Instagram has unveiled a new wordmark, moving away from the recognizable cursive typeface it’s used over the last decade. The updated wordmark is a strange mix of half-cursive, half-print that’s somehow less legible than its predecessor. Like, that totally says “Instagzam,” right?
“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 announced on his account. “Cleaner and more modern, with references to the original and the simplicity and craft that’s always made it Instagram.”
Mosseri is seemingly aware that this will be a controversial change, because he also posted it to his Threads account to “see what the hot takes might be.” Instagram’s design account on Threads also showed off some of the other typefaces the team explored — many of which are more legible than the one the platform settled on.
Plenty of Instagram and Threads commenters have already flagged that the updated version looks like it says “Instagzam,” but the general consensus otherwise is difficult to parse. Some users are mourning the loss of the now iconic cursive wordmark, while other responses — many of which look suspiciously written by bots — are a jumble of positive affirmations and emoji-vomit.
I don’t personally think it has the same charm, but I’ll leave the rest of you to be the judge of that.