Carousel Generator

What are LinkedIn carousels?

LinkedIn carousels are multi-slide posts that users swipe through. They consistently outperform text-only posts in terms of reach and engagement because they encourage users to spend more time on your content - increasing dwell time, which the algorithm rewards.

Carousels are great for step-by-step guides, lists, tips, frameworks, and storytelling. LinkedGrow's Carousel Generator is a full visual design tool (similar to Canva) that lets you create professional carousels without leaving the platform.

Canvas workspace overview

The editor is divided into three sections: the slide manager on the left, the main canvas in the center, and the properties panel on the right. You can collapse the left or right panels to give yourself more canvas space when needed.

The canvas uses a fixed 1080 x 1350 pixel format (4:5 aspect ratio), which is the optimal size for LinkedIn carousels. Zoom controls at the top let you zoom in for detail work or zoom out to see the full slide.

Slide management

The left panel displays all your slides as thumbnails with slide numbers. From here you can:

• Add slides - Click the add button to insert a new blank slide
• Duplicate slides - Create a copy of any existing slide with all its elements
• Delete slides - Remove slides you no longer need (at least one slide must remain)
• Reorder slides - Drag and drop slides to rearrange their order
• Navigate - Click any slide thumbnail to switch to it for editing

Adding elements

The toolbar lets you add different types of elements to your canvas.

Text

Click the text button to add a text element. Double-click the element to enter edit mode and start typing. Text elements support full formatting through the properties panel (see Text Formatting below).

Shapes

Add geometric shapes to create visual structure on your slides:

• Rectangle - Customizable with rounded corners, gradients, and per-side borders
• Circle - Solid or gradient fills with optional stroke
• Line - Horizontal dividers and separators

Images

Upload images from your device or generate AI images directly in the editor (requires an image AI key configured in your settings). Images are stored in the cloud so they persist across sessions.

You can also drag and drop image files directly onto the canvas.

Icons

Browse and add SVG icons from a built-in icon library. Icons can be resized, repositioned, and recolored to match your design. You can also upload your own custom SVG icons.

Frames

Frames are decorative shapes that you can fill with images. The frame library is organized by category (Basic, Nature, Decorative, Geometric, Vintage, Modern, Abstract, Minimalist, Ornate, and Playful).

To fill a frame with an image, drag an image onto the frame or use the "Fill with image" option. Double-click a filled frame to enter crop mode and reposition the image inside the frame.

Text formatting

When a text element is selected, the properties panel shows all text formatting options:

• Font family - Choose from hundreds of Google Fonts. Fonts are loaded automatically when used.
• Font size - Set the size in pixels with +/- buttons or type a value directly (1-500px)
• Font weight - Select from available weights for the chosen font (Regular, Medium, Semi-Bold, Bold, Black, etc.)
• Bold, Italic, Underline - Toggle formatting styles
• Text alignment - Align left, center, or right
• Text color - Pick a solid color using the color picker, hex input, or 22 preset swatches
• Text gradient - Apply a linear gradient across your text with two color stops and an adjustable angle. Six gradient presets are available (Ocean, Sunset, Forest, Fire, Night, Sky).

You can also apply formatting to individual characters. Select specific text while in edit mode to bold, italicize, or color just that selection.

Shape properties

Fill

Shapes support two fill modes:

• Solid color - Pick any color using the color picker, hex input, or preset swatches
• Gradient - Linear gradient with two color stops, adjustable angle, and six quick-access presets

Border (stroke)

Every shape has border controls for color, width, and style:

• Border color - Pick any color for the border
• Border width - Set thickness in pixels (0-20px)
• Border style - Choose between Solid, Dashed, or Dotted lines

For rectangles, you can switch to per-side border mode to set different widths for the top, right, bottom, and left borders independently. This is useful for creating underlines, side accents, or partial borders.

Border radius (rectangles)

Rectangles support rounded corners. You can set a uniform radius for all four corners, or switch to per-corner mode to set each corner independently (top-left, top-right, bottom-right, bottom-left). This lets you create shapes with mixed corner styles.

