Over the past several months Instagram received a handful of updates, some of which have been welcomed with open arms while others have caused frustration among users. In any case, it appears that the company is testing yet another feature for Instagram, which comes in the form of a redesigned user interface. The new UI is reportedly being tested by Instagram in conjunction with a handful of users, but at the moment, there’s no certainty that the new user interface will replace the current design.
Instagram’s user interface hasn’t really changed much over the years, and as yet it flaunts the same skeuomorphic design language which has been phased out even by Apple. However, recent reports reveal that Instagram is working on a complete UI overhaul. The new design is currently being tested by Instagram with a small percentage of users worldwide, some of which have already shared screenshots with the new UI. As far as looks go, the new design seems to adopt a monochromatic color scheme and includes a new set of icons. The camera icon is shaped differently, the Activity icon is now represented by a simple “heart”, and the user profile icon shows a standard profile icon as opposed to the user’s profile picture.
Needless to say, users who have been lucky enough to test the new Instagram user interface have mixed opinions, but as yet, most of them don’t seem to be too happy with the new changes, as they seem to introduce a bland and colorless design. The minimalist design may not look too bad on its own but Instagram users have been stuck with a skeuomorphic UI for so long that they might consider the new user interface to be too large of a departure from the current formula. In any case, the good news is that Instagram is testing the new UI in order to gather user feedback and make changes and adjustments accordingly. Nothing is set in stone so far and Instagram further confirms that “this is a design test only”. Many Instagram features are often tested with a small number of users before they reach, or don’t reach the public, and apparently it will be no different for the new UI.
