Instagram | NFTs

2021-Present

In 2022, Meta launched support for NFTs. Creators are able to make their own digital collectibles on Instagram and sell them to fans while collectors are able to share their NFTs as digital collectibles on Facebook and Instagram.

I was the first designer on the product and I now lead design for the Blockchain Platform team as we to build web3 products for creators and collectors on Instagram.

Context

Problem

On Web2.0 platforms, creators lack control of their content. They operate across silos of engagement where their content is managed by the different rules of each platform. Because of the lack of control and diluted distribution of their content, creators struggle to monetize and make a living from their work.

Opportunity

Web3.0 provides creators with a number of opportunities to have true control and monetize their content by participating in the new digital economy. With blockchain technology, Instagram has the opportunity to provide creators with new tools to earn income, and fans can support their favorite creators by purchasing digital collectibles – art, images and videos, music or trading cards – as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Vision

Democratize and accelerate the NFT Market and make Instagram the front door to NFTs for the masses by building value in the following ways:

  1. Value to creators: provide avenues for incremental distribution and access, along with new streams of revenue

  2. Value to Users: allow people to participate in the new digital economy, while reducing barriers to entry

  3. Value to Meta: A new source of revenue that allows Meta to be part of the new digital ecosystem (web3).

Project set up

Role:

Design Lead

Team:

3 PMs, 4 product designers, 2 content designers, 1 UXR, 2 engineering teams (Blockchain Platform team and Instagram Creator Monetization team) 

Responsibilities: 

  • Partnered with product and research to define vision and strategy

  • Set project calendar and cadence for all features 

  • Distributed responsibilities across design team 

  • Mentored and provided feedback to designers on the project 

  • Organized and lead shared critiques across partner teams 

  • Delivered final assets to engineering 

  • Worked with design systems teams to develop new components to support web3 features 

  • Worked with UXR to conduct 3 rounds of user research to inform final product 

What we built

Wallet connection and sharing

Once a user has connected their 3P digital wallet to Instagram or Facebook, they can see their collection and choose to publicly share collectibles via the post composer in either app.

Wallet connection flow (some screens are not shown for simplicity)

NFT sharing flow

Wallet management flow

Wallet interoperability

Users are able to connect their digital wallets once to either app and to share their digital collectibles across both.

If the user is opted into wallet sharing (left), they are able to crosspost their NFTs on Instagram (middle) and Facebook (right).

Creator attribution

Creators can connect their wallets to Instagram to be accurately credited for their creations that have been shared on Instagram

Tapping the ‘Digital collectible’ pill on the image brings up the collectible details where the creator is attributed and their Instagram is linked.

NFT creation

Creators can upload their images or videos to Instagram to create a collection.

Collection creation flow (some screens are not shown for simplicity)

NFT minting and sales

Once creators have uploaded their content, they can choose to mint their collectibles to their own wallet to be sold elsewhere or sell their collection directly on Instagram.

Mint to wallet flow. Creators can mint their collection to their own wallet allowing them to sell their collection or use it on 3P platforms. This enables true ownership and control over their content.

Set up sale flow. Creators can list their collections for sale on Instagram where their followers and fans can purchase them without leaving the app. This enables creators to monetize their work directly in Instagram.

Users can purchase collectibles directly in Instagram using their credit card. No crypto or costly gas fees required!

Impact

  • Team met our goal of successfully launching all critical features by the end of 2022

  • A number of alpha creators are actively monetizing their content on Instagram through digital collectible creation and sales. The feature will open to more creators in 2023.

  • As of December 2022, there are >500k wallets connected to Meta apps and counting

  • Success of the MVP product has lead Meta to invest further in Web3 and I am actively leading the team in designing new features and improvements in 2023.