PINTEREST :: THE LIFE SAVER

 

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SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

As a student, I remember always being “hungry” for new inspirations and new design projects and always scouring design mags on any given occasion. I would commit to expensive design magazine subscriptions in order to stay current. Furthermore, in an attempt to bring organization to it, I tried creating a catalogue on my computer, so I would scan  the images and store them and categorize them in order to be able to find them. I would also browse the internet like no other to find new images and I’d save them in specific categories. After a while, I would transfer them onto external hard drives to make room for new images. I admit, it was not the most ideal system and it definitely ate up a lot of my storage space on both my laptop and external drives and slowed them down extremely. It wasn’t the most practical approach either, since I wouldn’t have the backlink of the source. I also tried the whole bookmarking thing and I soon started disliking it, since it didn’t have the visual support I needed to make it easy to find what I was looking for. And then Pinterest came along and changed my life completely.

For the first time, I was able to look for inspirations (on Pinterest and other websites) and actually organize it by creating boards. And the best features of all?: I get to save it online and link it back to the actual source by using the “pin it” button on my browser window. Nowadays, most websites already have pin buttons that become visible once you hover over the image which “enhances” that whole Pinterest experience.

Since everything happens online, I don’t have to occupy my computer or hard drives unnecessarily anymore. My laptop is much faster and I bet extremely thankful to me for not cluttering it with images.

I use Pinterest for literally almost everything, from creating boards for my design projects to collecting recipes to pinning fashion inspirations or just simply to collect new design projects in order to stay current with trends. The fact that it is a social platform makes it just so much more fun because you get exposed to more pins by following fellow pinners with the same interests. You can follow brands and blogs that you like as well and their content is just one pin away.

I even use it to create secret boards for my interior design clients and add them on it, so we would be the only people that are able to review it. It helps me to have an overview of all the items and furniture pieces for the projects: I get to see whether or not everything goes well together and it provides the direct link for purchase for the client, in case they’d like to take it on themselves.

STAYING UPDATED

I’m always looking for ways to improve my workflow and my skills. Pinterest is a great source for that too. You can find a huge amount of infographics, life hacks, DIY’s, tutorials and instructions on almost any topic. I also use boards to plan photo shoots or my next furniture purchase for my home by collecting images and then narrowing down my selection.

The layout is very intuitive and easy to navigate through. The same way  you can add one person to your board, you can invite multiple people to be part of your board, so you can actively and collectively pin on the desired topic. I have discovered ton’s of new websites that way, that I now love and follow as well.

I really look at Pinterest like my sort of “assistant”, my catalog and my source pool all in one. It’s been extremely helpful in terms of creativity and by having the link option, it has made my life as an interior designer, mother, wife and human being much easier.

What is your experience with Pinterest, and what do you use it for? I’d love to know!

XO – Márcia