Get off the Gram!
Dear Instagram, it’s not me, it’s you. Let’s face it, it’s over! I’ve been spending way too much time with you and it’s time to say goodbye.
On a real note, spending time off of social media has been a game changer in my personal life. The “deactivate account” setting has been such a blessing for my mental health. I think we all need a reminder to step away from our screens and other peoples lives and focus on our own life and things that we need to do.
The Idea
The mental clarity that comes from taking a step back from social media is what gave me this inspiration. An instagram account focused on reminding you to step away and know that it’s ok to not always be in the loop! It’s ok to not know that your friend is pregnant, or graduated, and is getting married! I deleted my social media in 2018, I loved not constantly knowing what my friends were up to. That meant if I wanted to know, I had to actually call them or meet up with them and it gave us something to talk about and catch up. It felt more genuine and outside of that, I could focus on my own life. I was actually going through some very devastating life events and I found that deleting social media accelerated my healing process.
I know that it’s not always practical to not have social media, especially in a major like UX Design, you need to know what’s going on in the tech world, so a low-maintenance account with easy-to-digest posts that promote taking a break from a sometimes toxic environment will be perfect for this assignment!
Step 1
I wanted this to be a real experience for me so I decided to actually create this instagram account. I wanted to know what it was like to create this content with a purpose in mind and meaningful content that I personally created!
Here was my game plan:
This was my rough draft, but as you can see my idea hasn’t really shifted. I did end up changing the name due to some last minute inspiration.
I knew I wanted to create some sort of branding for this account so I could be consistent and the posts would be cohesive and not all over the place.
My posts go as follows:
Post 1: Image: just a simple image with some text and short caption.
Post 2: GIF/boomerang of lava lamp
Post 3: Swipe through: two images, with ideas of different ways to spend time.
Post 4: Video of a fireplace
Post 5: Story Poll, with 2 options to choose from.
Post 6: Story Post with a custom background Image and text.
Post 7: Story Re-Post of 70’s style living room for aesthetic.
Post 8: Comment post, image with caption to comment something.
I was able to create some custom graphics, and find some cool backgrounds on google to use that I thought fit my aesthetic. I also created a small and simple style guide to help with everything being consistent, with colors and fonts. I even created a custom profile picture to match the aesthetic of the account.
I definitely feel like I was able to achieve my goal with this project. I wanted to create something cohesive and fun but also with a purpose behind it.
