Abstract the art of design

Class notes from “Abstract the Art of Design”

 What influenced Instagram?

Instagram is a social place to share photos and videos. It has over one billion active users a month and 1 in 7 people use the app. It has been around for 8 years. It was originally created in San Fransisco by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The launch of the first iphone made app s like Instagram possible because it was the first device to have a camera , phone and ipod all rolled into one. Instagram was originally launched in October 2010 exclusively on iOS and the Android app followed 18 months later. They originally tried creating a platform similar to Foursquare but then turned their attention exclusively to photo sharing. They created an app called Burbn which was a check in app where people could upload a photo to share their location. This apps name was later changed to Instagram (the word Instagram is a mixture of “instant camera” and “telegram.”)

The cameras on the first smartphones did not produce quality images so Instagram designers added filters to the app so that the photos looked better and so people wanted to share them. This creative element was added so that people could make creative choices to post and share.

Later Ian Spalter was employed to improve the original app. He approached the task from a design perspective. First, he simplified the logo creating a simple easily recognisable shape and created a coloured gradient background. Then Spalter made the app more user friendly by making the photos appear like a gallery.

Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion on April 9, 2012. Although Instagram was not generating revenue when Facebook purchased it in 2012, it has recently been estimated to be worth $100 billion!

Nowadays Instagram users are not just people wanting to share photos with friends. If you are a business, celebrity or brand a lot of your identity is connected to Instagram and it is a great way of communicating with a wide audience through photos.