Carousel Design System
A production-ready design system for Instagram carousels — 5 slide presets, JSON controls, and 4K export. Built from scratch at Night Crawler Studio.
Client
Nightcrawler Studio
Timeline
Ongoing
Services
Role
Designer & Developer
Mission
I got tired of tools that lock you into one style. So I built my own. What started as a quick idea turned into a structured carousel system where every slide follows a consistent layout, hierarchy, and visual language. The goal was simple: make something that feels sharp, controlled, and repeatable.
My Contributions
I designed and built the entire system from scratch — from the preset architecture and JSON-based control layer, to the export pipeline and real-time preview. Every decision was mine.
Impact
Still improving it. But this is the first time something I built actually feels like a real tool.
Not Just Templates. A System.
Multiple presets — manifesto, quote, breakdown, list, CTA. A flexible text system. JSON-based control for fast edits. Full color and typography control. Background system with layered visuals. Real-time preview. Export at 1080, 2K, and 4K. I didn't want to make one nice carousel. I wanted to make something I could use again and again without starting over.
The Build Process
This project changed how I build. Instead of focusing on individual designs, I focused on building a system. Every decision was about consistency, alignment, hierarchy — making outputs feel connected. A lot of time went into fixing small inconsistencies. Spacing. Alignment. Typography. The difference between something that looks good once and something that works every time.
Visual Control
Full control over color and typography means every output can feel completely different — but still structured. The background system supports layered visuals, giving each slide depth without chaos.
Export System
Outputs are clean, high-res, and ready to post. The export pipeline handles 1080p, 2K, and 4K — no manual resizing, no quality loss. What you preview is what you get.
Live Tool
You can use it yourself. The live version is at ncs-jowan.vercel.app — open it, pick a preset, edit the content, and export. It's a real tool, not a mockup.
