Branding Advice / How to Create a Pinterest Board for Your Branding
It's easy to get carried away on Pinterest, pinning every pretty thing you see, but if you're trying to create an inspiration board for your branding this will just lead to overwhelm.
So how do you make a Pinterest board that has a distinct style and will actually aid in the branding process? Follow the steps below and you'll be well on your way to an inspiration board with purpose.
1) Pin to Your Heart's Content
Ok, I know I just said that pinning all the pretty things isn't the best strategy, but it's a good way to start, as long as you don't stop there. In this stage it’s just about getting it all out there, and later you'll go back and refine.
You'll want to pin logos and branding that you like, but don’t stop there. Add some lifestyle, interior, fashion, and travel photos that have the overall style and mood of your business. This will create a more complete picture of what your brand should look like.
I like to envision brands as people. If your brand was a person what would she be wearing? What would she eat? What would her house look like? Thinking in those terms will make it a little easier to pin lifestyle images.
2) Clear the Clutter
Once you’ve pinned to your hearts content, it’s time to refine and move onto creating a "mood board". I create mine in Adobe Illustrator, but for this purpose you can create your mood board on a new Pinterest board.
Take a look at what you’ve pinned so far and see if there is a common theme or overall style. You may find that some images don’t fit or you don’t like them as much as others. It can be helpful to delete those ones altogether. Pick a handful of your favorite images and pin them to the new board.
When I create mood boards for clients I use nine images. It can be hard to narrow it down to so few, but if you have too many images you will start to have too many competing styles.
3) Define Your Style + Color Palette
Now it's time to take stock of what you have. Does your board feel cohesive? Is there an identifiable style or mood to it? Is there a unified color palette?
You might find that you like the content of the images, but they all have a different color palette. When that happens I start searching for similar images in the right color palette. This isn’t necessary, but it helps to create a more unified mood board that will better guide you in the rest of the branding process.
See examples of past mood boards I've created for clients here. You'll notice that each has a distinct style and color palette. Ideally you want to be able define the mood of the board in a few adjectives and be able to discern a color palette of 2-3 main colors.
If you need some more step-by-step guidance with your branding be sure to download the Free Simple Branding Checklist!