Instagram Unveils Hybrid Script-and-Print Wordmark, First Redesign in a Decade

Key facts

• Instagram redesigned its wordmark for the first time in a decade, replacing the 2016 cursive script with a hybrid script-and-print construction.
• The update rolled out quietly last Thursday.
• Dozens of unrelated brands, including Knorr, McDonald’s, KitKat, Wendy’s, Picsart, and Semrush, redrew their own names in the same style within hours.
• The new wordmark flattens serifs and detaches letter connections, creating a hybrid between script and print.
• Jasmine Probst, Instagram’s director of product design, said 'Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right.'
• The wordmark is part of a wider system including an updated Instagram Sans typeface, plus Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono.
• The signature gradient now appears more sparingly across motion, layout, and UI.
• May Hartono, Meta’s director of brand design, said 'The refreshed brand system puts our community’s creativity and self-expression front and center.'
• The tightened spacing between 'r' and 'a' led to the 'Instagzam' misreading.
• The wordmark is custom-drawn lettering, not a licensed typeface, so all brand redraws are approximations.
• Meta explored hundreds of directions, including all-caps treatments, camera-shaped concepts, and literal handwriting, before settling on the 'magic of crafted script.'
• The previous wordmark had been in use since 2016.