Pinterest Fatigue + Designs of experiences imagined IRL

Last week, I brought up how people end up with the same designs but no context. So maybe we need to talk about where that comes from when it comes to design trends. Consider this part 2.

I’m not anti-trend (or anti-Pinterest). It's actually important to understand what’s happening historically, culturally, and socially. Trends show us where things are going and why certain styles feel relevant right now.

When it comes to casual trends, it can be fun to participate. Most of it is inconsequential.

You can buy bedazzled accessories, drink canned hard seltzer, stick your lip gloss on your phone case, and take curated photos of your TSA trays. No harm done except maybe annoying everyone behind you during peak airport season.

But this isn’t a culture newsletter - because I’m definitely not a culture expert... I'm talking about what happens when this carries over into your work and affects businesses.

If you have the resources to change visuals often *cough* designer *cough* then it seems like it's not a big deal. The problem is when you take ideas as a HIRED expert and bring them into businesses that are relying on you for progress.

Pinterest and algorithm-based inspiration gets tricky because the more you use it, the more it shows you what you already like.

Are you looking for Italian-inspired vacations? Post-Coachella trends? 4th of July cocktails?

Suddenly you can just sign on to Pinterest and see remnants of your past searches.

That's fine… until you’re using the same account to find inspiration for clients.

Now your SEO copywriting client ends up with a mood board full of tomato girl aesthetics (from 2023) and whimsical fonts. And because the founder is trendy and female, you start thinking maybe it works.

This is how strategy and creative direction quietly disappear. Even if you did research and built a plan, you’ve now created something from fleeting trends in a sea of lookalikes.

It helps to understand what a platform is actually built for

It sounds obvious, but many people don't fully understand the purpose of certain ones.

Pinterest isn’t really a free collection of images, it’s built for brands to use for advertising/sales.

If you’re taking screenshots for your mood board later, you might not realize what you did or where these photos came from. Not to be a party pooper, but they’re probably from smart business owners who know exactly how to capitalize on trends. So actually, you’ve got a mood board full of:

• A conceptual style already copied from someone else

• Illustration packs sold on Etsy or Creative Market

So yeah, the algorithm shows you what you want, but not necessarily what your clients need.

I saw @orenmeetsworld give a great example of this with social media managers. Everyone started copying the airport tray photo trend. One person saw it, and suddenly everyone felt like their brand had to do the same. But at that point, it’s no longer surprising or interesting - it’s just another thing to try.

So how do you build something better?

Start by understanding how trends work and when they’re actually appropriate.

Competitor research should go beyond what things look like. For example:

During brand strategy sessions, you can map competitors on a grid to figure out where their positioning lies. You’ll see similarities and then you can ask where the brand’s positioning is relative to everyone else’s.

More hand-drawn designs may not make sense if you've done your due diligence on strategy. Because those designs might not make sense for the demographic. Or it’s only relevant for 6 months until everybody's sick of it.

Look out for the method rather than the execution.

If you can understand the strategy when doing competitor research, then you can build your own framework. Without the wasted time trying to blend into something that will eventually die too soon. Probably sooner than you think.

This week: Bringing the experience when planning your days.

How to use these marketing designs as inspo

*A quick note on these roundups, especially since I just went on a rant about copying for the sake of copying. Remember to find a method - rather than copy-pasting.

1. The everyday mockup - don’t think too literally. It could be a mailer, a cup, a packaging slip, a screen… it should fit your brand. Don’t go straight into asking your social managers to animate a balled up receipt.

2. The ingredients table - since this is more photography and art direction, make sure the style fits. If minimal flatlays don’t fit your brand, maybe yours looks like a messy desk with office supplies + a phone screen with your digital product.

3. The flowchart as a carousel - you’re in luck, flowcharts are not a new thing. If you do this, think of it as a mini quiz and please use your own style and colors. That will also determine the layout for this.

4. The weekly plan via weather app - gave you a hint right there: weekly planner graphic perhaps? A roadmap? If it’s digital… day 1: watch this tutorial, or Monday: grocery list, a simple workout, organize on Google Sheets, etc etc.

Got some business cards and weekly planner sheets! I decided to go the pull up Procrete on my iPad, then clean it up on Illustrator. I’ll probably come up with more ideas down the line since I gave myself a very short deadline for this. I’m doing more IRL conversations and local collabs, so print designs made sense. I used moo.com and the textures are lovely!

Other things I’ve been working on:

• a fun new project (CPG brand)

• brushing up on hand lettering

• adding more tech to my case studies after I had more interest from people in that industry

• focusing on accessibility & SEO on Framer sites

Hire me for brand, web, or marketing design - I have availability for one-off projects and just one spot this summer for a design retainer.

If your brand feels like it needs more implementation and follow-through beyond the initial logo (though I do that too), hit reply to chat or go to my page and see more.