Many creatives—from the worlds of fashion, influencing, interiors, food, set design—are finding inspiration on Pinterest, a social media platform high on originality, low on comparison
Influencer Sejal Kumar recreates a pose by model Anna Zahvatova, who she follows on Pinterest; (right) Pic/Dmitry Bugaenko/Anna Zahvatova/Pinterest
Eclectic grandpa dressing, jellyfish aesthetics, kitschy kitchens stocked with thrifted finds in pop colours, and Cafécore are the four soon-to-be-trends predicted by the Pinterest Cheat Sheet for 2024. If that sounds crazy to you, well buck up and get on the bandwagon—the image sharing and social media app now is the one-stop shop for all kinds of inspiration.
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In February 2024, Pinterest reported 498 million monthly active users—up by 16 million users from the previous quarter, with Gen Zs forming 40 per cent of their base. Once the platform for wedding mood boards, now it’s a smorgasbord of style and aesthetics not dictated by algorithm. In fact, Sara Pollack, Pinterest’s global head of consumer marketing, has been quoted as saying that GenZ is making aspirational boards about houses they want to live in, places they want to visit, and even the kind of people they want to date.
Along with using Pintrest to create moodboards for her clients, Drishti Sharma has also revamped corners in her home through it
Creator and influencer Sejal Kumar, who is based in New Delhi, is one of the 498 million Gen Z users, who uses the platform to seek inspiration for drama, music videos, style, hair and makeup. “I like Pinterest because my content is very visual and it helps me create one-minute drama reels, creating different setups, and different characters,” she says. What I like best is that there are no comments so it is like a positive bubble, I often go into it just to feel creatively inspired. And I share what I like with my team.”
For Drishti Sharma, lifestyle creator and graphic designer, incorporating Pinterest into her work has been a game-changer. “Recently I was tasked with rebranding their company’s logo,” says the Navi Mumbai-based creator. “I looked up Pinterest for inspiration, creating mood boards with colour schemes, typography ideas, and visual elements that resonated with the brand’s identity. This not only streamlined the brainstorming process but also helped me communicate my vision effectively to the client. The curated content on Pinterest allowed me to explore various design trends and consumer preferences, ultimately leading to a more targeted and impactful creative direction.” Sharma has also revamped corners of her home, using easy DIY tricks from Pinterest.
Pinterest’s growing popularity is also pegged on the toxic environment other apps such as Instagram have been accused of creating—which relies heavily on validation, likes and an illusion of perfect lives. On Pinterest, one can find inspiration for hobbies, travel, decor, and style—without having to show themselves living out all of these, or even show faces and bodies. For millennials such as Zahra Khan, who is also a personal branding expert, Pinterest has also always been an inspiration-to-purchase platform. “I have gone there to create mood boards and seek inspiration when I want to buy something,” says the Pune-based entrepreneur. “It’s not mindless scrolling, but content to commerce. It astounds me that the platform never got into doing that seriously. Through it one learns a way to style different products and different bodies.”
Carolyn Pereira, who runs Treatfully Yours, which churns out pancake pre-mixes, checks out what other brands are doing on Pinterest. “It’s all cleanly laid out, and without searching for it too much. It’s easier. I look at it for recipes too. It’s different because it’s more about creativity than Instagram. It could be the future just because it’s all done so professionally—well-thought-out and well-taken photos. It’s not cluttered.”
Carolyn Pereira and Zahra Khan
It’s not just for creatives: Shraddha Dodmani, a digital marketing manager and growth consultant, finds Pinterest a world bank of references. “Anything related to photography, themes, moodboards, visual schematic of a particular idea can be visualised on Pinterest, across industries. Even if you don’t get the exact replica of what you want, you can get a visual representation of something similar even better. I do UI UX [user experience design and user interface design] too, and many times I’ve made wireframes and mood boards from Pinterest references,” she shares.
But is this the end of creativity or inspiration as we knew it? No more reading when in need of a spark of an idea? Are we going to stop going for long walks? Looking at the sunset on a beach? Or just take in some mountains when we need to be inspired? Mood boards for these just doesn’t cut it.
Influencer Sejal Kumar often uses Pinterest to help her design her shoots
Khan says we don’t need to worry about that. “Gen Z has grown up online, so they crave offline experiences. They are very conscious of looking for them. Also, creativity and inspiration always come from many things—and it can be a mix of online and offline.” Amen to that.
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