Inspiration to action
Discover an idea, save it, then try, buy or do it. Published
The system
Fixed, everywhere
- The red P badge, never altered
- Pushpin red #E60023 as the only action color
- Real photos in rounded tiles
- Short, warm, sentence-case copy
The one thing that varies
How much brand color: product UI stays neutral; brand moments (onboarding, celebrations, launches) may use color fills and reserved colors when contrast holds.
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/brand_expression/guidelines
How loud each format gets
Silent
QuietProposal page
CalmLanding pageDeckEmail
WarmSocial post
Loud
Loudest
Our engine's setting, built from their rules.
Every piece passes 3 checks
Logo hidden
Cover the logo. A page of rounded photo tiles, one red 16px-radius button and short heavy sentence-case headlines should still read as Pinterest.
Photo first
If type or color is louder than the pictures, cut it back.
Verb check
Search the copy for "pin" used as a verb and for "trending" claims.
Strategy
The visual search and shopping platform where people discover ideas and turn inspiration into action. Published
A more positive place online
Find what you actually like, not just what gets likes; safety and wellbeing built in. Published
Search that sees you
Visual search and inclusive filters (skin tone range, hair type, body type) so results reflect the person. Published
Shopping with intent
People come to plan and shop, so ads feel relevant rather than distracting. Published
Full spec
- For Published
- People looking for ideas for their home, style, food, beauty and plans; and, on the business side, advertisers who want to reach them while they plan and shop.
- Problem Published
- Feeds built for likes instead of for what you actually like; ideas you can't yet put into words (paraphrase).
- Promise Published
- Find ideas that fit your taste, save them, and bring them to life.
- Purpose (design system) Published
- Build experiences that inspire people to create the life they love.
Proof behind each pillar
- Inspiration to action. 661 million monthly active users (newsroom footnote 1).
- Inspiration to action. 1.5 billion Pins saved every week.
- A more positive place online. Pinterest Impact Fund: $30M invested in 60+ nonprofits for emotional wellbeing.
- A more positive place online. 100% renewable electricity in Pinterest offices.
- Search that sees you. Search results can be customized by skin tone range and hair type.
- Shopping with intent. More than 50% of users think of Pinterest as a place to shop.
Story Published
Pinterest presents itself as a visual search and shopping platform: people find ideas as Pins, collect them on boards, and act on them. Its newer framing adds Pinterest Intelligence (visual understanding plus AI) and a "more positive place online" stance built on inclusive search, teen safety and wellbeing.
Values
Inspiration starts with inclusion
A diverse, equitable workplace and inclusive product features (paraphrase).
PublishedA more positive platform
Everyone who visits should feel seen and safer (paraphrase).
PublishedProtecting our planet
Credible emissions cuts and renewable power (paraphrase).
PublishedCategory. Visual search and shopping platform (newsroom); visual discovery for ideas, plans and shopping Published
Why them
- Visual search: search within an image to find the objects and styles in it. Published
- Boards: collections of saved Pins for planning, shareable as group boards. Published
- Inclusive filters: skin tone range, hair type and body type. Published
- Intent: people arrive to plan and shop, so ads are welcome rather than interruptions. Published
Instead of
Social feeds built around likes and followers (implied by "not just what gets likes").Text search for ideas you can't describe in words (implied by visual search framing).
Boilerplate Published
Pinterest is a visual search and shopping platform where over 600 million people a month discover ideas, find products they love and turn inspiration into action, powered by Pinterest Intelligence. Headquartered in San Francisco; on iOS, Android and pinterest.com.
Taglines
Create the life you love Observed
A more inspired internet. A better world. Published
Then get started. All on Pinterest Published
They never claim
- Never imply Pinterest sponsors, endorses or partners with you (badge only with a link to your own account). Published
- Don't call your Pins "trending"; "popular" only with Analytics proof. Published
- Pinterest in video, TV or film needs written approval from a partner manager, requested 10+ business days ahead. Published
- Audience numbers differ by page (newsroom: "over 600 million" in the boilerplate, 661 million in the stat block, "500+ million" in the impact copy): quote the dated stat with its footnote. Observed
Pinterest's story is inspiration turned into action: discover, save, then try, buy or do. The newsroom adds Pinterest Intelligence and a "more positive place online"; the homepage keeps it to one invitation and three feature names.
