An Aesthetic Typology of the Visual Content of Everyday Instagram Bloggers: The Case of Sepideh Bazmi-Pour

Abstract
The present study examines the aesthetic typology of visual content produced by a well-known everyday Instagram blogger. "Everyday bloggers" are defined as individuals who generate content daily and continuously on Instagram, employing various formats and making use of the platform's affordances, and who have succeeded in attracting a substantial audience to their pages. In this research, we first sought to identify everyday Instagram bloggers with approximately one million followers and an average of more than one hundred thousand likes and views per post. From among these bloggers, Sepideh Bazmi-Pour was purposively selected for semiotic analysis. The unit of analysis in this study consisted of the posts published on this blogger's Instagram page. From the influencer's Instagram posts, we selected the fifty most recent posts published on her page. We then employed a semiotic approach to examine the aesthetic elements utilized in these posts that contributed to their higher visibility and engagement. Finally, we extracted and presented a typology of the aesthetic elements employed in the posts of Sepideh Bazmi-Pour.
Keywords: Typology, aesthetics, bloggers, Instagram, Sepideh Bazmi-Pour
 
 
 
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Instagram is a predominantly visual social networking platform whose image-centered structure has generated distinctive forms of interaction between users and celebrities. The visual orientation of this platform compels social actors to produce and curate visual content in order to construct and present themselves as recognizable participants within the network. Its infrastructural affordances—including diverse content formats, thematic categorization of pages, and algorithmic visibility—have diversified audiences and contributed to the emergence of various categories of social actors, among whom bloggers occupy a prominent position.
Bloggers produce content across multiple domains such as beauty, lifestyle, cooking, and fashion, seeking to attract and retain followers. Audience culture plays a crucial role in this process, as bloggers strategically select and curate content rather than publishing all recorded materials. Their production is therefore shaped not merely by the act of content creation but by aesthetic considerations designed to appeal to a broad audience. Visual and emotional elements—such as affective cues, luxury signifiers, and pleasurable imagery—are employed to generate audience engagement and aesthetic appreciation.
Among these actors, everyday lifestyle bloggers represent a distinctive category, sharing moments of daily life while drawing upon culturally meaningful signs and signifiers to construct aesthetically valued content. Given their reliance on culturally resonant visual and symbolic elements, it becomes necessary to classify and typologize the signs embedded in their posts in order to understand what constitutes "beauty" from the perspective of Instagram influencers and how such perceptions reflect broader cultural meanings.
Accordingly, this study identifies various types of bloggers and focuses specifically on the everyday lifestyle blogger Sepideh Bazmi-Pour as a case study. The primary objective of the research is to identify the signifiers employed in her content production and to develop a typology of aesthetically oriented content.
Research Question

What elements do everyday Instagram bloggers employ to create aesthetically appealing content for their audiences?
Into what typological categories can the aesthetically constructed content of everyday Instagram bloggers be classified?

Research Method
This research applies a semiotic approach to examine how aesthetic meaning is constructed in the content of an everyday Instagram blogger. Drawing on the theories of Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce, the study focuses on identifying signifiers and interpreting their culturally embedded secondary meanings in visual and textual posts. The aim is to classify the aesthetic elements used to represent everyday life and attract audiences.
Using hashtag search and snowball sampling, several prominent everyday bloggers with over one million followers and high engagement rates were identified. From this group, Sepideh Bazmi-Pour was purposively selected due to her higher visibility and active content production, as well as her association with the Iranian actor Shahrokh Estakhri.
The unit of analysis consisted of the blogger's fifty most recent posts from the past two years. Through qualitative semiotic analysis, key visual and symbolic elements were extracted and interpreted, and the identified signifiers were categorized to develop a typology of aesthetically constructed content.
Findings
The semiotic analysis of fifty recent posts identified eight dominant aesthetic signifiers that structure the blogger's visual representation of everyday life. These elements, repeatedly emphasized across posts, construct culturally resonant and visually appealing meanings:

Clothing (Fashion Aesthetics): Princess-style dresses and references to Disney characters symbolize luxury, Western cultural values, nostalgia, and aristocratic refinement. Clothing functions as a marker of social status and aesthetic distinction.
Celebrations and Occasions (Western Cultural Aesthetics): The frequent celebration of events such as Christmas and Halloween signifies the valorization of Western consumer culture and provides a visual framework for displaying decoration, fashion, and extravagance.
Sisterhood and Children (Gendered Aesthetics): The intimate and affectionate representation of the blogger's daughters constructs emotional appeal, softness, and feminine beauty. Children function as influential micro-celebrities and central aesthetic subjects.
Fame (Aesthetics of Celebrity): Posts featuring her husband, Shahrokh Estakhri, highlight celebrity status as a signifier of success, legitimacy, wealth, and social influence.
Pose and Body (Body Aesthetics): Carefully staged gestures, facial expressions, and coordinated outfits signify elegance, attractiveness, fashionability, and controlled self-presentation.
Setting and Environment (Spatial Aesthetics): Luxurious domestic spaces, foreign travel locations, hotels, and branded elements signify affluence and an idealized upper-class lifestyle.
Family (Aesthetics of Character): Gatherings during Iranian cultural events such as Nowruz and Yalda emphasize collectivism, tradition, and respect for family values.
Motherhood (Maternal Aesthetics): The blogger presents an idealized form of motherhood that combines care and emotional intimacy with beauty, fitness, and stylized daily life.

Overall, the visual typology demonstrates that aestheticized everyday life is constructed through interconnected signifiers of luxury, Westernization, femininity, celebrity, ideal family life, and curated motherhood. These eight categories collectively define the dominant aesthetic framework of the blogger's content.
Conclusion
Social media has reshaped not only communication but also cultural perceptions of everyday life. In line with the dramaturgical theory of Erving Goffman, everyday bloggers strategically construct idealized self-presentations designed to align with social expectations and generate audience pleasure.
In response to the first research question, the findings show that bloggers create aesthetically appealing content through culturally meaningful signifiers such as clothing, celebrations, setting, fame, femininity, sisterhood, family, and motherhood. These elements function as visual tools for presenting a desirable and socially valued image.
Regarding the second question, the extracted meanings can be summarized into four overarching aesthetic axes: Western cultural orientation, luxury and affluence, gendered attractiveness, and emotional intimacy. Together, these dimensions shape a typology in which everyday life is stylized, idealized, and culturally coded to maximize visual appeal and audience engagement.