The inspiration behind Instagram

by Dan Bailey

Instagram has recently committed a crime: by giving up on its “fun” roots. Facebook, the current owner of Instagram, changed the logo and icon to be an (almost) meaningless white square on a rainbow background (almost meaningless; there is still some reference to the original below).

Just in case there’s anyone out there who doesn’t realize the traditional instant, square, inspirations behind Instagram & its original logo; it’s Polaroid cameras and instant photographs! ‪#‎Polaroid‬ announced ceasing to manufacture film and cameras in 2008. Two years later ‪#‎Instagram‬ was launched.

For those who remember, the Polaroid instant camera was a big deal because unlike other camera and film options, you could instantly take a Polaroid photo, have the camera print it out, shake it and it would develop while you watched. And typically the prints were square (like Instagram).

Polaroid had the spontaneity in this way, traditional film and print development often took days for development (although you could pay up-charges for 24 hours or even 1-3 hours; but with traditional, you would always have the negatives and thus options for multiple quantities and sizes of prints).

Years later, Instagram recaptured lightning in a bottle for immediate gratification of good looking photos – this time via smart phone.