RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Instagram has a new logo. Well, sort of.
The familiar gradient camera icon on your phone isn’t going anywhere. Instead, Instagram has redesigned the handwritten wordmark that appears at the top of the app, giving it its first update in a decade.
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"The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, so it was time for a refresh," Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote in a post on Aug. 13. He described the new version as "cleaner and more modern," while preserving references to Instagram’s original design.
Instagram says its team explored hundreds of options, including all-caps lettering, camera-inspired concepts, and literal handwriting, before returning to a script design.
"Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right," Instagram director of product design Jasmine Probst said in Meta’s announcement . "The new wordmark is bolder and simpler, with touches of unexpectedness. It cues individual expression, a personal voice, both of which have always been core to Instagram," she adds.
The wordmark is part of a broader brand refresh that includes an updated Instagram Sans typeface and two new fonts: the hand-drawn Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono. Users will also eventually see refreshed motion, layouts, and more restrained use of Instagram’s signature gradient. It is rolling out globally now, with the rest of the changes coming throughout 2026 and beyond.
Naturally, the internet had opinions. Some kinder than others.
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Others struggled to see much of a difference between the old and new designs, leaving them to question why Instagram felt a refresh was necessary at all.
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The new wordmark keeps Instagram’s handwritten style but combines cursive and print lettering, with some letters connected and others floating on their own. But its unusually shaped “s” and “r” have led some online to conclude that it actually says "Instagzam." I can see it.
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In the r/logodesign Reddit thread, one user described the wordmark as looking “fan-made,” like a logo created in Canva. Another called it “an unsettling mix of manuscript and cursive,” while someone else neatly summarized the redesign as a "sidegrade" — or, more accurately, a "zidegrade."
The response wasn’t entirely negative. Some in the subreddit called the half-cursive design stylish and surprisingly readable, while others said it was an improvement over Instagram’s previous wordmark. One commenter argued that Instagram was simply following the minimalist branding trend later than everyone else.
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In one day, Instagram now has given us a refreshed identity, three updated fonts, and, apparently, an unofficial new pronunciation.
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