Review: Instagram Reels vs. TikTok
First impressions from a designer’s perspective
With all the attention to the newly debuted Instagram Reels from Facebook and the hilarious, bizarre world of TikTok, here’s a first impression on the two platforms and how they compare from a designer’s perspective.
Disclaimer: I’m no longer a teenager, which probably places me out of the target audience for this type of app. The concept of mindless scroll feeds filled with short looping videos make me feel ancient (as I can still remember Vine’s untimely death) and behind on the times. Nevertheless, I wanted to document my first impressions trying their respective experiences.
Let’s see how they compare:
Highlights on Reels
As video editing is a challenge even on computer where there’s a lot more space, both TikTok and Instagram probably could find ways to make it easier to edit videos easily swipes/taps on mobile.
Here’s some things that work well:
- Simple video creation options (effects gallery with a large amount of examples, straightforward music library, lyrics scrubbing feature)
- Convenient to use if you’re an existing Instagram user