Design Method
Instagram’s New Logo
Instagram updated their look last week, and it is already proving to be ‘marmite’. You either love it or you hate it – and the social media world are leaning heavily towards the latter.
The official Instagram press release states “You’ll see an updated icon and app design for Instagram. Inspired by the previous app icon, the new one represents a simpler camera and the rainbow lives on in gradient form.”
Taking a look back at previous Instagram logos, they have always gravitated towards the ’retro’ camera with muted tones and a rainbow stripe. The new logo is a vast change from their history and has caused uproar of mixed emotions.
Some love it:
The new Instagram logo is very nice! Simplicity is everything!
— Andrew (@Andrew_Haine) May 11, 2016
And other’s not so much…
https://twitter.com/kevindroniak/status/730404041600151553
It has been compared to a washing machine… and we kind of see their point:
This online journal obviously agrees – proven with this ad placement:
A Twitter user also found the Instagram designer’s source of inspiration:
https://twitter.com/4evrmalone/status/730398325539803137
Designers have responded with alternative designs that they believe better reflect the brand.
At Pelling, we think the main issue with the new logo is the huge leap between old and new. Logo redesigns for big brands work best when it is subtle and progressive. For example, Gap attempted to change their logo in 2010, but days later had to revert back following backlash online.
Whereas Netflix subtly changed their logo in 2014, and hardly anyone noticed.
This logo could be a ‘Google’ and it just needs to grow on us. Maybe we won’t even remember what the old logo looked like in a couple of weeks!
Let us know your thoughts on Instagram’s new look