How to use Instagram to boost your design brand—tips from design brands that nail it

How’s your Insta game? Instagram can be a game-changer for designers and other creatives, and you need to get your brand on the platform to kick-start your business. It gives you access to potential clients you might never have been able to reach before. Using the right Instagram marketing tactics, you can turn your profile into a powerful magnet for new business.

In this article, we’ll dive into why Instagram is essential for your brand and share some insights into what the top design brands are doing right. Whether you’re just starting out or are looking to refresh your brand’s presence on Instagram, there’s something here for you.

Ready to level up your Instagram marketing tactics? Let’s jump in! 

Instagram is like a crayon box to children—it offers endless possibilities for creativity, expression, and colorful storytelling. It’s the perfect playground for creative professionals and design brands. Instagram for designers becomes a space to express and collaborate, not just promote. It’s where you can share your work and process, highlight your personality, and connect directly with an audience that loves what you do.

Instagram for graphic designers is a platform that grows with you. Think beyond showing off finished projects. Share your journey, your inspiration, and the story behind your work. Building a strong presence on Instagram helps your brand stand out, thrive, and inspire.

Here are a few advantages of using Instagram.

You can promote engagement with your audience through comments, direct messages (DMs), polls, questions, and live sessions. Two-way interaction builds trust and makes your brand more approachable. This helps increase loyalty and word-of-mouth promotion.

Features like Stories, Reels, carousels, and posts allow you to flexibly present your content. Showcase finished projects, offer behind-the-scenes glimpses of your process, or share quick tips and tutorials to keep your audience engaged and inspired. To stay on trend, pair your video content with trending audio. Content like this can humanize your brand, paving the way for deeper brand and audience relationships.

Improve your Instagram marketing tactics in real-time with insights from post interactions and follower behavior. These lessons are beneficial outside Instagram, too. 

Instagram for graphic designers is more than just a platform for showcasing your work—it’s a versatile tool for building a robust, recognizable brand, forging meaningful connections, and continually evolving in the dynamic design world.

Now, let’s explore seven tips for Instagram success, with examples from creative agencies and design brands.

Building a strong, recognizable brand across platforms isn’t just about looking good—it’s about building trust and professionalism. When your audience sees the same visual and tonal elements on your Instagram feed, website, or portfolio on Behance, it creates a seamless experience that sticks. Pay close attention to details like your color palette, typography, logo placement, and overall design style. These small, intentional choices make a huge difference in how your brand is perceived.

A great example of social media branding is Envato. That signature splash of Envato green instantly makes the brand easy to recognize, whether scrolling through Instagram or visiting another platform. Envato consistently uses bold, clean visuals to reflect the brand identity while staying energetic and fresh.

As Envato’s Chief Marketing Officer, Noelle Kim puts it:

Take a page from Envato’s playbook—let your branding tell a story that’s uniquely yours. When you maintain a consistent brand presence, your audience will recognize and connect with you, no matter where they see you.

Regarding Instagram for graphic designers, simplicity often speaks louder than complexity. A clean, intentional approach to content makes your profile more straightforward and gives your brand a polished, professional look. When done right, simplicity can make your Instagram feed stand out without overwhelming your audience.

Take Lorem Ipsum Designs, for example. They’ve mastered the art of keeping things simple yet impactful. With just five carefully curated highlights, they instantly direct their audience’s attention to the most critical aspects of their work. And their three-part seamless pinned post? It’s a creative stroke of genius that doubles as a custom banner at the top of their feed. This visually striking approach showcases their design skills and maintains a cohesive, organized look.

Pinned posts like these are a smart way to make a strong first impression—they stay put, unlike regular posts that shift and disrupt the feed flow. By combining creativity with simplicity, Lorem Ipsum Designs proves that you don’t need to overcomplicate things to stand out. The result? A profile that feels fresh, intentional, and uniquely theirs.

Bonus tip: the Lorem Ipsum Designs feed focuses more on video content than static imagery.

As a design company, you’re constantly creating—so why not turn your Instagram feed into a living, breathing portfolio? Showcasing your work on social media is an opportunity to give potential clients a feel for your creative style, highlight the thought process behind your projects, and build credibility with your audience. Think of your Instagram post as a teaser for all the live case studies on your website. To further connect your online portfolio and your website, consider using tools that let you embed Instagram feed directly on your site. This creates a seamless display of your creative journey and keeps your portfolio current.

