Social Media Graphic – Instructions

On this page (quick links):

Overview & Examples
Grading Checklist
4 Levels of Graded Design Work
Social Media Graphics – Best Practices
Design Template (Illustrator)
Tutorial Video: How to create the Habitat social media graphic in Illustrator
Export to a web-friendly PNG file

Overview

The continued popularity of social media brings with it the need for social media graphics. Many graphic designers are asked to create graphics and banners for their companies’ and clients’ social media sites.

These graphics include:

Highlighted products and overall brand
Company values and beliefs
New employee highlights and announcements
We’re hiring!
Join us for our open house
Product launches
Fundraisers
Goodwill efforts, good stewardship partnerships, or charitable affiliations the company enjoys
Landing a new account
Launching a new website or app

The list is endless. In a recent study, social media graphics were the third most frequent project designers reported working on.

Grading Checklist

Design one social media graphic for a client, subject, or product of your choice
You can download the Vans Brand Assets Project Folder below and start designing immediately
Or choose a client from my Client List
Size: 1080 x 1080 pixels
Software: Canva.com (set up your own free account)
Find more stock photos: unsplash.com, pexels.com, pixabay.com
Export a PNG from Canva, or (in Illustrator) save your final graphic for the web as an optimized 1080 x 1080 pixel .png (See instructions below)
Critiques: Participate in critiques of your work
Presentation: Present your final work to the class

Examples

Student Work

4 Levels of Graded Design Work

(Always strive for Client-ready)

Follow your client’s brand guidelines when they have them
Follow pixel dimensions for each specific platform, or use a universal size of 1080 x 1080 pixels (recommended).
Highlight one message, topic, or subject only per graphic
Use large headlines to grab attention
One large photo or graphic to grab the attention
Brand your design with your client’s logo, typography, colors, layout, and repeatable design elements.

More and more companies are asking designers to know how to design in Canva.com. While it’s not as robust as the Adobe programs, it is still popular with many companies. I think it is good for you to have some experience designing on its online web platform.

Here’s how to do it:

Go to Canva.com and create your own free account
Create a new project for an Instagram social media post (1080x1080px)
Download the Vans brand asset project folder here: Vans – Brand Assets Project Folder.zip
Upload the entire project folder into Canva
Design your social media post
Download a PNG from Canva for critiques and to hand in

Here’s my example design:

Or, one more option . . . Here’s a Design Template for Habitat for Humanity (in Adobe Illustrator)

I’d prefer you get some design experience in Canva, but if you really want to work in Illustrator, I’m flexible. Just download and open the Illustrator template below and get started.

Habitat-Social-Graphic-Template-and-Photos.zip Download

Most of you haven’t had Illustrator class yet, so this tutorial shows how to get started with some Illustrator basics. It has everything you need to get started, from opening the template, loading fonts, finding and placing photos, drawing vector shapes, and adding and modifying text.