Social Media Template Design UK

Templates versus one-off graphics

One-off social media graphics are finished images: we design them, you post them. Templates are the opposite. We design the layout, typography and brand rules once, and your team fills in the text and photos every week. If you post more than a few times a month, or several people post on your behalf, templates usually save more time and money than ordering graphics each time.

The aim is that a new starter can open the file on a Monday, swap in this week's offer and a photo, and post something that looks like your business without needing design skills.

Which tool should your templates be in?

We build templates in whatever your team will actually open. Each option suits a different kind of business:

• Canva: best for small teams and non-designers. Templates are shared to your account and can use Canva's Brand Kit (a paid Canva feature) for your colours, fonts and logos. Text boxes and image frames are set up so they resize sensibly.
• Figma: best if you have an in-house designer or marketer comfortable with design tools. We use components and variants, so a change to the master updates every post.
• Adobe Photoshop: best for photo-led brands. Images sit in smart objects so you drop a photo in without wrecking the layout, and text sits on labelled layers.

If you're not sure, tell us who will be making the posts and how often, and we'll recommend one.

What a typical template set includes

Most businesses post the same handful of things again and again. We map those first, then design one template per post type rather than dozens of near-duplicates. A common set looks like this:

• Offer or product announcement with price and call to action
• Quote or testimonial card (for real quotes you supply)
• Tip, fact or how-to post, with a carousel version for longer content
• Event or date announcement
• Recruitment post
• Story and reel cover frames in 9:16

Each template comes in the sizes you need. For Instagram we design at 1080 x 1350 px and keep content inside the central 3:4 area that Instagram now shows on profile grids. For LinkedIn link posts LinkedIn Help recommends 1200 x 627 px, and for vertical formats we use 1080 x 1920 px with app button areas marked so nobody types a headline where the caption will cover it.

Rules built into the file

A template is only as good as the guard rails in it. We lock the elements that should never move, such as the logo, border, colour blocks and footer, and leave unlocked only what should change. We also set maximum text lengths by showing realistic placeholder copy, because a layout that works for a five-word headline often breaks at twelve.

Colours are set as exact HEX values, fonts are limited to your brand pairing, and we note minimum text sizes so posts stay readable on a phone. If you don't yet have defined colours and fonts, a set of brand guidelines is a sensible first step, and the templates then follow them.

Where your team will use the templates in Canva, we also organise them into a clearly named folder, so nobody has to scroll through months of old designs to find the right starting point.

Price and how we work

Template design is charged at our design rate of £45 an hour + VAT, and we quote a fixed price for the set once we know how many post types, sizes and tools are involved. You comment on a first draft, we refine it, then hand over the files with a one-page usage guide.

If you'd rather have finished posts for a campaign, a social media graphics pack starts from £99 + VAT. Many clients do both: a launch set of finished graphics, then templates for everyday posts. See our prices or get in touch.

What you get

• A named set of templates for your regular post types
• Versions for each aspect ratio you use
• Canva templates shared to your account, or Figma components, or Photoshop PSDs with smart objects
• Your brand colour codes (HEX and RGB) and font pairing set up in the file
• Placeholder images and text showing how much copy each layout can hold
• A one-page usage guide: what to change, what to leave alone

How it works and what it costs

Logos from £150, brochures from £295, photography from £295 a half day and CAD at £45 an hour, all + VAT. You get a fixed price before we start.

1. Tell us the brief

   What it is for, who will see it, where it will be used and any examples you like. Rough is fine.

2. Fixed price

   We confirm the price and what you get, in writing, before any work starts.

3. First designs

   We design, shoot or model it and share the first version for your comments.

4. Refine

   We make the changes, check every detail, and prepare the files properly for print, web or manufacture.

5. Final files

   You get the finished files in the formats you need, ready for your printer, website, social channels or manufacturer.

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