relates to or publish work that people notice because it matters at that moment.

Finish the row you are currently building. Complete that diagonal you already started. Then let the entire system go.

It is difficult to describe how it feels when that creative weight finally disappears from your shoulders. Later, however, you will thank me yourself.

Watch the related video about Instagram grid layouts on YouTube.

Thank you for reading.