The short answer: design a LinkedIn carousel for a phone held at arm's length. One idea per slide, two or three text sizes, one typeface or two, strong contrast, wide margins, and the same layout on every middle slide so the reader always knows where to look. The rest of this guide shows each rule on real slides and explains why it works.
1. Design the first slide for the feed, not for the full screen
Before anyone swipes, the first slide sits in the feed at the width of the feed column. On a phone that is the width of the screen; on a laptop it is narrower than the slide you designed. Whatever is on it has to work at that size: a short headline in large type, and nothing small that the headline depends on.
A quick test: shrink the first slide to the size of a playing card on your monitor. If you cannot read the headline without leaning in, nobody in the feed will either.
2. One idea per slide
A slide is read in a few seconds, then swiped. Three ideas on one slide means two of them are skimmed or missed, and the slide looks heavy before anyone reads a word. When a slide needs two sentences to explain, it is two slides.
3. Pick two or three text sizes and stick to them
A type scale is a short list of sizes you allow yourself: one for the first slide's headline, one for slide headings, one for body text. Using the same three sizes on every slide makes the carousel look designed even when each slide is simple. Sizes that drift from slide to slide make it look assembled.
| Role | On a 1080 px slide | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First slide headline | 80–100 px | It has to read in the feed, at a fraction of its size |
| Slide heading | 60–70 px | Carries the idea of the slide |
| Body text | 40–48 px | Readable on a phone without zooming |
| Small print: numbers, handle | About 36 px | Present, never competing |
These are our working ranges, not LinkedIn rules. The best check is still your own phone: export, open the PDF, and read it at arm's length. For typefaces and pairings, see fonts for LinkedIn carousels.
4. Contrast is not a style choice
Grey text on a slightly different grey looks refined on a big monitor and disappears on a phone in daylight. The web accessibility guidelines (WCAG) ask for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text; that is a sensible floor for slides too. Patterns and photos behind text need the same care: keep a pattern faint, or put text on a calm part of the picture.
5. Keep the layout still while the content moves
Swiping is reading. If the heading sits at the top on one slide, in the middle on the next and at the bottom after that, the eye has to search every time. Put the number, the heading and the body in the same places on every middle slide; only the first and last slides break the pattern.
6. Leave wide margins
Text that runs to the edge of a slide looks cramped and is tiring to read on a small screen. Keep every line well inside the slide, and keep the margins the same on every slide. As a starting point, leave at least a tenth of the slide's width on each side: about 100 px on a 1080 px slide.
7. Left-align what people read, center what they glance at
Lines of body text are easier to read when they all start at the same edge. Centering works for a short headline on the first slide or a one-line ask on the last; it makes paragraphs harder to follow, because every line starts in a different place.
8. One accent, used sparingly
An accent color tells the reader what matters. A highlighted word in a heading works because nothing else is highlighted. Highlight three phrases per slide and the slide has no emphasis at all. Pick one accent for the whole carousel and use it once per slide at most.
9. Show progress
“3 / 8” in a corner, or 01, 02, 03 above each heading, tells the reader how much is left. It is a small promise that the carousel ends, and people are more willing to keep swiping when they can see where it ends.
10. Make the last slide do one job
The last slide is where the reader decides what to do next. Ask for one thing: follow, comment, save, or visit a link. Put your name and handle there as well, so a reader who liked the carousel knows whose it is. More on the whole shape in how to structure a LinkedIn carousel.
What makes a carousel look generated
Readers have seen thousands of carousels from the same few templates. These give a carousel away as a template dropped in without thought:
- A different font, size or alignment on every slide.
- Emoji in place of bullets, and icons that illustrate nothing.
- Gradients and effects behind text that has to fight them.
- Every slide filled to the edge, because the space was there.
- A headline that labels the topic (“Marketing tips”) instead of making a promise.
The cure is restraint, not more decoration: your own two or three sizes, one accent, the same grid, and words that sound like you.
A checklist before you export
- The first slide's headline reads at feed size.
- Every slide holds one idea.
- No more than three text sizes and two typefaces.
- Body text clearly stands out from its background.
- Margins are wide and the same on every slide.
- Middle slides share one layout and show progress.
- One accent, at most once per slide.
- The last slide asks for one thing.
- Every page is the same size (see LinkedIn carousel size).
How cropdot helps
cropdot drafts the slides from your topic and lays them out with these defaults: one idea per slide, the same layout on every slide, margins built in, and text that turns dark on a light background by itself. In the editor you can number the slides, add your name and handle on the first and last slide, highlight a word, and switch on Shrink text to fit so a long line gets smaller instead of being cut off. The slides on this page were drawn with the same renderer.