Assignment: Come up with new features for Instagram.
2 Weeks
Week 1: Brainstorm
Brainstorm 20 new ideas for features Instagram might add to their product.
Sketch those 20 ideas in low fidelity. Just enough to communicate the idea.
Next week, bring 20 slides with one sentence and one visual describing each idea. All ideas should go in the "10/6 — IG Features Week 1 Due" page in your Figma file.
Assume you will pitch these ideas to the Instagram design team.
- Why should this exist? Does this feature help support Instagram's mission? Don't know the mission? Google it!
- Who is this feature for?
- Does this compete with other features or product goals?
- What are some potential unintended consequences this feature could create? e.g. Does it make it harder to avoid certain people? Does it make it easier to stalk people? What's the worst thing someone could do with this feature?
The goal for this week is to come up with as many different ideas and directions as possible.
In class, we will discuss everyone's ideas as a group, and help you prioritize ideas to explore next week.
Week 2: Refine
Refine one idea (it could be someone else's, if you like it — just make sure to ask them) and:
- Show how the feature works in high fidelity, illustrating how it would look in the Instagram product. Animate or prototype it, if possible.
- Come up with a name for the feature.
- Show how Instagram could advertise the feature in their product. How do they currently announce new features or encourage adoption? Take inspiration from that!
The goal this week is to make something as high-fidelity and polished as possible.