2026
Identity Design, 标识设计
Over fifteen years, Instagram evolved from a place to share photos into one of the world’s most influential cultural platforms—a home for creators, communities, businesses, and everyday interactions. During that time, the way people create changed. The way people communicate changed. And Instagram changed to meet the expanding needs of its growing community.
Yet one thing remained largely untouched: the wordmark.
As Instagram’s broader brand ecosystem evolved, a new tension emerged. The Instagram glyph became ubiquitous. While the wordmark, despite its immense equity, remained constrained.
The original wordmark had served the brand well. But it was now expected to function as a marquee global brand asset, working in concert with the wider brand system across marketing campaigns, product experiences, creator ecosystems, and cultural moments. All while scaling into new apps like Instants and Edits.
The challenge was complex, but clear: create a wordmark capable of expressing what Instagram is today and will be in the future, while preserving the familiarity and equity built over more than a decade of global recognition.
一个经典标识的新使命
十五年来，Instagram 从一个分享照片的平台，逐渐成长为全球最具文化影响力的社交平台之一。创作者、社群、品牌，以及无数日常交流都汇聚于此。在过去的这些年里，人们创作的方式变了、沟通的方式变了，而 Instagram 也不断演变，以回应日益壮大的社群所产生的新需求。
然而，有一样东西始终没有发生太大变化，就是它的字标。随着 Instagram 更广泛的品牌生态不断发展，一个新的问题逐渐凸显。Instagram 的图标已经无处不在；相比之下，拥有巨大品牌资产与识别度的字标，却始终受到自身形式的限制。
原有的字标曾很好地服务于 Instagram。但如今，它需要承担一个全球性核心品牌资产的角色，与更完整的品牌系统协同工作，出现在营销活动、产品体验、创作者生态以及不同的文化场景之中；与此同时，它还需要具备足够的延展性，进入 Instants、Edits 等新的应用与产品。
面对这一复杂却又十分明确的挑战，Koto 和 Instagram 的设计团队制定了一个共同的目标：打造一个能够表达 Instagram 品牌当下与未来的全新字标。
- Instagram Team: Alec Donovan, May Hartono, Ali McLaren, Lynn Oh, Cynthia Pratomo, Jasmine Probst, Christy Silva
- Koto team: Carter Bird, Violet Feldman, Lauren Fogelstrom, Paul Kempe, Yi Mao, Jeremy Mickel, Jo Rocha, Zoe Schneider, Kyle Toukatly, Rosanna Tuvhag
Instagram’s wordmark is encountered billions of times each day. It carries enormous cultural and emotional importance. It also needs to perform across an increasingly complex ecosystem of products, platforms, and experiences.
Redesigning one of the world’s most recognizable wordmarks presents a unique contradiction: every change matters, yet too much change risks losing everything that made it renowned in the first place. At the same time, the new wordmark needed to establish a closer relationship with Instagram’s iconic glyph and wider brand identity—creating a visual system that felt unified without sacrificing the distinct character of either asset.
To create something new, we first had to understand what people already loved.
Instagram 的字标每天会被人们看到数十亿次。它承载着巨大的文化影响与情感价值，同时，也需要适应一个日益复杂的产品、平台与体验生态。
重新设计一个世界上最具辨识度的字标，本身就是一道独特的矛盾：每一个改变都至关重要，但改变得太多，又可能失去那些最初让它深入人心的特质。 与此同时，新的字标还需要与 Instagram 标志性的图标（Glyph），以及更完整的品牌视觉体系建立更加紧密的联系。在不牺牲两者各自鲜明个性的前提下，让它们共同构成一个更加统一的视觉系统。
因此，在创造新的东西之前，我们首先需要理解：人们真正喜爱的，究竟是什么。
The original Instagram wordmark spoke to the era of early mobile apps—designed to convey personality and nostalgia. Its quirky flourishes and bespoke handcrafted characteristics made it unique and memorable. Despite countless shifts in technology, culture, and visual trends, it had outlived most identities designed in the same era. That longevity felt significant.
Working alongside the Instagram team, we explored hundreds of variations. We studied handwritten forms, calligraphic gestures, and the subtle imperfections that make human expression feel authentic. Every curve and connection was scrutinized. The process became one of calibration: how much could change and still be remembered?
