Social media graphics

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What this deliverable is

Social media graphics are standalone images designed for direct posting — not as link previews, but as content in their own right. They need to work without the context of an article or a caption. Someone should be able to understand what they’re looking at and feel something about it in under two seconds.

You’ll create four social media graphics at 1080×1080 pixels (square format, optimal for Instagram and Facebook feeds).

How graphics differ from featured images

Featured images exist to get clicks on a link. Social graphics exist to stop a scroll.

Featured images have the article behind them — if someone clicks, they get more context. Social graphics are the whole thing. They either land on their own or they don’t.

This changes the design calculus significantly:

• Featured images can afford to be mysterious or text-heavy
• Social graphics need instant legibility and visual punch
• Featured images are tied to a specific article
• Social graphics can be evergreen — reposted, repurposed, adapted

The four graphics

Design four distinct graphics — not four versions of the same template with swapped text. Each should have a different purpose or content angle. Think about variety:

• One text-forward (a bold quote or statistic)
• One image-forward (a photograph with minimal or no text)
• One informational (a simple infographic or fact list)
• One promotional or campaign-specific

Example set for Grounds for Change:

Graphic 1 — Text-forward quote Brand-colored background (Espresso Brown). White text, large: “We dial in every batch by hand.” Small sub-text: Grounds for Change · Montclair, NJ. Logo in bottom corner.

Purpose: Brand voice and quality signal. Shareable on its own.

Graphic 2 — Image-forward Full-bleed close-up photograph of coffee cherries drying on raised beds. No text except a small logo watermark in a corner. High contrast, warm tones matching brand palette.

Purpose: Visual storytelling without words. Works as a conversation starter in comments.

Graphic 3 — Informational Clean layout on warm white background: “What goes into a pour-over?” Three-step visual with icons: Grind → Bloom → Pour. Each step has one line of supporting text. Brand fonts throughout.

Purpose: Educational content that provides value without requiring any further action. Gets saved.

Graphic 4 — Promotional “Study hours: Mon–Fri, 9am–3pm. Fast WiFi. Good coffee. Real seating.” Designed to feel like an announcement, not an ad. No salesy language.

Purpose: Directly targets the campaign audience (grad students looking for a work environment).

Design principles

Design for the feed, not the studio

Your graphic will appear between other content in a fast-moving feed. It needs to earn attention before it can communicate anything.

Ask yourself: would this stop a scroll, or would I swipe past it?

Things that stop scrolls:

• High contrast between foreground and background
• Unexpected or counterintuitive compositions
• Text large enough to read at a glance
• One strong visual subject (not four competing ones)

Things that don’t:

• Generic stock photo + text in corner
• Overloaded layouts with too many elements
• Colors that blend into the light beige Instagram feed

The 3-second rule

Cover your graphic. Uncover it for 3 seconds, then cover it again. What did you take away? If the answer is “I’m not sure,” the design isn’t doing its job.

Every graphic should have one clear takeaway — one thing you want the viewer to think, feel, or remember.

Text-to-image ratio

If you include text on a photo or complex background, the text must win. A common mistake: placing small text on a busy background in a brand color that almost-but-not-quite contrasts. At thumbnail size this becomes completely unreadable.

Rule of thumb: if you can’t read the text with the image blurred, the layout doesn’t work.

Consistency without repetition

All four graphics should feel like they came from the same brand without looking like copies of each other. The consistency comes from using the same fonts, colors, and general visual logic. The variation comes from content, format, and purpose.

Technical requirements

• Dimensions: 1080×1080 pixels
• Format: PNG (preferred) or JPEG
• File size: Under 1MB per graphic
• Color mode: RGB (not CMYK — that’s for print)
• Resolution: 72–96 DPI for screen use

Alt text

Every graphic needs alt text. Write it the way you’d describe the image to someone who can’t see it — focus on what the image communicates, not just what it depicts.

Bad alt text: “Coffee photo”

Good alt text: “Close-up of coffee cherries drying on raised beds in warm sunlight, with the Grounds for Change logo in the bottom right corner”

Alt text goes in the “Caption” or “Alt” field when posting, or in the Image Properties field if embedding in a Google Doc.

Common mistakes

• Making four versions of one template. Swap the color and the text and call it four graphics. This approach produces a weak portfolio. Each graphic should have a distinct purpose and composition.
• Overloading with information. A social graphic is not a flyer. If you’re fitting more than 20 words of text, rethink the format.
• Inconsistent branding. Using your style guide’s colors in one graphic but defaulting to a Canva template’s default palette in another. Consistency builds recognition.
• Forgetting the brand mark. Include the logo or wordmark — small and unobtrusive is fine — on every graphic. Attribution matters when content gets shared.