Pinterest started off as a bookmarking tool – a way for people in general and creatives in particular to gather inspiration. Predominantly used by a female demographic for recipes, interior design inspiration and styling, Pinterest saw a steep growth in a wider demographic. As the brand evolved, so did the ways people were using the product.

It no longer served solely as a bookmarking tool just for women, but a way for anyone to search, save, organize, and share inspiration – ultimately, becoming the fuel for creation. Kurppa Hosk was asked to define the new brand story and, subsequently, adjust the visual identity accordingly making it cater to Pinterest’s exceptional speed of growth.

To kick off the project, Kurppa Hosk joined Pinterest’s in-house brand team in San Francisco to set up a first direction for the brand story and the visual identity based on the brand’s inherent notion of creativity and playfulness.

Based on this overarching direction, Kurppa Hosk returned to Stockholm to work on numerous hypotheses for the story and the identity. These hypotheses were then iterated in weekly meetings with Pinterest’s brand team.

The result of the collaborative process was a brand story built from Pinterest’s vision of “Unlocking Creativity”. This vision describes the brand’s desire to inspire people to create – regardless of gender and whatever their field of interest. The updated visual identity articulates this story by providing broader visual opportunities with a graphic interpretation of “the pin”, itself, as the core idea. The typography, iconography and illustrations depict the essence of Pinterest by using the dynamics between small and large, colorful and playful. All together a concept that embraces Pinterest’s creative universe and inclusivity– open to everybody, everywhere.