It’s quite remarkable to consider that the founders introduced the platform in 2010 and sold it to Facebook just 2 years later for $1billion in cash and stock. So the initial Instagram success story is a short one. We take a closer look and on our way find out more about their logo and a cake.

When it all began

Instagram development began in San Fransisco when students Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger chose mobile photography for their multi-featured HTML5 check-in project. On 16th October 2010, Instagram launched on Apple’s App Store. A year later version 2.0 was launched and following that the App for Android. A distinctive feature of Instagram is that it confines photos into a square shape, in homage to both the Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid Cameras. It grew into a massive international network by April 2012, when Facebook purchased it.

“When Mike and I started Instagram nearly two years ago, we set out to change and improve the way the world communicates and shares. We’ve had an amazing time watching Instagram grow into a vibrant community of people from all around the globe. Today, we couldn’t be happier to announce that Instagram has agreed to be acquired by Facebook.” Commented Systrom

So what’s in a logo?

The Instagram logo has pretty much paved the platform’s way. Over its brief history, the network has changed a couple of logos. All based on the shape of an instant camera, the known Instagram logo versions have been reflective of the network’s key designation – sharing photographs.

History of instagram logo

The very first Instagram logo was designed by Kevin Systrom himself, and it was actually an image of a real camera with a rainbow strip. At that time it was reflective of what Instagram was generally used for – taking and sharing photos and applying different hues to them via a filter.

Old-Instagram-logo-500x500

However, later he realized that designing a logo took a subtler approach, so he hired Cole Rise, a photographer, and designer, to generate a better idea. Cole came up with a simpler image of a mobile camera.

New-Instagram-logo-500x500

Today, Instagram boasts a much broader functionality, which has extended to Hyperlapses, Boomerangs, and collages. The new logo version is a testament to this new range of opportunities.  The new Instagram logo design is based on the previous one. Though it does retain all key features of the old logo, it is dramatically different. The change sparked heated debates across the Instagram community. The smooth transition from light orange to twilight blue (or vice versa) symbolizes progress and creates an optimistic image of a new day coming.

And what’s in that cake and social media?

Our interest was peaked when we spotted this Instagram cake video which went viral. Ann Reardon is a food scientist and dietitian who likes to cook ridiculously unhealthy desserts. She started a very popular blog called ‘How to Cook That’ after many recipe requests at dinner parties.

instagram logo old

Her first ever viral video was a dessert with the old Instagram logo all the way through on every slice.
“There have been so many requests for the new Instagram logo, a mirror glaze recipe, and entremets that I thought I’d combine all that love into one delicious creation. I toyed with the idea of making it through the middle but the new ‘simplified’ logo doesn’t play well with 3D.” says Ann.

instagram-logo-new-550x30

Ann is not only a great cook, but she’s evidently doing something right with her social media following. She has 221k followers on Instagram, 85 000 fans on Facebook and almost 10 000 followers on Twitter. Perhaps it was the Instagram cake video that went viral, but we think it takes a lot more than that. Her content is highly targeted, relevant to her followers and she posts 1 video a week.

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SOURCES:

www.visual.ly.com 

www.howtocookthat.com