What can the church learn from Instagram's new logo?

So you probably heard Instagram introduced a new logo last week, and it almost broke the Internet.

Millions of people use Instagram on a daily basis, so understandably, change is hard, especially when people become loyal to a brand and develop connections with it.

Among the critics are those who loved the former logo’s vintage camera look and thought it visually stood out in the sea of apps. Others wonder if the change was really necessary – was there a significant change in Instagram’s mission or direction? What the nostalgic look too outdated? We just got over the algorithm change – and now this?

Check out what Meredith, our Lead Graphic Designer, had to say.

So what can the Church learn from this update?

  1. There are always going to be naysayers, especially in the beginning. Be prepared to deal with that. Sometimes this comes from mere personal, subjective preferences, like Meredith's distaste for Instagram’s purply-pink gradient. In which case, it is okay to ignore the comments. You don’t have to please everybody, and you really can’t do that anyway, so don’t bother.

  2. It takes time to adjust to big, new changes. People get attached to what they are used to seeing and often come to love what they are familiar with, even if the old thing was not all that good. So don’t expect instantaneous attachment.

  3. Context helps. Always. Explaining or demonstrating your reasons for change can help you build trust and respect. Video is a great medium to use because you can share a powerful message in an engaging way that doesn't take up a lot of your audience's time. Instagram introduced their new look with this brief video. In less than a minute, it takes the viewer on a visual journey to see how the new logo was created, and the accompanying blog post gives insight and rationale behind the design process, both of which are helpful to get your audience on board with the change.

If we’ve seen one thing from Instagram’s new logo reveal, it’s that you should have a strategic and compelling reason to change a logo, especially one that an audience loves and has an emotional connection with, something that is true for most church logos. So how will your church know when it’s time for a new brand?

Download this resource to see 8 indicators that it's time for a new brand!

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