Two women standing between digital pillars with light purple gradient.

Art Commission

Taking Instagram into the Third Dimension

Client

Instagram

Challenge

To embody the creativity at the core of the company, Instagram wanted to develop a physical experience in the lobby of its San Francisco office that would demonstrate the brand’s mission to “capture and share the world’s moments” and foster community and originality.

Opportunity

Design an interactive experience that is unique to the Instagram brand and immediately engages employees, partners, and guests. Invite all visitors to become both content creators and consumers together, IRL.

Young woman presses light column with peach gradient

Audience Impact

# Avg Daily Visitors

300

Spatial Impact

Square Footage

2000 Sq Ft

Global Impact

Company Size

18,000 FTEs

For reference only, credit unknown

Giving Creativity a Home

The Light Forest features the Instagram community’s own vast collection of photos and videos, reimagined as a surprising 3-D environment of light, material and sound which visitors can alter by touching their surroundings to surface new digital content. Stimulating an infinite output of creative self-expression and simultaneously housing that creative expression, this experience is at once a contemporary gallery, a social media feed, and a photogenic studio environment.

Graphic illustration of columns, half distorted image, half orange to pink gradient

Render of young woman in front of illuminated pillars

Surfacing the Ultimate Intent

Through a series of workshops and exploratory sessions with Instagram’s senior stakeholders, we aligned on the core underlying intent to engage artist partners and collaborators, and similarly appeal to content consumers with the highest visual standards.

Instagram image of wavy orange glass in front of magenta background

For reference only, credit: Wannerstedt

Render of young man walking towards illuminated pillars

Floorplan of diagram showing active and inactive zones of installation

Diagram of person touching panel in front of pillars

Diagram of an image of a yellow slide being distorted and translated onto pillars

Render of image of landscape running across pillars with purple gradient

Render of young woman in center of pillars

Render of a group of people standing in between pillars

Group of phones showing renders of pillars

Video of woman taking selfie in front of pillars, and photo appearing on phone

“HUSH’s commitment to technology, simplicity and human connection resonated with Instagram, and together we created a memorable first impression that pays tribute to our company’s commitment to community and creativity.”

Pamela Chen
Instagram, former Creative Director

Young woman presses light column with white gradient

Building Community Through Interactivity

Our design for The Light Forest prioritizes interaction and encourages visitors to become active participants within the experience. The space cultivates community, creating natural opportunities for collaboration, conversation, iteration, and play—all critical ingredients underlying employee happiness, a positive work culture, world-class recruitment, and deep industry partnerships.