Source: newsroom.pinterest.com/companyabout.pinterest.compinterest.com
Personality and voice
Find more ideas on Pinterest
Trending on Pinterest
Save this idea
Pin this idea
Short, spoken sentences keep the words out of the way of the pictures.
Full spec
- Sentence case headlines
- American spelling
- Write as “we”, to “you”
- Sentences of 20 words or fewer
- No exclamation marks
- Say “save”, not “pin (as a verb)” or “pinned” or “pinning”
- Never: Trending on Pinterest, Trending Pins. Say "Popular on Pinterest" (only with Analytics proof)
- Primary partner call to action is "Follow on Pinterest"; approved alternates: Follow us, Popular, Find us, Visit us on Pinterest; Find more ideas / Get inspired on Pinterest
- Say "Popular on Pinterest" only when Pinterest Analytics shows high impressions, clicks or saves, and put your Pinterest URL after it
- Whenever you reference Pinterest, also reference your Pinterest account
- Never use "Pin", "Pinterest" or a variation in a product name or domain
- Capitalize product nouns Pin and Pins; lowercase board(s) in running copy ("65 Pins", "group boards")
- Every big initiative gets a short, clear description as its first line
- Avoid fluff and hyperbole; cleverness only when it helps clarity
- Contractions are fine ("you'll love")
SimpleConversationalClever
Three guiding words: simplify, keep it conversational, add a dash of cleverness. On the homepage the voice is short and warm; seasonal copy plays with words ("spellbinding", "bewitching").
- Short sentences, short words, no fluff
- Read it out loud; if you stumble, rewrite
- Best stuff first: one clear line per initiative
- Wordplay or alliteration when it helps, never hyperbole
- Sentence case; no exclamation marks (observed)
- Say save, not pin, as the verb
- Pinterest voice: simplify ideas to make the complex clear; keep it conversational so you don't lose your reader; add a dash of cleverness to grab attention (Gestalt).
- Short sentences and short words; read it out loud; put the best stuff up top.
- Wordplay, a pun or alliteration is welcome when it fits and avoids hyperbole. The seasonal homepage does exactly this ("spellbinding", "bewitching").
- Homepage voice is plainer than campaigns: an invitation ("Create the life you love on Pinterest"), then feature names stated as verbs plus outcome ("Search by skin tone", "Collaborate with group boards").
- Sentence case everywhere on the homepage (observed): headlines, buttons, footer links.
- Third-party rules (business brand guidelines) govern how others talk about Pinterest; the "save, not Pin" verb rule applies to Pinterest's own copy too.
Their words
ideasinspirationsavePinsboardsdiscovertry
Never
Trending on Pinterest (partners)Trending Pins (partners)Pin as a verb
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/content_standards/voice
- Don’t use "Trending on Pinterest" or "Trending Pins" about your own Pins
- Don’t use Pin as a verb
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/content_standards/voicebusiness.pinterest.com/brand-guidelines
Logo
Files serialized from the inline SVGs on pinterest.com (2026-10-31). Pinterest's guidelines let partners use only the badge, with a CTA and their own account; the wordmark is not for others. Shown for reference; not affiliated.
One small, unmistakable mark that always points to a real account keeps the badge from implying endorsement.
Full spec
- Third parties: badge only, never the wordmark
- Always add a call to action, and show your account when the context isn't interactive
- Use the badge templates so the CTA text stays proportionate
- Primary red; black or white when color is limited
- Lockups: centred (badge above CTA and handle) or left-aligned (badge left); centred for social and broadcast
- Interactive lockups: no container, gray container over white, or white container
- Don’t outline the logo
- Don’t add filters or effects
- Don’t remove the P from the circle
- Don’t alter the logo color
- Don’t build your own app or brand from Pinterest marks or names
| Primary | white script P in a red circle |
|---|---|
| Alternates | black or white |
| Clear space | not published |
| Minimum size | not published |
The primary logo is a script white P in a red circle. Others may use only that badge, never the wordmark, always with a call to action and their own account. It may go black or white when color is limited.
Not published: clear space; minimum size.
Color
Join Pinterest
Join Pinterest
A neutral frame lets Pinners' photos carry all the color, and one red makes every action obvious.
