How did you author photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
This week we have been asked to take our understanding of authoring, publishing and distributing and create our own content on Instagram. Instagram is an app that I have been using since 2012. I use the app to connect with friends and content creators who interest me; through their values or aesthetics.
In today’s class, Elaine mentioned that our content must encompass ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ design. I had to work after class, so the first thing that came to my mind was a bridge that I cross on my way to work. On my walk, I captured this image of the Southbank Pedestrian Bridge on my iPhone 7.
In order to record this photograph I used the camera inside Instagram, which I believe I’ve never done before. This proved frustrating, as I had to click back every time I didn’t like the image. I personally like using the iPhone camera because I can continually shoot photographs before deciding which one I like the most. I took a step back and positioned the camera so that the bridge was in the background, and put more emphasis on the people walking over it. Flash wasn’t needed as the sun provided great lighting.
I wanted to tell a story though this image, and capture all of the types of people crossing the bridge, with different intentions of where they may be going. In the picture you can see a man on the left is rushing, the two men in the middle are strolling and the man on the right is on his way to work. As Donald Norman states ‘good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible (Norman 2002). I personally take for granted the affordances of this bridge every day as I cross the Yarra to go to work, but this taking this image photo reminds me of the importance of such design.
In regards to editing, I used the classic Instagram square grid as the size of my image to ensure the photograph was perfect and adjusted to the app accordingly. Once it was adjusted, I then increased the lux to 10. I then applied the ‘Aden’ filter to 20 to enhance the image colour.
How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I took this image on the 17th, but published it to my Instagram account on the 19th of February. This was due some technical issues with linking my Facebook and Twitter to the Instagram account. According to Clifford Chi, the most ideal time to post an Instagram image is between 2-3pm for maximum engagement, so I posted the image around 2pm (Chi 2020). This was in an attempt to garner as much traction to my post as possible.
The main motive for this first image is to embody my thoughts about the affordances of design in a pictorial way. I think this will help reflect the creative and social environment of Instagram, which has also inspired people to be critical when capturing everyday moments.
How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
To distribute this image I used the geotag ‘Southbank Pedestrian Bridge Locks Love’. By tagging the location, it allows the image to be seen by anyone on Instagram who searches for, or looks through this geotag specifically. I also included three hashtags #southbankbridge #peakhour #melbourne to adhere to either Melburnians or tourists travelling to Melbourne. These are both ways of distributing the image I authored and published to people who aren’t following me and allowing them to engage with my image.
I distributed the image to my Facebook and Twitter account. I did this within Instagram itself before the image was uploaded, which was extremely convenient; especially if you are a user that cross-distributes often. Both provided a link back to my Instagram which would a bonus too. Interestingly, my Twitter account didn’t display the photo properly, and only posted the caption. Even if this is a glitch, it is a constraint to Twitter, as their system is potentially down and this could potentially disdain users.
My Instagram photo distributed on Facebook:
My Instagram ‘photo’ distributed on Twitter:
References:
Chi. C, 2020, ‘When is the Best Time to Post on Instagram?’, webpage, viewed 19th February 2020 <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/instagram-best-time-post>
Norman. D, 2002, The design of everyday things , Basic Book, New York , pp14.