Instagram Reveals Dynamic Motion Identity System

To celebrate and inspire its community of creators, Instagram has refreshed and expanded its brand identity. With billions of users worldwide, motion plays a significant role in how the product is marketed and experienced. Studio Dumbar/DEPT® was invited to collaborate on the next phase of expansion of the brand: the creation of a vibrant, all-encompassing motion system.

Studio Dumbar/DEPT® led the charge in crafting a vibrant and comprehensive motion system that celebrates creativity and inspires its vast community of creators. Working in close collaboration with their in-house brand design team, the approach focussed on the potential of motion to create rhythm across everything Instagram does. The collective aim was a flexible, balanced motion system, effective across both marketing and product, that plays with perspective, showcases creativity, and illuminates connections.

Influenced by Instagram's native attributes, Studio Dumbar/DEPT® developed a sophisticated motion system that echoes the imperfections of natural human movement and user-generated content. A series of flexible motion techniques were developed to support storytelling and add a layer of engagement to branded elements. Some techniques mimic natural camera movement (suggesting the depth and shifting perspectives of 3D space), while others recall the action of swiping or scrolling. Defining the system’s physics - physics determines how motion is oriented in time and space - played a fundamental role in the project, and informed the approach to motion. The creative potential was celebrated by showcasing the growing variety of tools available to users. In doing so, it was ensured that content and creators always come first, whilst highlighting the limitless scope for interaction and collaboration. 

The seamless and energetic motion system has been integrated across Instagram's core brand elements and is actively rolling out in focused campaigns. Extensive guidelines, templates, and toolkits ensure clarity and consistency, with the system playing a central role in daily app marketing and user experience.

"Diving deep into the creators' worlds that make Instagram what it is and translating that into motion was a truly inspiring experience. We created a system that represents a harmonious fusion of strategy and design, bringing the Instagram brand to life”, says Liza Enebeis, creative director at Studio Dumbar/DEPT®.