Why The Instagram Logo Petition Is Absolutely Ridiculous
The wildly popular photo-sharing app, Instagram, changed its logo on Wednesday. As history demonstrates again and again, humans fear change. How could Instagram forget that? Now, unsurprisingly, users are rebelling against the new look on the basis of design, user experience, and, more than anything, nostalgia. Many have banded together to protest the move, but, before you add your signature, here's why the Instagram logo petition is absolutely ridiculous.
First, it's just a logo. Instagrammers may recall the logo before the change: it was a retro, old-timey-ish camera with a rainbow on it. The key word here is "ish" (is this a word? OK, suffix). Sure, it stood out against the swath of oversimplified, minimalistic app logos users probably have dotting their home screens, but it's also still just a logo. People are feeling nostalgic about something designed to look like its from the '60s — but it's not! Instagram makes photos look like they were taken by an old camera, but its not an old camera! In the scheme of things, Instagram hasn't been around that long. Practice the art of letting go and make some peace with the new logo. Those who are having trouble adjusting should get an actual old camera to fill the void.
Second, the app is remaining pretty much unchanged. Instagram's designer posted a piece on Medium to explain the reasoning behind the new logo. Part of it, he wrote, was an effort to "represent the community’s full range of expression ." Instagram, he claimed, has become more than just an app; it's a community, and, thusly, it's logo should reflect that change. While that's all well and good, change-fearing users should know that very little about the app is actually changing. The interface is getting a more stripped down, black-and-white look, but other than that, it'll be just like users remember (for now).
Third, there are so many better things to protest, like abortion rights restrictions, Donald Trump's rhetoric, no federal paid leave policy. Additionally, Instagram's new logo is attempting to convey a message of inclusion. It's a many-colored rainbow because there are many kinds of Instagram users out there. Clearly it's a nod to the LGBTQ community, but also the dog-lovers, the foodies, the athletes, the fashionistas and fashionistos, and on and on — and they're all brought together by this one app. It's pretty amazing. Protesting this new logo because of its design is, in essence, protesting that message of inclusion. Not only is that ridiculous, but its also a little outdated. One Twitter user put things in perspective:
Petition-writers may have been motivated by the last Instagram petition, which demanded that feeds remain chronological rather than switching to an algorithm-based arrangement. While that uproar did elicit a response from Instagram (essentially: "cool it, everybody"), the change is still on its way. Despite the petition, which has more than 300,000 signatures, Instagram is already beta-testing its new feed on users all over the world. Petitions or not, change is coming, Instagrammers, and this logo is probably the least of it.
