226: Still Don’t Know What Your Brand Should Look Like? Start With A Pinterest Moodboard

Branding + Design, Business, Podcast

August 12, 2025

EIf you’ve ever sat down to design your brand and thought, I have no idea where to start… you’re not alone.

Most business owners either:

Avoid the design process altogether because it feels too hard, or
Piece together random ideas that never quite feel cohesive

And one of the biggest reasons for that?

No clear visual direction.

That’s where Pinterest comes in… and no, I’m not talking about planning your next holiday or collecting recipes you’ll never make. Pinterest can be your gold mine for brand inspiration… if you know how to use it strategically.

Today, I’m taking you inside Part 2 of my Build Brand Method, where we focus on Unlocking Your Aesthetic, so you can create a brand mood board that actually works for your business.

Why Pinterest is More Than Just “Pretty Pictures”

When I say “use Pinterest to research your brand,” people fall into two camps:

Camp 1: Wait… Pinterest? Isn’t that just for kids’ parties and bedroom décor?
Camp 2: I’ve tried that… and ended up completely overwhelmed.

Here’s the thing: even graphic designers don’t start from a blank page. We gather inspiration. We look at what’s trending, what’s timeless, and what’s resonating in different industries.

Pinterest is essentially a curated, visual search engine.

Type in a keyword and it serves you up high-quality, niche-specific images that are far more inspiring (and far less random) than a standard Google image search.

The Role of a Mood Board in Your Branding

Think of your mood board as the visual foundation for your brand.

Without it, you’ll:

Spend forever making every single graphic
Feel unsure what “fits” and what doesn’t
End up with haphazard visuals that don’t align with your message

With it, you’ll:

Design faster and with more confidence
Maintain a consistent look and feel
Make design decisions that actually support your business goals

The 3 Mistakes Most People Make on Pinterest

1. Only Pinning “Vibe” Images

Yes, the dreamy sunset photo is lovely. So is that chic café interior. But “vibe” images won’t help you decide which fonts to use or what colour palette will resonate with your audience.

Instead, pin design-related inspiration. Things like:

Fonts (feminine font, bold font)
Colour palettes (beachy colour palette, warm neutral palette)
Graphic layouts and social media post designs

2. Only Pinning What YOU Like

Your brand should reflect you, but it’s not about you. It’s about your audience.

If you only pin things that appeal to your taste, you might end up with visuals that your dream clients scroll right past.

Go back to your WOW Brand Model from Part 1
Use your 5 key brand words as descriptors in Pinterest searches
Consider what your audience would be drawn to, not just what you personally love

3. Copying One Brand Exactly

I get it… you find a brand you adore and want to recreate it for yourself. But that’s plagiarism. And it rarely works well because their fonts, layouts, and colours were designed for their business, not yours.

Instead:

Take a colour palette from one pin
Pull font inspiration from another
Grab a layout concept from a third

Then combine them to create something unique to you.

Find inspiration from different places and bring it all together.

How to Pin Strategically (Without Getting Lost in the Scroll)

Here’s my quick-start process:

Create a dedicated Pinterest board just for your brand inspiration.
Use specific, strategic search terms (e.g. “feminine font,” “bold colour palette,” “calm graphic design”)
Pin freely at first. Don’t overthink it.
Zoom out to spot patterns: Are there recurring colours, fonts, or design styles showing up?
Filter your board so only the strongest, most aligned images remain.

Bonus: Using AI to Spark Inspiration

Once you know your 5 brand words (and ideally, your target audience details), plug them into an AI tool like ChatGPT and ask:

“Based on these words, what colour palette would you recommend?”

“What font styles might suit this brand?”

You’re not asking AI to design your brand, you’re asking it to give you more ideas to add to your inspiration board.

Treat it like another pin: useful if it fits, easy to ignore if it doesn’t.

Your Next Step

Pinterest done well is more than just “collecting pretty things.” It’s about curating a library of inspiration that makes your design process faster, more confident, and more aligned with your business goals

And in Part 3 of the Build Brand Method, we’ll use that inspiration to lock in your fonts, colours, and brand elements… so you can design with total clarity.

Need help making this happen?

Get your free ticket to the Design Masterclass 👉 www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass

WORK WITH JACQUI:

// DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb

// The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub

// Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

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