Instagram Concept: Saving Photos & Finding Information on Instagram
Everyone uses Instagram to discover cool people, places, and things. But, they often have to use extra platforms to find more information or to save what they found. This is because Instagram does not provide enough information on a photo and makes it hard for users to reference to posts they liked.
Instagram Needs to Dig Deeper
The goal is to improve the user’s journey on Instagram. I hypothesized that: If Instagram created a place to save photos and find more information, users would increase the amount of time they spend on the platform.
To verify that other Instagram users were experiencing these issues, I conducted user research. This investigation allowed me to gain further insight into the problem.
Understanding the Problem
User Research
To understand this issue and its relevance to other users, I performed user interviews.
“Maybe something they could do is give more information about a picture beyond just a small blurb.”
“I like to use Instagram to find restaurants and museums but I think they could improve this experience.”
What I found was:
- People like using Instagram as a platform for research because of the simplicity that an image based platform offers.
- But, people don’t always trust Instagram as a platform for research because it gives you a limited amount of information.
- People would like a faster way to find reference pictures that interest them.
Designing for People
Identifying Personas
My earlier interviews revealed primary and secondary users of Instagram based on motivations for using the platform and behaviors while on Instagram.
What Are The User’s Problems?
Journey Mapping
I interviewed people who fit my personas to better understand the pain and pleasure points of a user’s Instagram journey.
- Instagram use is more habitual than intentional.
- It is only after users are already on Instagram that they decide they want to find something specific.
- Relevant content was not easily accessible to users.
- Users felt most annoyed when deciding what to do with the cool photo they found.
How Other Applications Organize Information
Market Research
Pinterest: It is used by people and companies that want to have a place to categorize and organize interesting things they find on Pinterest and the internet in general.
Facebook: This feature is mostly used by people who may not have a lot of time to read or watch something that appears on their news feed but would like to refer back to the post later.
Getting to the Core Issue
Identifying the People Problem
From doing various interviews, I found that the lack of an organized way to keep track of photos frustrates Instagram users. Users also had trouble finding more information about the photo than just the small caption allowed by the Instagram platform.
Through summarizing my user research I came up with a core goal for my design to resolve:
Design a way for people to find, organize, and learn about relevant photos on Instagram.
Determining What Feature Spaces to Improve
Brainstorming
From the brainstorm, I discovered five areas through which Instagram could increase information: Instagram culture, additional information, organization, platform integration, and sharing.
After grouping similar ideas into categories, I decided to pursue improving photo organization and platform integration features on Instagram.
- Photo Organization: How might we better/more intuitively organize photos on Instagram?
- Platform Integration: How might we ease the transition between Instagram and other platforms?
Approach to Designing Flows
1. Photo Organization
I began designing user flows and making paper prototypes for two different solutions to Instagram’s photo organization issue.
- Personal Photo Saving Option: This flow outlines a way for users to be able to save photos to personalized folders that they create.
- Categories for Searching: This flow outlines a new process for users to more easily find photos that are of interest to them.
What Did I Learn?
I learned that Instagram users liked the intention of this feature. But, in order for them to use it, it would need to be accessible and intuitive.
Looking at Other Photo Organization Experiences
Competitive Analysis
When thinking about photo organization experiences, this is what Pinterest is all about. So, I studied the flow that Pinterest uses for its platform.
Decreasing Interaction Complexity
After studying Pinterest’s user flow, I came to the conclusion that it was too heavy. Each step contained an overwhelming amount of pictures and information. I felt the bones of the flow were good but aimed to design an experience for Instagram that was not as information heavy.
I first decided to pursue A because I thought mimicking an established flow in Instagram would be less confusing to users.
But, after getting feedback, I realized the similarity of “saving” and “direct messaging” was confusing. Users also felt that it was more complicated to look at existing folders and create new folders within the same screen. So, I decided to separate these two interactions and pursue options B and C.
The similarity issue also informed my decision to use a square photo instead of a round photo to represent folders. I thought this would help differentiate “folders” from “users” of Instagram.
A Question of Prominence
My next challenge was to figure out how prominent the action of “adding a new folder” should be. Should it appear at the top of a list of choices, like in screen A, or be separate from existing folders, like screen B?
