Pinterest can be a great place to curate brand identity inspiration. There is an endless feed of photos to sift through, and much of it can be very inspirational! I love using this with my clients, alongside real-life inspiration wherever possible.
I really love curating inspiration in real life because it’s more than just looking at something on a screen. It’s the pause when you notice something. The feeling of a painting. The mood of an experience. The tactile motion of tearing a page from a magazine. These real feelings and experiences are worth noticing when curating inspiration.
I personally really enjoy curating inspiration from nature. The colors that appear naturally, the motion blur from a slight breeze. How everyday moments shape our senses.
How To Curate Brand Identity Inspiration In Real Life
Now, you might be thinking… “this sounds great, but how exactly do you curate inspiration in real life?” For me, it’s reading relevant books, looking through magazines, visiting art galleries or museums, and paying attention to the nudges and feelings I get in certain experiences.
When I went through my rebrand (I talk more about this here) last year, I felt a lot of inspiration surrounding tactile processes and materials like letterpress printing, linocut prints, book-binding and paper making, and photography.
Taking it a step further, my business name reflects how I love helping my clients grow and flourish beyond the core brand and web design services I offer, with a play on words about nature and nurturing a business like you would nurture a plant or flower garden.
I love tending to my flower gardens and fell in love with the history and culture behind tulips. As my favorite flower, I decided to incorporate this as a visual in some of my brand materials. I felt really inspired by the books Floriography and The Botany of Desire, which taught me more about the history of tulips.
How did my real-life inspiration translate into my brand materials? I used photos I took of my own tulips as inspiration to hand-draw a tulip in a linocut style, and I added a paper texture to the pattern I use in the background of some sections on my website.
Here’s what I suggest you to do:
Pay Attention to What You’re Drawn To
Paying attention to what you're drawn to can be subtle, too. A pause, a thought, a feeling, a fleeting moment in nature that makes you feel something real.
As a collection of items, this curated inspiration reflects your style and taste. Your human ability to notice and appreciate the things that make you pause and feel something is important and worth paying attention to.
In contrast, some folks lean on AI to curate a brand identity based on prompts and generated data. Using your own real-life inspiration curated with intention is where the creative magic happens because seeing something on a computer screen doesn’t carry the same spark as feeling it in real life.
Inspiration based on prompts and learned data feels flat and impersonal.
Inspiration based on lived experiences feels rich and substantial.
What Does It Make You Feel?
When creating a brand identity, the foundational pieces are all based on what we hope our audiences will feel when they encounter our brands. A whimsical brand might leave someone feeling inspired, whereas a more professional brand might want its audience to feel trusted and supported.
I take that inspiration and those feelings and translate them into a visual identity, with every concept and design decision grounded in that foundation.
For example, a recent client wanted their audience to feel comfortable, supported, and like their brand was approachable, so some of the inspirational imagery we used included a soft, breezy field. I created a monochromatic blue palette to convey professionalism, with a complementary camel color (pulled from the field) to add balance, structure, and a grounded feel.
Another example from recent client work draws inspiration from serene, sanctuary-like spaces. This translates into a simple, clear website layout with neutral colors. It’s not busy or cluttered. Her brand identity feels like the spaces she creates for her clients: deeply personal, cohesive, and like a retreat her clients love to call home.
What is Your Personal Style?
Our personal style carries through many facets of our lives: how we decorate our homes, the clothes in our closets, and our outdoor spaces. Often, the personality and characteristics of our style run through it all as a common thread.
When you think about how you’ve decorated your home, the furnishings, textures, what you fill your walls with–what do you notice? Are you drawn to handcrafted or antique furniture, or do you lean towards more contemporary styles? Do you have original artwork on your walls, family photos, or anything at all? Do you enjoy houseplants?
What’s in your closet? Are you drawn to the latest trends, colorful pieces, a full closet full of options, or a minimal capsule wardrobe?
What is your outdoor space like? Is it a cozy extension of your indoor living space? Do you have a lot of plant life, like flower beds or a garden? Or are you more minimalistic with low-maintenance xeriscaping or just grass and nothing else?
Reflect on your style and notice the common themes you see. For many small businesses whose personal character carries through their branding, these common themes can be a great starting point for your brand identity inspiration.
Want to put this into action? Make notes as you reflect on your style and outline your common themes. Does anything stand out that you want to explore more? Find a book that digs into that theme or topic area and learn more about it. Discover a new little rabbit hole to go down for the sake of curiosity and inspiration.
Conclusion
Overall, I encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to finding inspiration for your brand. Pinterest can be really great for getting the ball rolling, but when you can utilize real-life experiences, books, magazines, anything you can touch and see with your own eyes–that’s where the magic happens.
If you’re ready to put this into practice for your brand, but don’t want to do it alone, you can explore my brand identity packages: Full Scope or VIP!
Not ready to commit to a package? Check out my Brand Visibility Checklist.
