From idea to publication: a complete template to create, review, animate, and export your carousels.
By @lucas_pbatista · free to read · no sign-up
Fill out this brief before opening Claude Design. Replace every field in square brackets before sending the prompt.
Topic: [FILL IN HERE] Audience: [FILL IN HERE] Goal: [FILL IN HERE] Number of slides: [FILL IN HERE] Tone of voice: [FILL IN HERE] Visual style: [FILL IN HERE] Primary color: [FILL IN HERE] Secondary color: [FILL IN HERE] Typography: [FILL IN HERE] Attached references: [FILL IN HERE] Primary CTA: [FILL IN HERE] Secondary CTA: [FILL IN HERE] Expected result: [FILL IN HERE]
The more concrete your supporting material, the less generic the result.
A good reference shows the visual direction. It shouldn't be copied literally.
The full text, in a single message. Copy it, replace the fields in square brackets and send.
CONTEXT You are a senior editorial designer specialized in social media content. I am going to create an Instagram carousel at 1080 × 1440 px (3:4 ratio). Lay it out the way a human would: clear hierarchy, intentional asymmetry, nothing that looks like a ready-made template. CUSTOMIZATION — replace everything in brackets Topic: [TOPIC] Audience: [AUDIENCE] Goal: [GOAL] Number of slides: [NO.] Tone of voice: [TONE] Visual style: [STYLE] Primary color: [HEX] Secondary color: [HEX] Typography: [FONTS] Attached references: [FILES] Primary CTA: [CTA 1] Secondary CTA: [CTA 2] SLIDE FORMAT Each slide measures 1080 × 1440 px, with 80 px safe margins. One idea per slide. Short title, supporting text in two lines at most. No paragraphs inside the slide. CONTENT STRUCTURE Slide 1: a hook that stops the scroll and works as a thumbnail. Slide 2: the result or the promise. Middle slides: one step per slide, in the order of execution. Last slide: primary CTA and secondary CTA. COPY RULES Short sentences, active voice, natural American English. No marketing jargon and no exaggerated promises. VISUAL DIRECTION Use at most two background colors across the entire carousel and alternate them to create rhythm. Serif typography for titles, sans-serif for supporting text. No random gradients, no neon effects, no heavy shadows, no generic icon repeated on every page. Prefer intentional asymmetry over centered compositions. Keep an element of visual continuity between slides, such as a progress bar or numbering. IMAGES AND SCREENSHOTS Every image must explain something. Enlarge important crops until they are legible on a phone and discard purely decorative images. Do not invent screens, buttons, or features that do not exist. When no real capture is available, use a neutral editorial representation and flag that it is a representation. Do not use generic stock photos or artificial intelligence illustrations, robots, or circuits. ACCESSIBILITY AND LEGIBILITY No text below 24 px in the 1080 × 1440 px file. High contrast between text and background. No information conveyed by color alone. No text over visually noisy areas of an image. ANIMATION RULES (OPTIONAL) If any slide becomes a video, animate only that slide's main action. Duration of 4 to 6 seconds, no audio, with a continuous loop and smooth movement. The first frame must work on its own as a complete static slide. No glitches, particles, exaggerated 3D movement, or jumping text. INITIAL DELIVERY Before laying out everything, present: the slide-by-slide script with one line per slide, the visual system proposal (colors, typography, and the layout of each slide type), and the finished cover. Wait for my feedback. After approval, apply the system to the remaining slides and deliver the numbered files in publication order, all with the same ratio. FINAL CHECK Before delivering, confirm: no text cut off or outside the safe margins; no text below 24 px; the cover works as a thumbnail; each slide communicates one idea; the sequence creates continuity; the final CTA answers the promise of the cover; spelling and grammar in American English have been proofread; all files have the same ratio and are numbered correctly. WHAT NOT TO DO Do not use a ready-made template look, random gradients, neon effects, excessive shadows, a generic icon on every page, artificial intelligence illustrations, robots, digital brains, or circuits. Do not fill the slides with paragraphs. Do not shrink the typography to make the text fit: cut the text. OUTPUT FORMAT Deliver the slides as PNG, numbered from 01 onward in publication order, all at 1080 × 1440 px. If there is a video, deliver an MP4 and keep the static PNG version of the same slide.
Paste it as a single message in Claude Design, along with your reference files.
Nine commands. Send one at a time and check the result before sending the next.
When the cover doesn't stop the scroll or doesn't work as a thumbnail.
Redo only the cover. Make the hook understandable in two seconds, increase the title contrast, and make sure it works as a thumbnail in the Instagram grid. Keep the rest of the carousel intact.
When a slide has turned into a paragraph.
Reduce the text on all slides by at least 30%, preserving the meaning. One idea per slide, no paragraphs, no sentence longer than two lines. Do not shrink the typography to compensate.
When each slide looks like it's from a different project.
Review the visual consistency of all slides. Standardize margins, title sizes, numbering position, color usage, and image style. Keep variation only where it serves a narrative purpose.
When the result looks like a template.
The result looks like a template. Rebuild the layout with intentional asymmetry, stronger hierarchy, and compositions that vary between slides. Remove decorative icons, unnecessary shadows, and repeated rounded boxes. Keep the content, change the layout.
Before exporting.
Simulate reading these slides on a phone screen. Point out everything that would be too small, cramped, low in contrast, or cut off by the safe margins, and fix it directly in the files.
When the ending doesn't ask for anything.
Redo the final slide. The CTA must grow out of the content presented, ask for a single action, and make clear what the person gets in return. Do not ask people to save, comment, share, and follow on the same page.
When the image doesn't explain anything.
Analyze the images, screenshots, and visual elements used across all slides. Check whether each image helps explain the content, stays legible on a phone, and takes up space proportional to its importance. Enlarge important crops and remove purely decorative images.
When the middle of the carousel drags.
Analyze the complete carousel sequence. Check whether each slide gives a reason to keep swiping, whether there is any repetition, and whether the conclusion answers the promise made on the cover. Preserve the central idea, but reorganize the content if that improves the progression.
Always, as the last step.
Do a complete review of spelling, accents, agreement, punctuation, and clarity in American English. Do not change correct technical terms or alter the meaning of the sentences.
4 to 6 seconds, no audio, a smooth loop and a first frame that works on its own.
Turn this slide into a short 4 to 6 second video. Fully preserve its content, visual identity, hierarchy, and legibility. Animate only the main action shown on the page. The first frame must work as a complete static slide. Use smooth movements, no audio, a continuous loop, and a 1080 × 1440 px format. Do not use glitches, particles, exaggerated 3D movements, or jumping text. Deliver the result as an MP4 and keep a static PNG version.
Don't animate everything. Motion should guide the eye, not compete with the content.
Tick these off before you post.
Fill in the fields, send your references and use the prompt as a starting point. The first result doesn't have to be final: review, comment and refine until the carousel truly feels like yours.