Instagram is evolving fast, and 2025 is bringing some of the most exciting visual design trends! Whether you’re creating eye-catching carousels or high-engagement reels, staying ahead of the latest trends will help your content stand out and connect with your audience. In this post, we’ll explore the top carousel design trends that will boost engagement and the must-try Instagram Reels trends that will help you stop the scroll.
Ready to elevate your content strategy with fresh, on-trend visuals? Let’s get started!
Instagram Carousel Design Trends that Boost Engagement
Sticker Cutouts
A lot of today’s trends are all about combining nostalgic elements with the digital world. Our first trend kicks that off with stickers. We’re seeing elements of images being cut out to create digital stickers that are being added all over carousel slides like in the examples below.
Outlined Elements
Think bold white or black outlines around your subject or objects in the photo. It’s perfect for drawing attention to important elements while keeping your design clean and modern.
Animated Elements
Movement is everything in 2025! Add subtle animated elements to your carousels, like text that fades in or icons that pop. These animations keep viewers engaged and scrolling through every slide. Don’t go overboard with the animations, pick key headings or tips that you want to stand out and use animations sparingly for those items to make the trend most effective.
Scrapbook Elements
Vintage-inspired scrapbook elements are having a major moment. Think ripped paper, Polaroid frames, sticky tape, and doodles. These details add depth and texture to your carousels, making them feel curated and unique. These trendy carousels feel like they’ve just been ripped out of your personal notebook and shared with your followers.
Adding Screenshots
Raw and relatable content is thriving, and screenshots are a fantastic way to deliver that. For example, share snippets of text messages, testimonials, or even your notes app to add authenticity. Just make sure they’re easy to read and align with your brand aesthetic.
Text Around Images
This trend goes hand in hand with the cutout sticker trend and overall scrapbooking trend – it’s incorporating little touches of handwritten fonts that curve around objects in our photos.
Adding Music
Lastly, to expand the reach of your posts even more, we’re adding trending audios not only to our reels on Instagram but also our carousel posts. Check Instagram’s Explore page regularly to spot the latest trending sounds and align them with your posts.
Learn how to create these Instagram trends in Canva in the full tutorial:
Instagram Reels Video Trends
Split Screen/Grid Layout
Specifically, this trend is all about creativity in layout design! The grid or split-screen format allows you to showcase multiple visuals at once— It’s eye-catching and keeps your viewers hooked!
Stickers Drop
Sticker cutouts are making a big splash this year! We’re seeing people using these fun, animated sticker-like images that pop onto the screen to emphasize key points or add personality to your Reels. Think of them as playful visual highlights that keep your audience engaged.
Checklists
We’re seeing checklists being shared that look like they’ve copied and pasted straight from people’s notes on their phone. They’re great for sharing quick how to’s, business tips, or relatable habits—and they encourage viewers to save your Reel for later!
What’s in my Bag (Entrepreneur Spin)
This trend taps into curiosity and personalization by showing what’s inside people’s bag! This trend lets you connect with your audience by giving them a peek into your lifestyle and must-have tools. But like with any trend, you want to put your own spin on it to make it relatable to your audience and brand, so in our example, we did an entrepreneur spin that features what’s in our ideal or typical day-to-day workspace.
Incorporating Emojis
Emojis are taking center stage in a creative way this year! From oversized emojis to subtle accents, they’re being used to enhance storytelling, add personality, and highlight emotions in your Reels. Plus, they’re a great way to keep your content light and relatable!
Comparison Screenshots
Comparison screenshots are perfect for showing progress, results, or differences. Think ‘then vs. now’ or contrasting two approaches side-by-side. This trend makes it easy to show real examples of your work or to really nail down a point!
Lists/Charts
Visual lists and charts are trending for good reason — they deliver information quickly and clearly! This trend helps you educate and inspire your audience while keeping things easy to digest.
Watch the video tutorial to learn how to create Instagram reels trends to boost engagement
Create eye-catching content by staying on top of Instagram trends to boost engagement. Pairing these trends with Haute Stock’s extensive library of high-quality visuals will elevate your brand aesthetic, making your content even more cohesive and scroll-stopping. Start implementing them today and watch your brand stand out!
