Instagram has redesigned its wordmark for the first time in around a decade, updating the text-based element of its visual identity while retaining its familiar multicoloured app icon.
The new wordmark replaces the script-style lettering introduced in 2016 with a hybrid design that combines conventional typography with cursive elements. The letters ‘s’, ‘r’ and ‘g’ feature more pronounced curves, drawing from elements of Instagram’s earlier visual identity.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri unveiled the redesign on Thursday, describing the new treatment as cleaner and more modern while retaining elements of the platform’s original aesthetic.
The change applies to the written ‘Instagram’ branding used within the app, including at the top of its interface, as well as across marketing and other brand materials. The update does not extend to the app icon, which continues to use the pink, orange and purple gradient camera design.
Meta has not indicated whether the app icon will be redesigned.
The update comes roughly a decade after Instagram’s previous major visual overhaul. In 2016, the platform moved away from its retro camera-inspired icon to the simplified gradient design that has since become closely associated with the brand.
The latest wordmark change has received mixed reactions from users, with some questioning the combination of print and cursive elements and suggesting that it makes the Instagram name harder to read.
The refresh comes as Instagram itself has moved considerably beyond its origins as a photo-sharing platform. The Meta-owned service has increasingly focused on short-form video, algorithmic recommendations, messaging and commerce.
For now, the platform has chosen to update the less prominent text element of its visual identity while keeping the gradient camera icon that has represented Instagram since 2016.
