Instagram dropped its classic logo for a much simpler and basic one last Wednesday. The change didn’t go unnoticed by avid Instagram users, including students at BYU.
BYU sophomore and microbiology student Arenui Anderson uses Instagram frequently to message his friends, share pictures and post videos. He was surprised when he saw the app’s new look. He noticed the new logo when a friend messaged him expressing their distaste toward the change.
“Initially I was like, this is really weird,” Anderson said. “But I kind of really like it. It’s a lot more minimalistic.”
Instagram’s old logo featured a brown and tan camera with gradient shading and a rainbow in the top – left corner. Instagram didn’t trash its camera from its logo, but it did drastically simplify it, stripping it down to the camera’s body, lens and viewfinder. The rainbow that used to be on the camera is also present, becoming a gradient backdrop.
Instagram’s head of design Ian Spalter explained the decisions behind the change in a post on Medium.com. The app’s interface also changed, in addition to the logo. It’s now solid white, getting rid of the dark blue and gray bars that used to be present. This places a larger emphasis on the content, according to Spalter.
“While the icon is a colorful doorway into the Instagram app, once inside the app, we believe the color should come directly from the community’s photos and videos,” Spalter said in his post. “Our hope is that people will see this app icon as a new creative spark — something to have fun with and make their own.”
BYU junior and advertising student Jason Murray was sad to see the old logo leave, but has now come to accept the new design.
“The brown, vintage – looking camera logo meant a lot to me. It represented the creativity that so many Instagram users have poured into the platform,” Murray said in an email. “I don’t see much benefit in complaining. We have to adapt.”
Murray uses his Instagram account, Jason Murray Media, to promote his freelance work. He said the platform is important because it connects him to people and clients. He doesn’t believe the redesign will negatively affect his brand, even if people were to stop using the app.
“Instagram is just a tool though, and growing my brand will always be up to me,” Murray said. “I have been able to create an online presence on other platforms (my largest being YouTube), so if Instagram suddenly dies, my brand will not die with it. I’ll just keep working.”
Murray said he is a fan of the new interface, even if he feels the logo will take some getting used to. He agreed with Spalter and said it empowers Instagram’s creative users.
“The internal redesign of the app is incredible,” Murray said. “Instagram has always done a great job at empowering creatives, and the redesign is pretty polished.”
Anderson said most of his friends don’t really care about the change. He believes the majority of people will continue using the app.
“I think people are overreacting about it too much,” Anderson said. “You still have your five icons on the bottom, you can still send messages and you can still post pictures.”
Murray also feels like the change shouldn’t cause a lot of problems. He said the largest challenge is for creators to learn how to adapt.
“I think the biggest message we are getting from this new logo is that the media world is changing with or without us,” Murray said. “The best path for me as a content creator is to adapt and keep making awesome stuff. I’ve only just begun.”