Here, Instagram’s recognition lends a unique advantage; an opportunity to evolve the brand with great intention, and some measured liberties. For example, the distinct, simplified ‘r’ in the ‘gr’ ligature was refined to recall the original script and build a new iconic feeling for the brand.
The future of Instagram’s identity could not be designed purely through optimization. It had to feel authored.
Instagram 最初的字标诞生于早期移动应用的时代，它的设计带着鲜明的个性与怀旧气息。独特的笔画细节与手工绘制的特征，让它拥有了难以取代的辨识度与记忆点。尽管这些年来，技术、文化与视觉趋势经历了无数次更迭，它依然比同时代的大多数品牌标识存在得更加长久。这份生命力本身，就意义非凡。
与 Instagram 团队一起，我们探索了数百种不同的可能。我们研究手写字形、书法中的笔势，以及那些让人的表达显得真实而自然的细微不完美。每一道曲线、每一处连接都经过反复推敲。整个过程逐渐变成了一次关于尺度的校准：我们究竟可以改变多少，同时依然让人一眼认出它？
Instagram 巨大的品牌认知度也为这次设计带来了一个独特的优势：我们可以极其谨慎地推动品牌向前演进，同时为一些经过考量的改变留出空间。 例如，在「gr」连字中极具辨识度的简化「r」，经过重新调整，在呼应原有手写字标特征的同时，也为品牌建立起一个新的标志性细节。
Instagram 未来的品牌形象，无法仅仅依靠理性的优化来完成。 它必须让人感受到创作者留下的痕迹。
The final challenge was ensuring the mark felt like it had always belonged.
The redesigned wordmark was built to work across the entirety of Instagram’s ecosystem—from product experiences and global marketing campaigns, creator programs to new apps from Instagram. It also established a closer relationship with the Instagram glyph, allowing both marks to operate as part of the same visual language.
Designed to celebrate the creativity of the community, the new wordmark builds upon its legacy. It preserves the familiarity and recognition that billions of people associate with Instagram, while reintroducing the humanity, personality, and expression that had always existed at its core.
It's a new mark with old memories. One that upholds Instagram's heritage of creativity: setting up the brand to continue growing along with its community for years to come.
最后的挑战，是让新的字标看起来仿佛一直就属于 Instagram。
重新设计后的字标，需要适应 Instagram 完整的品牌生态，从产品体验、全球营销活动、创作者项目，到 Instagram 推出的全新应用。与此同时，它也与 Instagram 标志性的图标（Glyph）建立起更加紧密的联系，让两者能够共同存在于同一套视觉语言之中。
新的字标以 Instagram 社群的创造力为出发点，在原有的品牌传承之上继续向前。它保留了数十亿人对于 Instagram 的熟悉感与辨识度，同时重新唤起那些始终存在于品牌核心之中的人性、个性与表达。
这是一个全新的字标，却承载着旧日的记忆。它延续了 Instagram 对创造力的坚持，也为品牌开启新的篇章，让它在未来的岁月里，继续与它的社群一同成长。
“The craft was a given—but this project also took a lot of heart,
grit and thoughtfulness which the Koto team delivered in spades.
We appreciated your attention to details, experimentation, patient collaboration... and also, it was a lot of fun.”
—Cynthia Pratomo, Director of Brand Design, Meta
grit and thoughtfulness which the Koto team delivered in spades.
We appreciated your attention to details, experimentation, patient collaboration... and also, it was a lot of fun.”
—Cynthia Pratomo, Director of Brand Design, Meta
“专业与技艺自不必说，但这个项目同样需要投入大量的热情、韧性与深思熟虑，
而 Koto 团队在这些方面都做得非常出色。我们非常欣赏你们对细节的关注、不断的尝试与探索，
以及始终耐心的协作……当然，整个过程也充满了乐趣。”
— Cynthia Pratomo，Meta 品牌设计总监
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而 Koto 团队在这些方面都做得非常出色。我们非常欣赏你们对细节的关注、不断的尝试与探索，
以及始终耐心的协作……当然，整个过程也充满了乐趣。”
— Cynthia Pratomo，Meta 品牌设计总监
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