Instagram App Icon (Original Camera Look, 2010-2011)

The original Instagram icon, released on October 6, 2010, was an important part of graphic design history because it captured the app's essence with a simple yet detailed image of a Polaroid camera, using a rainbow stripe to evoke nostalgia. This design followed the skeuomorphic trend of the time, which aimed to make digital interfaces resemble real world objects. The icon helped set Instagram apart as a social platform focused on instant, shareable photography. Its success showed how effective an icon could be in conveying a brand’s identity. The icon’s evolution, especially the shift to a flat, minimal design in 2016, also marked a turning point in app icon design, influencing how brands use simplified, bold visuals to represent their apps today.