Instagram Threads
Instagram Threads
New in macOS Sonoma, you can now add web apps directly to your dock from Safari. Unfortunately, many web app icons are low resolution, pixelated, or look out of place with the macOS aesthetic. Looking for any excuse to learn the web-based 3D modeling tool Spline, I set a goal to redesign the icon for Instagram Threads on macOS. This gave me the opportunity to practice modeling and creating materials in Spline while envisioning what an on-brand Threads icon could look like on desktop.
One of the things that originally made me fall in love with icon design, and the Mac in general, was early 2000's icon design, where icons were rendered in high detail at large sizes, and simplified when smaller. This is still a factor today, but most third-party app icons are flat and minimal in order to fit with iOS. To recreate the classic high-fidelity feeling, I wanted the icons to read as pure black and white when small, but have noticable shading, glows, and gradients when viewed at larger sizes.
I started with the Threads logo, which is a flat "@" symbol in the Instagram Sans brand font. I created the path in Spline and experimented with extruding the shape to give it depth. I played with lighting angles and intensities to make the icon recognizable and consistent among other macOS icons. I knew I wanted to create varitations of the icon in the original white-on-black, but also inverted, and using the Instagram brand gradient. I explored over 30 iterations adjusting the lighting and materials, applying various shaders until I achieved a satisfying appearance for each variation of the logo that felt unique, cool, and high-quality.
Once I was happy with the renderings in Spline, I exported the icons and made final adjustments in Photoshop. This allowed me to polish small details and make tweaks in an environment that I am more familiar with. While I still have much to learn about Spline, this project motivated me to continue improving my 3D modeling skills in order to create assets for future spatial computing platforms. I'm really proud of what I was able to accomplish in just a few hours!
