That’s So Very Pinteresting!

Pinterest for Web DesignA few years back, I got hooked on Pinterest – I mean seriously hooked. I could spend hours browsing and pinning and scrolling. At one point, I might have been looking into a 12 step program for it.

For those of you who may not be as familiar with it, Pinterest is one of those social media sites that seems to have exploded onto the scene. It’s a vast repository of visual delight including, but definitely not limited to, food pornography, internet memes, adorable animals derping, fine art showcases, diy extravaganza’s, and on and on and on. It’s incredibly easy to get lost in.

I’m better now.

Once I got past the compulsion to pin everything (something akin to hoarding but without giving up all the closet space – you just never know when you’ll urgently need to whip up a miniature box of fairy donuts) I started to uncover the practical uses for it in the web design world.

If you know you’re going to create a website – and if you’re actually reading this, the thought must have crossed your mind at some point – one of the big questions is not just how to make it look good but how to make it look like you.

You can’t really decorate a website like you would decorate your family room or bedroom.

Pinterest has plenty of pins that have to do with graphic design and websites and logos, but it’s the other stuff you pin – the color palettes, the room designs, your dream kitchen, that adorable coffee mug – that start to demonstrate your personal style. Are you a minimalist, do you love patterns and textures, monochromatic or color explosion?

One of the most fun web design projects I’ve ever done was for a client who had a mutual love for Pinterest. Her Pinterest boards served as a wealth of design ideas that we could incorporate into her website including muted, sophisticated color palettes, layered textures, and simple lines with subtle flourish. That all translated into an amazing web design that spoke volumes to her clients about who she was and what she offered.

Go forth and visualize!

So instead of staring at the blank page when you’re thinking about your web design project, go visit a fun, visually stimulating place like Pinterest and look for elements – either directly applicable to a website (like fonts and color palettes) or that just tickle your fancy, and start to pull them together in one place. They can serve as a wonderful form of inspiration and demonstration of your personal style to get you and your web designer pointed in the right direction.