The challenge

MATR1 was born from the frustration of surface-level, Instagram-based design trends. As a team of two, we identified that young aspiring designers, who were posting to Instagram regularly, were frequently feeling self-doubt, inadequateness and eventually burn-out.

Their reason for creating designs was to improve their skill and familiarity with different design programs, and their reason for using Instagram was to get quick feedback and build followers on the platform. They paid close attention to engagement and likes, and often compared their results with others, using this as a point of feedback to improve their designs.

However, Instagram’s algorithm didn't (or couldn't*) prioritise the highest quality, the most effort, or the most meaning; it prioritised frequency and simplicity - consistently post daily and you'll rise. This resulted in an aggressive spiral where designers would sacrifice meaning and effort to achieve virality.

Approach

Our strategy was to become a disruptor in this vicious cycle, provide inspiration to create more meaning on the platform and offer an alternative. We intentionally prioritised effort (we took our time), convenience (we posted when we could) and meaning (each post referenced a political, cultural, historical or technological insight or idea) - we called this Clickbait for good. We (mostly) ignored likes or views and focussed on creating conversations with our designs. My role involved content strategy, content creation, art direction, motion design, social media strategy and branding.

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Outcome

We created over 200 outcomes, both physical and digital, over two years. This project was awarded a D&AD Wooden Pencil under the Side Hustle New Blood category. We organically grew a 2000-person-strong community through Instagram and our website. We shared a call to action for other designers to create and share through our hashtag #contentthatmatters, over 600 posts were shared using this hashtag. Many were actively engaging in producing content that matters, plus re-sharing and commenting on our posts and others within the community.

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