Image properties

When an image element is selected, you get access to image-specific controls:

Filters

Apply visual filters to any image on the canvas:

• Blur - Soften the image (0-50)
• Brightness - Make the image lighter or darker (-100 to 100)
• Contrast - Adjust the difference between light and dark areas (-100 to 100)
• Saturation - Control color intensity (-100 to 100)
• Hue rotation - Shift all colors around the color wheel (0-360 degrees)
• Grayscale - Convert the image to black and white
• Invert - Invert all colors in the image

Position, size, and rotation

Every element has precise controls for:

• Position - Set X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) coordinates in pixels
• Width and Height - Set exact dimensions
• Rotation - Rotate elements by any angle (0-360 degrees) using the rotation handle on the canvas or by entering a value in the properties panel

Opacity and shadow

Opacity

Adjust the transparency of any element from 0% (fully transparent) to 100% (fully opaque). This is useful for creating overlay effects or watermark-style elements.

Shadow

Add a drop shadow to any element with the following controls:

• Color - Shadow color
• Blur - How soft or sharp the shadow appears (0-50)
• Offset X - Horizontal shadow distance (-50 to 50)
• Offset Y - Vertical shadow distance (-50 to 50)

Alignment and smart guides

Manual alignment

Select an element and use the alignment buttons to snap it to the canvas edges or center:

• Align left, horizontal center, or right
• Align top, vertical center, or bottom

Smart guides

As you move elements around the canvas, smart alignment guides appear automatically when elements line up with each other or with the canvas center. These visual guides help you create pixel-perfect layouts without manual coordinate entry.

Equal spacing guides (shown in pink) appear when the gap between three or more elements is even, helping you distribute elements uniformly.

Layering and layers panel

Quick layering

Use the layering buttons to change the stacking order of elements:

• Bring forward - Move one layer up
• Bring to front - Move to the top of the stack
• Send backward - Move one layer down
• Send to back - Move to the bottom of the stack (above the background)

Layers panel

The layers panel provides a full tree view of all elements on the current slide. From here you can:

• Reorder layers by dragging
• Toggle visibility - Show or hide elements using the eye icon
• Lock/unlock - Lock elements to prevent accidental edits
• Delete - Remove elements
• Expand groups - See and select individual elements inside groups

Grouping elements

Select two or more elements and click Group to combine them into a single unit. Grouped elements move, resize, and rotate together.

To edit an individual element inside a group, double-click the group to enter interactive mode. You can then select and modify sub-elements without ungrouping.

Click Ungroup to break a group back into individual elements.

Canvas background

Set the background for each slide using:

• Solid color - A single background color
• Gradient - A linear gradient with two colors and adjustable angle, plus six gradient presets
• Image - Upload a background image that automatically scales to fill the canvas

Undo and redo

Every action on the canvas is tracked. Use the undo and redo buttons at the top of the canvas to step backward or forward through your edit history.

Hover and selection

When you hover over an element, a subtle border appears to indicate which element you are about to select. Clicking selects the element and shows resize handles, a rotation icon, and a move handle for precise control. Selection handles appear at the corners and edges for resizing.

Exporting your carousel

When your carousel is ready, you have two export options:

• Download as PDF - Exports all slides into a single PDF file. This is the format LinkedIn uses for carousel posts, so the file is ready to attach to a new post.
• Download as images - Exports each slide as an individual PNG file. The images download sequentially and are named by slide number.

Auto-save and draft recovery

The editor auto-saves your work continuously:

• Local save - Your current state is saved to your browser every 2 seconds
• Cloud save - Your carousel is saved to the database every 5 seconds

If you close the browser or navigate away accidentally, your work is recovered automatically the next time you open the Carousel Generator. Drafts are kept for up to 7 days.

You can also manually save your carousel with a name and description to your saved carousels library for long-term storage and reuse.

Tips for effective carousels

• Start with a cover slide that creates curiosity and makes people want to swipe
• Keep text minimal - each slide should convey one clear idea
• Use consistent branding - same colors, fonts, and logo across all slides
• End with a CTA - tell readers what to do next (follow, comment, visit your site)
• Aim for 7-10 slides - enough depth to provide value, short enough to maintain attention
• Use large, readable fonts - many LinkedIn users browse on mobile

Plan availability

The Carousel Generator is available on the Business plan. Users on Free, Starter, and Pro plans can upgrade from the Upgrade page to access this feature.