in 2012, shutterstock launched shutterstock labs, a lab for "exploratory tools and products." in may 2012, shutterstock images llc announced the shutterstock instant tool, which according to the company was inspired by shutterstock for ipad. the interface displays images in an interlocking mosaic view, allowing users to view more photos in less time. shutterstock instant was made available on the shutterstock labs website. the prototype for the search tool spectrum was launched on march 21, 2013. with development in-house by shutterstock labs, the tool "indexes hexagram data to yield search results by color." in july 2014, shutterstock launched palette, which allows users to add colors to the terms of the search, in addition to keywords.