instagram web
application redesign
A simple question: what are people trying to do when they access Instagram via desktop and where does the platform fail them?
All code for this project was written from scratch by me.
Before jumping into ideating solutions and creating interfaces, it was important to ground the project in real user behavior. I conducted an open-ended survey to better understand how users currently engage with the platform, and learn directly from them where misalignment stemmed.
The survey focused on frequency of use, friction points, and perceived usability under both environments.
ease of search comparison
Mobile App
Web Application
platform usage frequency
Mobile Usage
Web Usage
additional user insights
Daily Engagement
Web Interaction Level
Messaging Ease
reported user frustrations
Desired Improvements
No more need to jump ahead. The redesign can now be tackled with one core principle; keep things clean, but make them easy. Rather than hiding key features behind mountainous clicks and burying them in a cluster of menus, let's consolidate the experience so users can instantly see what's available without feeling overwhelmed.
The focus wasn't on adding more, but better utilization of the space provided.
Key interface improvements: a unified search and stories component, enhanced messaging visibility with unread indicators, and a new discovery tab for deliberate content browsing.
A prototype of the entire layout was built using Figma, where all of these changes come together in unison.
This marks the most critical phase of this project; realization. Good UX does not end simply at just mockups. Not only did I want to create this visual redesign, but also to polish it into a functional front-end application.
Component structure
Data management
Layout systemI focused on building a component-based architecture that mirrored the figma prototype as closely as possible, and implementing responsive behavior that would scale cleanly between desktop breakpoints.
This project doesn't just serve as a fun redesign, but a demonstration of end-to-end product thinking. The final outcome is less important than the capability it demonstrates; the ability to move from user feedback to a functional interface without losing clarity, intent, or usability along the way.