where originality goes to die... goodbye, Pinterest

I deleted Pinterest this week. I have been using Pinterest since it started and it used to be my favorite app. Beautiful interiors, impeccably styled food photography, style inspo, and amazing creative tips. I recently joked with my best friend that Pinterest circa 2012 was superior. No algorithms or AI. Ah, those were the days...

In my growing dissatisfaction with the user experience of Pinterest, I came across a YouTube video by Tuba Avalon called, how pinterest moodboards became dupe culture. The video is about dupe culture in the fashion industry, but I think the concept applies to creativity as a whole.

"You cannot have these things (moodboards) in front of you constantly and be original," Tuba says.

I completely agree. If you start paying attention, you will see the lack of variation in the images you are being suggested. We, as humans, will always take inspiration from the things we see around us. It is impossible not to on a certain level. However, just because Cady wore army pants and flip flops, does not mean we all have to... you know what I'm saying?

Especially when the images you are seeing are often paid ads that are being forced in front of your face. The more and more you see something, the more it is likely to grow on you. I don't want my creative process to be "influenced" by a company's bottom line. If you are recommended the same type of photos constantly, you will miss out on using your own creative brain to come up with new things. You will see a photo of a cool outfit and then you'll see a bunch of dupes. Then, it will link you to a similar item to purchase. The links on Pinterest photos don't even work half the time anymore. It used to be, if you saw a photo you could click the link on the photo and it would take you directly to the website, article, blog, or wherever the photo was originally from. Not anymore.

I work in the specialty paint industry and I can't even tell you how many photos I've seen of nearly the exact same powder bath. Dark green walls, thick marble sink with the drastic veining, and gold or brass accents. Is it beautiful? Yes, of course. Is it overdone and will be considered very trendy for the 2020s? In my humble opinion, yes. I understand not everyone has a design eye, and certain styles are replicated because they are just simply good. Interior designers who have clients asking for a style based on a popular image they've seen will design just that. I get it. You have to make the client happy. However, when did our houses all start having to look the same?

Fast fashion and fast furniture manufacturers aren't even trying to hide that they are fully ripping off designs anymore. Dupe culture is running rampant. If you see a high end designer sofa (*ehem* cloud sofa) you will start to see similar styles show up on Wayfair, at Target, and of course, IKEA. I understand that as a business, reproducing something that is wildly popular and is guaranteed to sell is smart business. When the question becomes "what will sell?" and not "what is our style?" though, we are lost.

We are all overstimulated. Sometimes it is just easier to allow the infuence to stear your choices. Fashion, interior design, new tech, new cars. Hell, even down to the oat milk you buy at the grocery store. Again, I get it. We are so overstimulated that not using our brain beyond the day job is becoming so common. However, I can't help feel like it is negatively impacting innovation and originality.

Before I closed my account I saved some of my favorite recipies and photos (see below). At one point it was a genuine space for untainted inspo, and there were a few things I wasn't ready to forget.

Image 1 - I freakin love heels. Not sorry whatsoever. Image 2 - The pose, the shoes, the car. What's not to like? Image 3 - The color, and the flair of a truly non-traditional wedding. Image 4 - Womanhood. Europe. That is all. Image 5 - Rich leather, the color, & layers. The Sartorialist Image 6 - All red everything. Color drench me in head to toe red any day. *Photos with no link were not properly credited via Pinterest so I don't know where they came from. I have credited all that I can.

The goal with this choice is less scrolling for inspo and more being my own inspiration. I feel more inclined to photograph and film things around me now, and I have all the tools I could possibly ever need.

Cheers to originality!