The new Instagram logo is the perfect embodiment of AI slop
Opinion: Some remarks about the new wordmark accidentally being perfectly awful.
Yesterday, Instagram released an updated version of its iconic logo, joined by the typical empty corporate assurances that accompany such announcements. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, described it as "leaner and more modern, with references to the original and the simplicity and craft that’s always made it Instagram." While Mosseri's words are appealing, they don't quite match the reality of Instagram's recent history.
The design team's new text raises two questions in my mind. The first is the puzzling substitution of "Instagzam" for "Instagram." The second is the eerie resemblance to AI-generated slop – the kind of almost-but-not-quite-real words that generative AI models frequently produce, with their peculiar letter cutoffs and spacing. The 's' in the new logo, meant to echo the original's cursive, appears more like a random number generator's arbitrary choice of a different typeface.
The kerning around the 'g' is also slightly unsettling. Overall, the new wordmark fails as a functional piece of design, displaying both legibility and identity issues. However, viewed through the lens of our current AI-sloppy era, it might just be unintentionally brilliant.
Written by urgent.news from Ars Technica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