Ultimately, I decided to move forward with screen B. In user testing, people found themselves wanting to save pictures to existing folders more than creating a new folder. Therefore, the “new folder” action did not need to be displayed prominently.
Also, in comparison to screen A, screen B made the action of saving a photo feel more intentional because it was displayed in a new screen. This is another reason why I decided to move forward with option B.
How Much Is Too Much?
Another factor I considered in designing the folder view was how much information the user actually wants to see.
I eliminated option A because users expressed that it was hard to read and distracted them. I decided to move forward with option B under the guiding principle of Instagram being a photo based platform. Based on this principle, photos should be more prominent than text.
Getting Notified
Another piece of this interaction was deciding how users should be notified about what they saved. I narrowed it down to three potential interactions.
After steering away from making “saving” like “direct messaging” I decided against option A as this is how Instagram notifies its users about a direct message. I decided against option B as I felt that it required too much attention from users to dismiss the screen. I continued with screen C because it was like Pinterest’s notifications.
How to Find My Folders
When thinking about how users would access folders, I considered a few different options. This included adding a folders button to the main bar or placing it next to where direct messages. Ultimately, I decided to locate the folders within the user profile because I wanted the feature to act as a personal organization tool.
The Final Interaction for Photo Organization
From user feedback and testing, this was the final interaction I designed for organizing photos on Instagram. I have also presented it as an Origami prototype.
2. Platform Integration
I also designed paper prototypes and wrote out user flows for two different solutions to platform integration on Instagram.
- Reservation Feature: This user flow outlines a way for people to find and book restaurants seamlessly on one platform.
- More Information Option: This flow outlines a way for users to access additional information about other Instagram users.
What Did I Learn?
Users and classmates thought the reservation function was too far from Instagram’s intended purpose.
Classmates suggested ways I could provide more information while maintaining the photo based nature of Instagram.
Looking at Other Platform Integration Experiences
Competitive Analysis
I looked at how Wine n Dine presents information to its users. Because it is photo based, like Instagram, I though it would give me insight on how to incorporate more information on Instagram.
Putting the Details in Place
My first challenge that I faced in integrating platforms more seamlessly into Instagram was deciding where to put all this additional information. I began by narrowing it down to three options.
In option A, users could access details straight from the main Instagram feed. In option B, users would have to click on the location of the place to get more information. Option C placed the details in the user’s profile.
I eliminated option A due to the concern that this provided users with a way to exit Instagram too quickly. Option C required too many steps for users to find more details on a place. I chose option B under the premise that if users are choosing to click on the location of a place, they are most likely interested in learning more about it. Therefore, it makes sense to provide them with more details at this point.
Another Question of Prominence
My next decision regarded how prominently the option for more information would be displayed.
I decided to pursue option B. User testing uncovered that it is at this point when the user becomes most frustrated because of the lack of information Instagram provides. So, it was important to make the option for more information equally prominent to the “top posts.” Option B also makes information feel accessible because the user remains on the same page to get more information.
Information Display
Lastly, I had to decide how information would be most effectively displayed for users.
In deciding between these explorations, I relied on the principle of Instagram’s image based identity. I chose to pursue option C as it provides users with a limited information while making further information accessible.
The Final Interaction for Platform Integration
Conclusion
A Crash Course
As a designer who had previously focused on mostly architectural and physical manifestations of products, finding the Introduction to Digital Product Design course at Cornell was really exciting for me as I had been searching for a way to apply my design thinking and visual design skills to a digital product.
Through user research and personal experience, I think both of these features would be really useful to Instagram users. Instead of leaving users in the lurch after finding an interesting photo, these features would help complete the user journey. These features are an important step in helping the user journey come full circle.
Things to Consider Further
- Would folders be public (be able to be shared with friends)? How would this look?
- What are the specifics types of information that users want to see on Instagram?
- Would personal users (as opposed to businesses) be able to add their own information in a similar way? This could be used for recruiting, portfolios, etc.
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This is a sample case study for the project in Intro to Digital Product Design. I am in no way affiliated with Instagram.
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I am a senior, design and environmental analysis major at Cornell University. I’ve also been a Design Intern for Meyer Davis Studio and Array Architects.
I am passionate about analyzing problems and building creative solutions to tackle issues. These solutions range from interior environments to both physical and digital products.
Please feel free to look at my portfolio to view the rest of my design work.