How to Design : Pin-able Graphics

Struggling with Pinterest?

Ok so first off – if you want some SERIOUS help with just Pinterest overall, let me refer you to my Pinterest-genius blogger friend Kayla – click here for her fantastic course.

I’m definitely still in the amateur realm of utilizing Pinterest to the highest degree BUT I am confident in my design expertise with creating highly click-inducing content SO LET’S DISCUSS. My main tips for you when designing a perfectly pin-able Pinterest graphic for your blog are:

1. Make it pretty – duh!

Use nice images and pretty colors (but not too many) to a) keep someone from ignoring it and b) create that trust that comes with attractiveness – it’s just like that saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” So what if you don’t have millions of people coming to your site everyday to read your content? You know the value of your post and you are pinning this content because you believe someone out there is looking for it. And people are just more likely to click on something and put more trust into something that is beautiful (even if your content/post has absolutely nothing to do with aesthetic… however, in my opinion, people rarely go on Pinterest for something that doesn’t have at least a little to do with aesthetic).

And speaking of aesthetic… make sure you put your own flair on it, i.e. brand it! Don’t just generically make it pretty, make sure it matches your brand and vibe.

Let’s take a look at the two examples below : both bad for different reasons, and one definitely worse than the other. The left option is just boring, generic, bleh. The right option is actually really cute – right?! But the branding is all wrong. The fonts are not the ones I use on my site, neither is the color. I also don’t really ever use black and white photos nor overlays as a design element.

Why the below option is just right : Fonts? Check. Colors? Yup. Image style? Right on track. Hand-drawn element? Yep, totally on-brand. From time-to-time or when-needed, I’ll use hand-drawn arrows or other organic-feeling elements because it’s right in line with those organic speckles (representing freckles) in my logo.

 

2. Correct Size + Format

Vertical wins. Never not vertical, ok?! With the way that Pinterest is set up, vertical images receive the most real estate, since there is vertical allowance (because of its column system) but a clear cap on horizontal allowance. Ideal size is a 2:3 ratio, something like 735 x 1102 pixels. But you can definitely experiment with making them longer; just don’t get carried away, keep it below 1700 pixels tall. However, Pinterest will scale your image to fit its columns automatically, so no need to worry too much about making the dimensions pixel-perfect.

And as far as saving the file goes : if your graphic contains a photograph, save as a JPG; if your graphic is primarily text, save it as a PNG-24. This will keep your graphics from lookin’ all fuzzy!

 

3. Text is Loud & Clear

So if your template is going to be text heavy, you’re going to need to follow some rules…

First sub-tip : Simplify your copy. Pinterest is all about capturing someone within .002 seconds before they just keep scrollin’. Don’t get too wordy or you’ll just lose ’em. Sweet, short, and simple while still capturing what the pin is about is key.

 

Second sub-tip : Scale your copy. Make important or catchy words/phrases bigger, more noticeable. This not only will catch someone looking for a certain topic quicker/easier, but also will make for a more dynamic design.

+ side note to add : Please please stick to only two fonts on a graphic. I’ve seen so many on Pinterest that just look so amateur using all these different fonts while also scaling the type and honestly it’s just unnecessary and looks messy. More is less here.