Designing for 3 billion: how Instagram built a brand system that celebrates everyone’s point of view

It’s Nice That (INT): Take us back to the beginning of this project… Instagram serves an audience of billions across every corner of the globe – what did that sheer scale mean for the brand team on day one?

Jasmine Probst (JP): Designing for billions of people is a design challenge that is rare to encounter in most design exercises. For us, that means we really cannot presume comprehension or resonance the same way you would with a much more clearly defined audience. In our case, the audience truly is global.

May Hartono (MH): The scale is also what makes this kind of project especially exciting. There’s something deeply motivating about knowing that the decisions you’re sweating over will become part of so many people’s daily lives and culture at large. It sharpens the whole team’s focus in the best way.

INT: With this global reach in mind, touching billions of screens daily, did that massive footprint breed caution, or push the team to be bolder?

JP: Both, and they actually fuel each other. The scale inspires a real sense of responsibility because we want to make sure we’re creating something that’s meaningful and appropriate for the world, not just interesting to us. But the scale also inspired a real sense of possibility. It makes us reflect on what the world is asking of us. Don’t pressurise perfection, celebrate authenticity. Don’t jump on trends, help define culture.

MH: You’ll never get instant universal approval. That’s just the reality of change. But playing it safe is a disservice to our community.

INT: Between in-house teams, external partners, independent typographers, and artists, this was a massive ecosystem! At its peak, how did you align that many voices behind a single vision/ north star?

JP: Curiosity. I think being genuinely curious about what every person involved has to offer is the best way toward group alignment. That runs in all directions. It spans all functions, levels of leadership, and I think when people know that they are really being listened to, that invites them to also listen.

MH: We were grounded in a really clear creative brief and set of brand values from the start. Even though we didn’t know where we’d end up visually, we always knew that Instagram stands for creativity and connection. That shared foundation meant we could explore freely without losing the plot.