Instagram Diary
Share content in a semi-private, semi-permanent way.
Responsibilities
UX Research
UX Design
Prototype
Usability Testing
Project Type
Independent
Duration
3 weeks,
20 hrs/week
Background
Instagram is a popular social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos with their followers. While Instagram has a reputation for highly curated content with Posts, one of the most popular features on Instagram is Stories, which allows users to share short videos and photos that disappear after 24 hours. Stories help capture the raw and mundane moments and let users share these moments with followers.
Another widely used feature is Close Friends, which allows users to share Stories to only a select group of people. This tells us that users appreciate the option for extra privacy, while still being able to share content. This feature, however, is exclusive to Stories.
Creating a Diary is no different from creating a Post.
Add friends to your Diary list.
Diary will show up on friends’ feeds indicated with a lock icon and accessible on profile pages.
01. RESEARCH
Competitive Analysis
Competitive analysis was conducted to help understand competitors and current industry standing.
Takeaway
Instagram has undisputedly emerged as one of the most popular social media platforms, boasting over a billion active users. However, to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape, Instagram must continue to adapt and innovate. By incorporating key strategies focused on robust features, user-centric engagement, and ethical practices, Instagram can solidify its position as a leading social media platform for years to come.
One of Instagram's strengths lies in its ability to facilitate meaningful connections between users. To stay competitive, Instagram must continue to prioritize user-centric engagement. Introducing additional tools and features to enhance communication and foster community growth would be beneficial.
User Interviews
With an understanding of the competitive landscape, next steps were to investigate user motives, needs and concerns.
I interviewed 4 current Instagram users to find out why and how they use Instagram, what they enjoy about the platform, and if there are any challenges or pain points users face.
Affinity Mapping
Key Findings:
Users enjoy connecting with friends and followers through Instagram.
One of the key ways Instagram creates value for users is by allowing users to update their followers by documenting their lives through Posts, Stories, and Reels. However, when it comes to posting different kinds of content on Instagram, users battle with authenticity vs curation.
Users post content that is more raw and authentic on Stories due to their ephemeral nature, alleviating the pressures of heavily curated Posts. Many also opt to use the “Close Friends” feature to share their lives while securing privacy.
User Persona
Based on the competitive analysis and user interviews, a user persona was created:
Racquel embodies the ultimate Instagram user. She utilizes Instagram both professionally and personally, which makes her contemplate the type of content she shares on a greater level than the average user. Racquel wants to create engaging, curated content for her followers, but also wants to document and share more intimate and raw moments for herself and friends.
02. IDEATION
Product Ideation
Based on key insights from research 2 initial ideas were made:
1
Post as normal, but share to "Close Friends" only.
"Close friends" only Posts would live on same page as regular posts, but would be blurred or only visible to those on the Close Friends list.
Indicated by the green "Close Friends" icon.
“Close Friends” for Posts
2
Creating a Diary is essentially the same as creating a Post.
New Diary section on user's profile to keep it separate from Posts.
Indicated by a green lock icon when shown on Home feeds for friends on the Diary list.
Instagram Diary
After discussion with peers and my mentor, we concluded that “Close Friends” for Posts would not be a new feature, but an extension of an existing feature.
Therefore, Instagram Diary was chosen to be further developed.
User Flow
The following diagram indicates the flow in which a user would post a diary.
03. DESIGN
Wireframes
With Instagram being an establish platform, I had to work with its existing design and brand guidelines when building out the design for the Diary feature.
When creating high fidelity wireframes, I realized I needed a screen for editing the Diary list and a screen for how the Diary feed would look like on a user’s profile.
04. PROTOTYPE & TESTING
Prototype & Testing
Three participants were given 2 tasks to complete:
1) Create a Diary post.
2) Edit your Diary list.
Participants were observed testing the prototype via Zoom using the Figma prototype link.
After each task, participants were asked 3 questions:
“How easy or difficult was it to complete the task?”
“Was there anything you didn’t expect or found confusing?”
“Is there anything you’d recommend to add or change?”
Key Takeaways
All tasks were completed easily, with average completion times of 18.6 seconds and 15.6 seconds.
Participants expressed they would use the Diary feature if it were to be released.
Final Prototype
Things learned…
While Instagram’s existing design guidelines posed somewhat as a constraint, it also led to affordance in design and made sure the new feature was not difficult to understand or use.
I learned that you don't always have the "re-invent the wheel." Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best solution.
Edit:
As of November 2023, Instagram has released this feature as “Close Friends for Posts”