A perfect Pinterest pose

Eclectic grandpa dressing jellyfish aesthetics kitschy kitchens stocked with thrifted finds in pop colours and Cafeacutecore are the four soontobetrends predicted by the Pinterest Cheat Sheet for 2024 If that sounds crazy to you well buck up and get on the bandwagonmdashthe image sharing and social media app now is the onestop shop for all kinds of inspirationIn February 2024 Pinterest reported 498 million monthly active usersmdashup 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 itrsquos a smorgasbord of style and aesthetics not dictated by algorithm In fact Sara Pollack Pinterestrsquos 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 dateAlong with using Pintrest to create moodboards for her clients Drishti Sharma has also revamped corners in her home through itCreator 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 ldquoI like Pinterest because my content is very visual and it helps me create oneminute drama reels creating different setups and different charactersrdquo 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 teamrdquoFor Drishti Sharma lifestyle creator and graphic designer incorporating Pinterest into her work has been a gamechanger ldquoRecently I was tasked with rebranding their companyrsquos logordquo says the Navi Mumbaibased creator ldquoI looked up Pinterest for inspiration creating mood boards with colour schemes typography ideas and visual elements that resonated with the brandrsquos 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 directionrdquo Sharma has also revamped corners of her home using easy DIY tricks from PinterestPinterestrsquos growing popularity is also pegged on the toxic environment other apps such as Instagram have been accused of creatingmdashwhich relies heavily on validation likes and an illusion of perfect lives On Pinterest one can find inspiration for hobbies travel decor and stylemdashwithout 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 inspirationtopurchase platform ldquoI have gone there to create mood boards and seek inspiration when I want to buy somethingrdquo says the Punebased entrepreneur ldquoItrsquos 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 bodiesrdquoCarolyn Pereira who runs Treatfully Yours which churns out pancake premixes checks out what other brands are doing on Pinterest ldquoItrsquos all cleanly laid out and without searching for it too much Itrsquos easier I look at it for recipes too Itrsquos different because itrsquos more about creativity than Instagram It could be the future just because itrsquos all done so professionallymdashwellthoughtout and welltaken photos Itrsquos not clutteredrdquo Carolyn Pereira and Zahra KhanItrsquos not just for creatives Shraddha Dodmani a digital marketing manager and growth consultant finds Pinterest a world bank of references ldquoAnything related to photography themes moodboards visual schematic of a particular idea can be visualised on Pinterest across industries Even if you donrsquot 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 Irsquove made wireframes and mood boards from Pinterest referencesrdquo she sharesBut 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 doesnrsquot cut itInfluencer Sejal Kumar often uses Pinterest to help her design her shootsKhan says we donrsquot need to worry about that ldquoGen 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 thingsmdashand it can be a mix of online and offlinerdquo Amen to that