Why I Instagram the Way I Do — Christy Batta Design | Graphic designer and branding expert for nonprofits, located in the DC metro area

If you look at my Instagram, you know I love typography, vintage looks, found art, lots of texture, and a gorgeous deep orange-red hue. You’ll also notice that I put a lot of care into what I post, rather than “but first, let me take a selfie and toss it up on the ‘gram.” In fact, I’m so dedicated to the curated feed, I joke that my Instagram feed is never really insta.

One of my early posts from when I was figuring out my color themes. I love that is from an everyday visit to Snider’s Super Foods.

Why I Went Curated

I started on Instagram in the usual way – posting in real time, adding filters, maybe being a little less discerning about what and when I posted. Then I learned about curated, branded feeds through an online course on Instagram marketing. At the time, I hadn’t started my business but I loved the idea of an organized, thoughtful feed and felt like bringing a more curated look to my own Instagram would be great experiment in visual exploration. As I launched my business and built my brand, the lessons I learned about curated Instagram feeds have served me well from a personal branding perspective.

This looks like a simple cool sign image, but there’s more to it. It was from Nate & I’s first big vacation we took as a couple. We were celebrating our engagement and having the room in life to take a vacation. Nate caught this sign and I was so excited he was looking out for stuff I like!

How I Choose What to Post

I think of Instagram as a visual journal. It’s a mix of documenting found design, creative exploration, and important events in my life like trips and celebrations. And, yes, I skip all kinds of things that don’t fit with my aesthetic. For instance, as I’ll discuss in a bit, I like to stick to my chosen color scheme. That means even though I enjoy being outdoors, you won’t see a lot of plants or wildlife, because green doesn’t go. Thank goodness for IG stories, which allows me to share any photos I like without messing up my carefully crafted array of pictures. I also don’t tend to post a lot of pictures of myself, because I don’t want the pressure to look camera-ready all the time. I think of my Instagram feed as showing my point of view, not showing ME.

The font in this sign is one of my favorite styles—condensed sans serifs feel modern and aged to me at the same time on a fun way. I used this photo on the mood board for my business brand.

Choosing My Colors

I knew I wanted to have 3-4 focus colors for my Instagram feed, so I started looking at what colors were most common in my world. Personally, my favorite color is teal, but I just wasn’t seeing a lot of teal popping up around Silver Spring. What I was seeing, however, were a lot of red signs, tan bricks, light blue skies, and white… a lot of other things.

Later, when I was setting up my business brand, I asked myself if the colors I was highlighting on my Instagram represented my core values of empathy, vision and teamwork? I decided they did, so I stuck with them! Oh, and if a picture is important to me but the colors just don’t work… hello, black and white treatment!

This was from the Women’s March in 2017. It’s one of those moments where I felt really empowered to express my personal healthcare story and I’m so glad I have this image to document it.

How Instagram Helps My Business

As a solo business owner, my business reflects me and vice versa. The color themes and branding help folks remember I’m a designer. If a prospective client saw my Instagram, they would see I have an eye for color and detail. That said, I started my Instagram account as a personal venture and that’s how I look at it. I don’t tend to engage in any heavy “hire me” calls-to-action on my Instagram. Sometimes I feel like if I’m not actively promoting myself, I’m wasting time (hashtag #HustleCulture, right?) but I remind myself not everything needs to have an ROI.

But… there have been some great business perks, largely engaging with fellow designers and with my local community. I connected with a lot folks through Instagram and Twitter when we first moved to Silver Spring who really encouraged (and hired!) me when I started my own business. Instagram has been a lovely platform to help me keep in touch with folks I meet out in the world. Occasionally, those acquaintances have turned into clients or referrals, but really it’s just nice to have another platform to engage and connect.

And… it’s fun! I like keeping up my color schemes and experimenting with amateur photography and photo editing. My “matchy-matchy” Instagram brings me joy. Joy equals positive energy, and positive energy helps me and my business grow and thrive.

This was a lettering post from the 100 days challenge I did back in 2017. This was an important time where I learned how to use lettering to talk about my health experiences and also hone in on a lettering style that I’ve stuck with since.

CHANGE MAKER OF THE MONTH

This month, I’m spotlighting and supporting the DC Abortion Fund, an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit that makes grants to pregnant people in the DC area, as well as those traveling to the area, who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion. Abortion is health care and I believe everyone should be able to access the health care they need.