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Layout by Omrylo

How to Export One Design for Square, Portrait, and Story Formats

Export one idea for square, portrait, and story formats without treating a crop as a finished design.

One source message rarely needs identical spacing in square, portrait, and story formats. I used the same “A clear thought deserves a little room to breathe.” message, exported each ratio, and reviewed the result as a separate composition.

Keep the message constant, change the composition

Select the output ratio first, then adjust text size, line width, alignment, and spacing for that target. The underlying export sizes are 1080×1080, 1080×1350, and 1080×1920. They share a width but not the same visual balance.

Text to Image editor showing one message being prepared for multiple output ratios.
The preview is the place to make ratio-specific decisions before exporting.

Review the three outputs side by side

Square text card export with centered short copy and balanced margins.
1:1 — compact and reusable.
Portrait text card export with the same message and generous margins.
4:5 — more room for feed reading.
Vertical text card export with the same short message and expanded vertical whitespace.
9:16 — reserve the outer edges for platform UI.

Do not mechanically crop the square

A square crop can remove a footer, move the visual center, or make a line break feel accidental. Reopen the preview at the target ratio and make the smallest change needed. For a photo-led design, inspect the subject; for a text-led design, inspect the first and last line.

Limits and unsuitable cases

Layout provides three fixed targets and PNG output; it does not publish directly to a social platform or know where a platform will place its own UI. Treat each export as a finished candidate that still needs a destination-specific review.