We have recently been working on updating a client’s logo, as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations. It was felt that the branding had become dated, the company strap line was too wordy and the font was old hat. They wanted to keep the logo recognisable, but bring it into the 21st Century and make it more relevant to their customers.

In recent weeks we have seen multiple large consumer brands such as Channel 5, Polo Mints and Uber also going through a period of identi-change and rolling out refreshed identities in an effort to keep current.

On Wednesday it was the turn of the camera App Instagram to update its image and it did so under a barrage of criticism and disappointment with many calling for the instant return of its original logo.

Instagram’s famous skeuomorphic icon was a leather-clad, virtual representation of a physical camera. Its look was so unique and weighty that it was instantly recognisable and stood clear and proud amongst other App identities. The brand was beloved almost universally from the moment it launched and has surely been a large factor in the App’s enormous success.

The powers that be at Instagram HQ felt their icon had, after 5 years, become dated. Ian Spalter, head of design at Instagram, writes it was ‘beginning to feel, well… not reflective of the community, and we thought we could make it better’. The company had an enormous challenge on its hand in reworking a brand that had almost achieved cult status in a short space of time.

They started off by trying to “modernize” their mark but their attempt to refresh the existing logo wasn’t working. They began to work key elements of the existing brand - the rainbow and camera lens, into a different mark entirely, in hope of producing ‘a modern App identity that strikes a balance between recognition and versatility’. After much tweaking and refinement, Instagram landed on an icon that, in their words ‘still suggests a camera, but also provides a groundwork for years to come.’ The result was a reworking of the iconic glyph into an abstract image. The rainbow element became a colourful gradient background and basic shapes were incorporated to represent the lens and flash.

As a marketer I fully support companies reviewing and adjusting their brand identities to remain current. As a fan and daily user of Instagram, however, I feel that the change was unnecessary at this time and too drastic. As attractive as the new icon is, the original identity held so much more impact. In a world where everything is becoming more streamlined, flatter, quicker and more throwaway, the original Instagram logo held a nostalgic charm that captured the nature of its existence perfectly, whereby the new icon melts into the throb of similar looking icons that cohabit on millions of phones and tablets worldwide.

Saying that – with Instagram having over 400 million daily users, generating 3.5 billion likes per day and with a net worth of an estimated $37 billion, all achieved within a 5 year window – who I am to cast thought or judgment. I will, no doubt, get used to the new icon and keep my thumb busy every day using this brilliant App.