Take Mother Design as an example. Their Instagram feed highlights each client’s unique selling points (USPs) while clearly defining the creative concept based on the challenges faced. Their posts are visually engaging, provide due credit to collaborators and photographers, and encourage followers to dive deeper into the full case study on their website. This approach ticks multiple boxes—it looks professional, celebrates collaboration, and drives traffic to their website.

As Cecilia Serafini, Design Director at Mother Design, puts it:

One of the best things about being a creative brand on Instagram is giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look at your process. These sneak peeks humanize your brand, making it feel warm, approachable, and relatable. Whether you’re sketching concepts, brainstorming ideas, or showing how a project comes together, it’s a great story to tell your audience.

At Design Bridge and Partners, for example, they use Instagram Stories to share behind-the-scenes moments—giving followers a closer look at their team, workspaces, and creative process. These stories are then added to highlights, like their Culture highlight, so new visitors can easily catch up on the vibe and energy behind their work.

But it’s not just about the process—celebrating milestones and achievements is just as important. Studio Mut does a fantastic job marking key moments, like hitting business milestones or completing standout projects. And when it comes to celebrating awards and achievements, Mucho does this well. Their posts highlight wins and showcase their work while giving the team well-deserved credit.

Giving your audience a sneak peek at the behind-the-scenes details makes your brand approachable and aspirational—proof that creativity and hard work pay off.

Putting yourself at the forefront of your brand can be a game-changer, especially for creative businesses. Let your unique voice shine while balancing playfulness with professionalism.

As Kristy Campbell, designer, founder, and Creative Director of Pink Pony Creative, perfectly explains:

This approach works because it humanizes your brand. You create a genuine brand by sharing your personality—whether through playful Instagram stories, personal insights in captions, or goofy behind-the-scenes reels. Your audience isn’t just seeing your work; they’re getting to know you.

For creative professionals, this could mean showcasing your workspace quirks, sharing personal anecdotes, or even putting your face on camera to chat directly with your followers. When done well, it bridges the gap between brand and audience. Pink Pony Creative nails this balance by embracing lively content that reflects Kristy’s personality and passion for design.

So don’t be afraid to include yourself. Whether silly, serious, or somewhere in between, your unique energy can set you apart, draw people in, and make your brand unforgettable.

If your brand sells products, Instagram is the perfect place to turn those offerings into exciting promotional campaigns. With features like built-in shopping tools and sponsored posts, you can easily reach your existing audience and attract new followers.

Take Itemzero Studio as an example. For their latest book launch, they didn’t just post about it—they built a promotional campaign. A clever sponsored post offering 10% off brought awareness to the book launch and promoted sales. Once Instagram’s sponsored posts are used, they unlock other features, such as the website pop-up on Instagram’s profile, which increases the chance of sales.

Itemzero Studio got creative with the countdown banner on that linked webpage as it perfectly aligned as a website pop-up. A campaign like this not only drives awareness for the book but also elevates the brand and grows its audience.

Next time you want to create a buzz on Instagram, think beyond the basics. Build a campaign, get creative, and let your audience experience your creativity.

Here’s the last item on our list of Instagram marketing tips. Staying visible on Instagram is about posting stories, reels, and posts regularly. While posting every other day is a good starting point, the sweet spot is aiming for daily posts. It might sound like a lot, but it becomes manageable with a solid content strategy and some help from social media tools.

For example, Orix Creative posts regularly, keeping their audience engaged and striving to stay top-of-mind. By staying active, they can build a stronger connection with their followers.

But posting content is just one part of the equation. Make sure you’re also engaging with your audience. Responding to comments and DMs is key to connecting with your followers. Don’t forget to like, comment, and share posts from other creatives that you find inspiring—this helps build community and shows your support for others.

For graphic designers who want to build a community and attract new clients, Instagram is a must. With sound Instagram marketing tactics and strategies, making your design brand popular on Instagram becomes easier.

Think about how brands like Pink Pony Creative, Studio Mut, and Mother Design are crushing it on Instagram and the Instagram marketing tips we got from them. Their success didn’t come overnight, and neither will yours—but the effort is worth it.

So why wait? Start showing up regularly, sharing your work and behind-the-scenes moments, and engaging with your followers. Use Instagram’s features like Stories, Reels, and even shopping tools to create a strategy that feels natural to you. Keep your content fresh, stay visible, and watch your community grow into loyal fans and clients.

Need some extra help getting started? Explore Envato’s creative assets for tools to level up your Instagram marketing tactics and keep things exciting. There’s so much you can do when you mix creativity with strategy!