Full spec
- Pushpin 450 #E60023 is the hero color; other 450s only when absolutely necessary
- Text on colors 400 and below: dark gray; on 500 and above: white
- Meet WCAG 2.1 AA contrast
- Brand color fills only for brand moments (onboarding, celebrations, announcements), never on core UI, text components or form controls
- Use semantic tokens, not raw palette values
- Don’t recolor components or text with alternative colors
- Don’t put text over photography
- Don’t use color without a purpose
| Hero | Pushpin 450 #E60023 |
|---|---|
| Text | Cosmicore 900 #111111 (product); #000000/#211922 on the homepage |
| Link | Skycicle 500 #0074E8 |
| Token pattern | color-{common}-{pinterest}-{n} |
Shared by brand and Gestalt: a baseline palette (Pushpin red, near-black, blue, grays, white), eight reserved 450 colors for brand moments, and an extended 0-900 ramp per color with playful names (Pushpin, Flaminglow, Skycicle, Spabattical, Matchacado, Mysticool, Firetini, Caramellow; Roboflow grays, Cosmicore black, Mochimalist white). The homepage uses only red, black, white and warm grays; color comes from the photos.
Not published: color proportions.
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/color/palettegestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/brand_expression/guidelines
Typography
Create the life you love
A heavy, friendly grotesk reads as confident and approachable at headline size while the system UI stays fast.
Full spec
| Their face | Use | License | Open stand-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) | Brand and marketing type; on pinterest.com loaded in 400, 500, 700 and 800 | Proprietary, Pinterest's own; not licensed for others | Figtree Closest open match by rendered width over 8 homepage strings among Figtree, Albert Sans, Instrument Sans, Hanken Grotesk, Rethink Sans, Public Sans, Plus Jakarta Sans, Manrope, Inter, Geist and others; within 0.4% on 700-weight headings and 1-3% on body; x-height 0.50 vs 0.51. Needs -2px at 48px on the heaviest headings. |
| Pin Sans | All homepage text | Proprietary | Figtree Same family as display. |
- Product UI: system fonts; Pinterest Sans never for UI
- Few sizes: 12, 14, 16, 20, 28, 36 (Gestalt scale)
- Headings semibold in product; body regular
- Start-aligned by default; centre only very short text
- Body max width 664px (about 90 characters)
- Paragraph spacing 75% of body size
- Underline inline links
- Don’t set body or controls below 14px except brief secondary text
- Don’t skip heading levels
| Brand face | Pin Sans / Pinterest Sans (proprietary) |
|---|---|
| Stand-in | Figtree (Google Fonts, OFL) |
| Homepage H1 | 48px 900, -0.5px |
| Product scale | 12/14/16/20/28/36px |
Pinterest Sans (served as Pin Sans) is the brand face; Gestalt's product UI uses system fonts and keeps Pinterest Sans for occasional branded graphics. The homepage sets everything in Pin Sans: very heavy, slightly tight headlines, medium 16px buttons, regular 20px leads.
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/typographypinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31)
Graphic elements
Create the life you love
Rounded photo tiles in a loose grid · hero collage, board cards (one big + two small tiles), seasonal banner, signup photo wall
Join Pinterest for free
One red, on buttons only · Log in, Join Pinterest, Continue, the logo
Do linear-gradient(to bottom, #F6F6F3, transparent) over white: a barely-there warm ground that fades within the band.
Warm off-white wash · tops of the seasonal and Bring bands
Do a board = a cluster of saved photos plus a bold title and a "N Pins" count in #62625B; on photos it floats as a white card with a 40px radius and a soft 100px shadow.
The board card · carousels, banner overlay, feature panels
Specimens use sample copy, not Pinterest’s.
The UI is built from Pinterest's own content units, so the page looks like the product.
Full spec
- Radius 16 on buttons and small tiles, 32 on big media, 20 on cards, 40 on floating board cards
- Elevation by shadow only for floating things (cards over photos, modals)
- Separate by space and ground, not lines
- Don’t add hairlines or decorative shapes
- Don’t square off photos
Rounded photo tiles, the board card (a cluster of photos with a bold title and Pin count), 16px-radius buttons in red or warm gray, and a faint warm wash. No lines, no patterns, no illustration on the homepage.
Source: pinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31)gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/elevation
Iconography
Small, solid icons stay legible over busy photo grids.
Full spec
- Use the existing icon library
- One color per icon
- Use an icon when an illustration would be too big
- Don’t mix outline and filled styles
Filled single-color glyphs at 12, 16 and 24px from Gestalt's icon library (search, chevrons, info, eye, calendar, verified badge).
Not published: grid; stroke; construction.
