When Instagram recently retooled its logo, the ubiquitous photo-sharing app received a nearly unanimous round of boos from its faithful followers. The public outcry over the Instagram rebrand shines a light on how important logo design is to a company’s image.
Across the Internet, the reaction to Instagram’s new look was sharp and quick.
“Instagram’s New Logo is a Travesty. Can We Change It Back? Please?” a headline in Adweek, a magazine that covers the advertising and branding industries, asked.
However, much of the feedback on Twitter was not as tame or polite as Adweek’s headline.
The New York Times dubbed the controversy: “The Great Instagram Logo Freakout of 2016.”
The Instagram Rebrand, a Cautionary Tale
By modernizing its logo, Instagram angered their core audience, who had grown accustomed and attached to the old logo. Since its introduction in 2010, Instagram’s logo, a quaint old-fashioned camera icon, identified the brand.
The abrupt change to a more-colorful, minimalist design threw everyone for a loop.
“Brands, logos and products develop deep connections and associations with people, so you don’t just want to change them for the sake of novelty,” Instagram’s head of design Ian Spalter wrote on Medium. “But the Instagram icon and design was beginning to feel, well… not reflective of the community, and we thought we could make it better.”
The Instagram rebrand featured a more modern app icon that designers say “strikes a balance between recognition and versatility.”
While the new logo resembles the old, the Instagram faithful thought it would be better off to leave well enough alone. The public reaction to Instagram’s new logo shows us why it’s important not to underestimate the audience’s sense of nostalgia.
Tips for Redesigning a Logo
Businesses frequently change their logos when they become outdated or ineffective. Redesigning a logo is an effective strategy to raise public awareness and reach new audiences. But to avoid a miscue like the Instagram rebrand, there are several things to keep in mind.
- Be True to Your Brand
- Be Unique and Memorable
- Be Simple and Functional
- Be Modern yet Timeless
- Create a Versatile design
