How To Create An Instagram Puzzle Feed + Canva Template

Good day, lovelies! It has been a while since I shared a tutorial, so here I’ll be explaining how to create an Instagram puzzle feed in Illustrator or Photoshop.

It’s not as hard as it seems! Also, if you don’t have any of the Adobe products, you can purchase a Canva template. It’s super easy!

In general, it’s not difficult to start creating an Instagram puzzle. The hard part for me was trying to decide how I wanted the puzzle to look.

The first one I made was last year for my online boutique, and it took me almost a week to finish it because I couldn’t decide on the general look.

• Related: How To Edit Instagram Photos With Lightroom Mobile

How to create an Instagram puzzle feed in Illustrator or Photoshop. It's not as hard as it seems! Also, if you don't have any of the Adobe products, you can purchase a Canva template! Click To Tweet

Canva Instagram Puzzle Template

If your thing isn’t graphic design, but you want your Instagram to look pretty, this is the way to go! It’s super easy to customize it. You only need to drag-and-drop your images, change the colors, fonts, and you are ready to go!

If your thing isn't graphic design, but you want your Instagram to look pretty, you should definitely give this Instagram puzzle Canva template a try! Click To Tweet

The gif below shows what you will get when you purchase the Canva template. As you can see, it’s super easy to customize.

You can change the fonts, the color of the squares and lines, but not the color of the brushes that come with the template.

Create an Instagram Puzzle in Photoshop

If Photoshop is your favorite, then follow these steps.

You can set up the template yourself or you can download my free Instagram template.

If you download the free template, do Step 2 before starting. That way you will have a guide to start your design. Once you add the grid lines, skip to Step 4.

This template is already sliced so you don’t have to do it (if you want to see the slices, just click the Slice Tool).

Note: if you don’t set up the grid lines, the file will look all white after you download it. When you add the grid lines, you will see the actual size of each square. So don’t be surprise when you want to download the template and it’s blank. It’s supposed to be that way.

1. Set Up PSD File

The first thing you will have to do is to Set up a PSD file 3000px wide by 5000px high. This size will create 15 squares in total. You can add more if you want! Just increase the height pixels.

As extra info, I set mine on 150 DPI (resolution) and RGB (color mode).

2. Add Grid Lines

Once you have the file ready, go to View menu > Show > Grid. Just like you can see in the picture. Once you add the grid lines you will need to edit them.

Note: If you were curious, I use Photoshop CS6.

To do that, go to the Photoshop menu > Preferences > Guides, Grides & Slices and enter the following settings:

So there you go! You are ready to start your Instagram puzzle.

3. Slice Your Image

If you are using the downloadable template, then you can skip this step. If you aren’t, then it’s time to create slices in your image. So when you save the file, it will save in different 15 squares.

To do this, you will need to use the Slice tool. To find it (in Photoshop CS6), click the Crop tool and you will find it there. Just like you see in the picture.

To slice each square, click in the top left-hand corner of each grid square in your PSD to create a square slice. Just like you can see in the following gif.

4. Design The Outline Of The Instagram Puzzle

This is the part where you decide the colors you want to work with, the fonts, the different graphics and pictures you want to use.

Once you have an idea of what you want, you can start placing them where you want. This is all about experimenting and going back to those days when you used to do collages for school.

I understand it can be hard to start, so if you feel a little overwhelmed and don’t know what kind of puzzle you want to create, just search in Pinterest “Instagram Puzzle”, and you will find many ideas there. That’s the best inspiration!

I found all my pictures, in Unesplash.

Note: As a recommendation, you should start creating the puzzle from the bottom of the feed.

5. Add Photos, Texts, and Graphics

This is the puzzle feed I made for my Instagram store that I have in Chile. It’s simple and I love the colors.

It took me like a week to finish it. Not because it was hard, but because I couldn’t decide where I wanted the pictures, brushes, quotes, etc.

6. Save The Images

To save the squares into 15 separate images, go to the File menu > Export > Save for Web. In the window that opens, click Save at the bottom of the screen. Make sure that in the next window that pops up, your export is Images Only and not Images + HTML.

7. Upload The Puzzle Into Your Scheduling Tool

There are many options for this. You have Planoly, Plann, Preview, UNUM, etc. If you don’t have a scheduling tool, you need to get one ASAP! They will help you to plan out the look of your whole Instagram feed. Knowing how your feed looks before posting your photos helps a lot!

Illustrator Instagram Puzzle Template

1. Set Up Puzzle Grid

Open Illustrator and hit File > New and set it to pixels and a width of 1200 by 1200 in height, RGB and medium DPI of 150.

Once the file is created, it’s time to duplicate the artboard over and over again. This is super easy! To do that, just follow the following steps:

a. Select the square, then press SHIFT+O. That would let you drag the squares around anywhere you want. (You don’t have to hold down those keys to move the square around)

b. When the square it’s selected, hold down ALT while you move the new square next to the original.

This step creates a copy of the first square. Just like you can see in the picture. Repeat this step until you have the desired amount of squares.

2. Add Photos, Texts, and Graphics

Just like the Photoshop version, it’s time to think where you want to add the graphics, pictures, fonts, etc. In Illustrator is way easier than in Photoshop.

Why? Because you can just add all the pictures + graphics and put them on a side. That lets you play around and see all the different ways a certain brush can go.

This is the main reason why I prefer Illustrator over Photoshop to create Instagram puzzle feeds.

Note: As a recommendation, you should start creating the puzzle from the bottom of the feed.

3. Save The Images

Once you are happy with the overall look of the puzzle, export each square using the File > Export > Save for Web function. Just select the square you want to download and follow those steps.

4. Upload The Puzzle Into Your Scheduling Tool

Just like I mentioned in the Photoshop tutorial, there are many options. Just download your favorite one and start working on your Instagram feed.

So what do you think? It’s something you would do? I like puzzle feeds for business rather that blogger or influencers. I think it’s a great way to show your products or services this way. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Sincerely,