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/iconography/librarypinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31)
Illustration
Illustration explains a state; it never competes with Pins.
Full spec
- Always pair with text and give it a descriptive title
- Use the prescribed size; generous white space around it
- Match the type to the state (loading for processing)
- Don’t use illustration as decoration
- Don’t resize past the prescribed size
- Don’t place it over images or text
- Don’t change its color, line weight or subject
- Don’t replace messaging components with it
Gestalt line illustrations exist for product states only (empty, error, success, loading) in large, medium and small sizes: a sad plant, a disco ball, an hourglass, a sad coffee.
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/illustration
Photography
The pictures are the product; showing many of them at once says "ideas" better than any headline.
Full spec
- Depict the real interface on the right device (mobile UI on a phone)
- Make imagery work in light and dark mode; add alt text
- Own the rights to every image you show
- Don’t put text over photos
- Don’t show a desktop UI on a phone
Real Pinners' photos everywhere: bright, saturated, colored-ground studio shots in the hero; moody seasonal photography in the banner; lifestyle tiles on the signup wall. Always in rounded tiles.
Source: business.pinterest.com/brand-guidelinesgestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/brand_expression/guidelinespinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31)
Motion
Motion that feels tactile and brief makes saving feel playful without slowing anyone down.
Full spec
- Animate only with a clear reason
- Only as long as needed
- Respect reduced motion
- Soft entrances, a little bounce, small physical scale changes
- Don’t animate for its own sake
Principles only: helpful, focused, accessible; soft, bouncy, physical. On the site: an 85ms ease-out press, and auto-advancing hero and banner slideshows with a pause control.
Not published: easing curves; durations.
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/motion/principlespinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31)
Interface & layout
The page, band by band
Navigation
Bring your favorite ideas to life
Feature rows x3
Signup band
Footer
Buttons
Full spec
Product layout is the Pin grid: 2 Pin reps per row on phones, 3-4 on tablets, 8px image margins and gutters, 16px text margins. The homepage is a centred 1140px column with 100px between sections.
Measured from pinterest.com's computed styles and geometry in headless Chrome at 1440x900 and 390x844, desktop user agent, after scrolling the full page; fonts calibrated by rendering.
Spacing
| Measure | Desktop | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Page margin | 150px | 8px |
| Section padding | 100px | 100px |
| Hero text width | max 480px, centered | full width |
| Card gap | 16px | 16px |
| Navigation | 80px | 80px |
Type, at size
Signup headline
Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) · 70px · line 1.2 · weight 600
Hero H1 / seasonal H2
Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) · 48px · line 1.1 · tracking -2px · weight 800
Section H2 (Bring...)
Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) · 50px · line 1.2 · weight 700
Feature H3
Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) · 38px · line 1.18 · weight 700
Carousel heading
Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) · 36px · line 1.1 · tracking -1.5px · weight 800
Banner card title
Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) · 32px (phone 11) · line 1.06 · weight 700
Signup card title
Pin Sans (Pinterest Sans) · 28px · line 1.1 · tracking -0.5px · weight 700
Lead
Pin Sans · 20px · line 1.4 · tracking 0.2px · weight 400
Board title / footer heading
Pin Sans · 16px · line 1.4 · weight 700
Nav link / button label
Pin Sans · 16px · line 1.2 · tracking 0.15px · weight 500
Body / footer link
Pin Sans · 16px · line 1.4 · weight 400
Meta / legal
Pin Sans · 12px · line 1.5 · weight 400
- Motion
- Press feedback: transform 0.085s ease-out on links, buttons and cards; the hero collage and seasonal banner auto-advance. Gestalt principles: helpful, focused, accessible; soft, bouncy, physical
- Buttons
- rounded
Page anatomy
How Pinterest’s own landing pages are built, observed on pinterest.com, 2026-10-31. The full measurements are in spec.md.
- Navigation
- White 80px header, fixed to the top. Left: red Pinterest wordmark logo, Explore, Shop. Middle: a wide #E5E5E0 search field. Right: About, Businesses, Create, News, then a red Log in button and a #E5E5E0 Sign up button. No border, no shadow.
- Hero
- Two columns on white: a two-line 48px heavy black headline with a red and a gray button at left; a collage of six rounded photo tiles at right, touching the bottom of the nav.
- Seasonal band: Spooky season starts here
- Warm off-white wash fading to white; a centred 48px headline and 20px subline, a 1140x600 rounded photo banner with a floating white board card, then a "More bewitching ideas" heading row with See more and a carousel of four board cards.
