What Pinterest Design can offer creatives as an essential tool for inspiration

Pinterest is well established as a go-to place to moodboard and find inspiration, helping users to shape everyday projects and express individual style. But, it also offers tools aimed specifically at helping the creative community conceptualise, develop and show off projects; it even has an established design-focused arm, Pinterest Design. As such, using the platform to discover and save ideas to kick off creative projects only really scratches the surface of what it can be used for. Long Cheng, head of monetisation at Pinterest, explains that it’s also “a place where creatives can discover new trends, techniques and styles” as well as “the best place on the internet to showcase and promote your work, and find new customers”.

For example, every year Pinterest releases Pinterest Predicts to share upcoming trends – with 2023 predicted to see the return of tactile art, using materials like paper among other things. Besides the insights the platform offers, creatives can also use it to reach new audiences. According to Long Cheng, a wide audience of users, or ‘Pinners’, are actively seeking products and services through the platform, meaning it can be leveraged to increase brand awareness too.

“Pinterest is a way to communicate ideas and concepts visually, get feedback from XFN partners and, because it’s very user-friendly, you don’t have to be a designer to contribute,” says lead product designer Jamie Cabaccang. “For collaboration across creatives, Pinterest inspires new ideas and translates concepts you’ve had in mind by surfacing them visually through Pins. Once you have Pins which can be organised through boards, it’s a tangible way to start effective discussions across creatives.”

Pinterest Design also offers insights into the design process itself with dedicated written content. The Pinterest Design blog is a space where product designers and design directors at Pinterest share insights, alongside stories from the wider creative world. For example, for those looking to learn more about a career in UX, a recent post outlines Marisol Sierra’s journey into the “one of the most seemingly niche fields in tech”. Past stories cover topics ranging from integrating design accessibility into your practice, to learnings that can be applied from drag to design.

Going forward, the design team at Pinterest are looking to continue to personalise the platform, to bring more specific recommendations and to fuel creative expression. Long shares: “At Pinterest, we are eager to expand the number of brands, businesses and creators that inspire Pinners and to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love.” Users can stay up to date with the platform @PinterestDesign on Twitter.