Let’s be honest: sometimes, the default background color Instagram picks for Stories just doesn’t hit. If you’ve ever uploaded a photo or reposted a post to your Story and cringed at the weird background, you’re not alone.
One quick fix I’ve started using? I keep a screenshot of CSU’s Color Proportions guide from our brand toolkit saved on my phone. That way, when I want to change the background of a Story to a CSU-approved hue, I can just paste that image in, tap the eyedropper tool, and sample a Primary Green or a color from our Energy Palette. It’s a small step, but it instantly makes our Stories look more cohesive and aligned with CSU’s visual identity.
If you’re not familiar with how to change a background color on Instagram Stories, here’s a quick breakdown:
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Start a Story and take or upload a photo.
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Tap the “Draw” icon (the squiggly line).
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Choose a color (or long-press to open the gradient and swipe to the perfect shade).
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Press and hold on the screen to fill the background with that color.
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Want a see-through overlay instead? Just switch to the highlighter tool before you tap and hold.
Pro tip: If your image is already in the Story and you want to sample a CSU color, tap the eyedropper icon and pull a color directly from your uploaded reference (like that screenshot of the brand palette).
Custom CSU Stickers? Yes, Please.
Another Story design trick I’ve been loving lately: creating custom stickers from CSU Athletics graphics. CSU Athletics does a lot with cutouts of players, CAM The Ram, and other people and things.
Here’s how I do it using my iPhone:
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I save visuals from CSU Athletics’ Twitter (like game day posters or hype graphics).
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In Photos, I long-press the element I want, maybe CAM the Ram mid-celebration, or a bold graphic with a final score, and choose “Copy.”
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Then, back in Instagram, I paste it directly into my Story like a sticker. Resize and place it wherever it makes sense.
This trick works especially well for things like game day recaps, event shoutouts, or just adding a little flair to student-created content. And while it’s only available on iPhones (sorry Android friends), it’s a simple way to infuse more CSU energy into our daily Story content, without needing a whole graphics team behind it.
You can also obviously use photos from the event and use stickers to create a collage or add extra flair to your stories designs.
By tapping into CSU’s visual branding and playing with Instagram’s built-in creative tools, we can keep our Stories feeling both fresh and on-brand. Whether you’re a social media intern or just posting from an account for a campus unit, these design choices help reinforce our identity and make every tap feel intentional.
Let’s keep making Stories that feel like CSU.