Communicating through the grids of instagram

Instagram is, ‘the’ redefining medium of our times. Normative social media platforms like such have changed how stories are told by people, products and places. No longer is the story told in the format of plot-setting, conflict and resolution but, in the picture posts, animated gifs, personalised videos, captions, hash tags and in the Insta Gaze. This research breaks down the narrative structure in which posts are presented on an Instagram page and patches it up to get a deep understanding of image creation through an entire Insta page. This research reviews already existing literature on Instagram and social media to get a better understand Instagram as a medium. Research shortlists 26 well-known craftbased Indian brands, and through visual research, analyses how content is created, maintained in art and copy to increase visibility of the brands. Research also takes in, views and experiences of designers through semi-structured interviews. Author in this study theorises what is coined as, ‘Insta Gaze’ and how Instagram users and followers of the above delineated brands find identity and calm in this virtual act.