We're excited to share something new: Rings – an award from Instagram that's all about celebrating those who aren't afraid to take creative chances and do it their way. Those who bring people together over their creativity, and deserve recognition.

Rings isn't about honouring a specific type of content – it honours a spirit. One theme that we hear from creators all over the world is the excitement and nervousness that come with making something and putting it out into the world. It takes courage to chase an idea, quiet that inner critic and create anyway. This award is for the creators who don't just participate in culture – but shift it, break through whatever barrier holds them back to realise their ambitions. Because every act of creativity, big or small, can lead to something great.

So, how do you even assess creativity? To figure that out, we brought together a panel of judges – legendary creatives from around the world. They got to nominate their favourite creators and vote for who they think deserves a spot on the final list. The winners will receive a physical ring and a digital ring on their Instagram profile.

We partnered with Grace Wales Bonner, a leading voice in fashion and culture, to design the ring to be awarded to each winner. Grace's commitment to creative excellence across her multi-disciplinary practice reflects the spirit of Rings, so this collaboration was a special way to unveil the award. We hope Rings inspires even more creativity and reminds us all to take creative chances.

When we thought about how to bring this to life, we wanted winners to be celebrated in a way that's uniquely Instagram. We know that the profile is an important space for creators to show who they are and what they're about – so when winners post a story, an exclusive gold ring will appear around their profile picture, in place of the usual Stories ring. This will appear across the app – on their profile and in the Stories section in Feed. Winners will also have the ability to customise their profile backdrop colour and put their own twist on the "like" button – helping fuel their creativity in the year ahead.

We can't wait to introduce the very first Rings winners soon and celebrate their creative courage in the year to come.