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Important lessons for companies from the Instagram logo change

May 13, 2016

A couple of days ago, Instagram announced the change of its unmistakable retro logo, to a flatter, crisper version that attracted backlash both from users and professionals alike. Actually, the internet rage over the change is still pretty much alive days after the reveal.

Though some designers like the new icon for its simplicity, there’s a lot of backlash going on. The New York Times called the overall reaction a freakout. While ADWEEK’s Tim Nudd calls the new logo a travesty, we’ll try to be impartial for now, mainly because most opinions are correct. The (apparently larger) group that hates the change reminds us that Instagram’s 4 year-old vintage icon was recognizable, and gave the brand sort of a personality among other brands that seem to lose that spark in favor of simpler, flatter designs. They also hate the change because they simply don’t like the new logo’s new shape, neither it’s PowerPoint color gradient. But is it all that bad?

Here’s an excerpt from the company’s announcement: “The Instagram community has evolved over the past five years from a place to share filtered photos to so much more — a global community of interests sharing more than 80 million photos and videos every day. Our updated look reflects how vibrant and diverse your storytelling has become.”

Ian Spalter, Instagram lead designer, explained further: “When Instagram was founded, it was a place to easily edit and share photos. Five years later, things have evolved. Instagram is now a diverse community of interests where people are sharing more photos and videos than ever before; using new tools like Boomerang and Layout, and connecting in new ways through Explore. Last year, a group of us started digging into how we could support this evolution while staying true to Instagram’s heritage and spirit. We wanted to create a look that would represent the community’s full range of expression — past, present, and future. When Instagram was founded, it was a place to easily edit and share photos. Five years later, things have evolved. Instagram is now a diverse community of interests where people are sharing more photos and videos than ever before; using new tools like Boomerang and Layout, and connecting in new ways through Explore.Last year, a group of us started digging into how we could support this evolution while staying true to Instagram’s heritage and spirit. We wanted to create a look that would represent the community’s full range of expression — past, present, and future.”

Let’s be honest: wouldn’t Instagram’s old logo look out of place among the increasing number of minimal flat logos? Perhaps in some cases you don’t want to stand out as a brand with an old image, or perhaps that’s exactly what helps users differentiate your visual identity.

This whole debate might be irrelevant in the end, because Instagram is an app like no other. Social media users would continue to use this app even if the logo were a security check emoji (though that would be peculiar). That doesn’t mean that a disastrous logo change can’t affect sales, quite the contrary – in most cases a company will suffer financially if the customers dislike the new image.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when considering any kind of visual identity changes:

1. Always use professional help (and I mean always!).

Sometimes it might seem that anyone could redesign a logo – and small businesses generally tend to think that way – but trust me, it’s not that simple. A professional input is more valuable than it seems in this case, don’t neglect it.

2. Keep in mind what defines your company, or where your company is heading.

Any changes should feel like a natural progression, unless a radical uplift is needed. The point is that you don’t pick an option just because it looks good, it has to be relatable to your products, services, company culture, history, future, and so on.

3. Test the waters.

It’s essential that customers feel the new image represents your company. Even if a design is good, it won’t always have the desired effect. Test reactions from customers for different logos, or any other visual identity changes. In the end, their reaction is the most important one. Don’t avoid taking drastic measures and starting from scratch if needed. There are plenty of cases where companies had to go back to their original identity because of customer backlash.

One final argument from Instagram’s lead designer, Ian Spalter: “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. But the Instagram icon and design was beginning to feel, well… not reflective of the community, and we thought we could make it better.”