Grid wars: Instagram goes vertical.
Why would Instagram take the risk?
What’s happening?
Instagram is shifting its profile grid from square (1:1) to vertical (4:5) thumbnails, prioritizing short-form video content formats over legacy square layouts.
Image credit: InstagramWhy it matters
Market adaptation vs. User backlash
This change sparked strong opposition from creators who spent years perfecting their square grid aesthetics for their brand.
Yet Instagram prioritizes market adaptation over Instagram’s original identity.
What are they building?
Built a new vertical grid system that displays rectangular thumbnails.
To move Story Highlights to a separate tab to make more space for vertical thumbnails.
To allow to re-order the entire grid.
To add direct-to-grid posting option.
Why would they change?
1. User behavior reality
The platform is aligning with users’ evolving content consumption habits and filming preferences, matching current upload trends of vertical photos and videos.
With most users discovering content through algorithm-driven feeds, a creator's grid layout has become less important for driving engagement.
2. Gradual video-focus shift
Instagram has a Reels tab on profiles, but it's secondary to the main square multimedia grid. Instead of elevating the Reels tab to primary position (which could alienate photo-sharing users), they're adapting the main grid to vertical format.
This change optimizes the primary tab for both photos and videos, making it a more versatile showcase for all content types.
3. Strategic timing
Instagram aims to capitalize on TikTok's current market challenges to drive user acquisition.
To ease migration for TikTok creators, they are offering the familiar vertical thumbnails (4:5), along with financial incentives.
Worth thinking about:
When you’re dealing with a successful legacy product:
Analyze if your past success formulas are against users’ evolving behaviors.
Quantify the impact: How much do legacy features affect primary metrics?
Consider creating migration tools or guides for affected users.
What do you think?
Instagram's Home and Explore tabs haven't yet adopted its video-focused approach.
Will Instagram create an innovative new standard, or will it follow TikTok's design patterns again?