- Bring your favorite ideas to life
- Centred intro to the feature rows: a 50px bold headline and a two-line 20px lead on the same off-white-to-white wash.
- Feature row 1: Search by skin tone (media left)
- A 550x550 rounded panel image at left, heading, body and a red Join Pinterest button at right, text vertically centred on the panel.
- Feature row 2: Collaborate with group boards (media right)
- Mirror of row 1: text at left, 550x550 panel at right.
- Feature row 3: Search visually with images (media left)
- Same as row 1 with the visual-search panel.
- Signup band: Sign up to get your ideas
- A full-bleed wall of rounded photo tiles under a 50% warm-dark scrim; a 70px white headline at left and the white signup card at right.
- Footer
- Black footer: white script Pinterest logo at left, three short link columns at right, copyright under the logo.
Source: gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/layoutpinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31)
In use
Seasonal homepage: Spooky season starts here · 2026
The frame never changes, so seasonal content can swap in without a redesign. Our reading
Full spec
How our engine applies Pinterest's system per format. Our recipe from their rules and homepage, not something Pinterest publishes.
- Seasonal homepage: Spooky season starts here. For Halloween the logged-out homepage adds a seasonal band: a punny headline, a rotating photo banner of boards (Spooky nails, Party planning, Costume ideas, Halloween decor) and a carousel titled with wordplay. pinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31)
| Format | What they did | Source |
|---|---|---|
| partner CTA lockups | Badge with "Follow on Pinterest" in centred or left-aligned lockups, interactive and static, with handle or URL. | business.pinterest.com/brand-guidelines |
| product brand moments | Onboarding, milestones, upsells and hero banners in product may use color fills and brand imagery. | gestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/brand_expression/guidelines |
| homepage | Logged-out pinterest.com: hero collage, seasonal band, feature rows, signup band. | pinterest.com/%20(2026-10-31) |
Our setting for each format
| Format | Loudness | Must appear | What varies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing page | Build it the way pinterest.com is built (kit.spec.page, homepage voice): white page, 80px white nav with the red wordmark, heavy 48px sentence-case H1 with a red and a warm-gray 48px button (16px radius), real photos in rounded tiles (hero collage, board cards, 550px panels with 32px radius), #F6F6F3-to-white washes, a photo-wall signup band under a 50% scrim, black footer | which sections, the seasonal theme, how many feature rows | |
| Deck | White grounds, heavy sentence-case headlines, photos in rounded tiles, red only on the call to action | one brand-moment slide in a reserved color fill | |
| Proposal page | White ground, black copy, one red CTA, rounded photo tiles of the buyer's own work | board-card style summary | |
| Social post | Photo grid in rounded tiles, short clever headline, centred lockup with a link to the account | seasonal wordplay | |
| White, one red button, photo tiles, short lines | a board card |
Ads
Rules
Do
- Never imply Pinterest sponsors or endorses you
- Badge plus CTA plus your own account
- Match device and interface in product depictions
- Get written approval for video, TV or film 10 business days ahead
- Brand expression only in onboarding, celebrations, marketing moments; never on critical tasks
Don’t
- use the wordmark (partners)
- name your product with Pin or Pinterest
- say "Trending on Pinterest"
Source: business.pinterest.com/brand-guidelinesgestalt.pinterest.systems/v1/foundations/brand_expression/guidelines
Steal this kit
Your name and logo, Pinterest’s system.
Comes with you
- Color roles and how much of each
- Type pairing, with open fonts
- Voice rules the writing check enforces
- Icon, photo, illustration and motion recipes
- The strategy frame, to fill with yours
Stays yours
- Your name and logo
- Your proof: numbers, customers, quotes
- Your purpose and claims. Theirs aren’t yours to make
Use this kit for my brand Use this brand in Claude
Hand it to a developer
- spec.mdEvery value and rule
- tokens.cssCSS variables
- tokens.jsonDesign tokens (DTCG)
- kit.jsonWhat our engines read
Your brand next
Get your brand audit Put your brand in Claude What goes in a brand book
What Pinterest doesn’t publish
- Logo clear space and minimum size: not published.
- Color proportions: not published.
- Motion easing curves and durations: not published (only principles); 85ms ease-out press is observed.
- Icon grid and construction: not published.
- Photography rules beyond device-matching, rights and light/dark: not published.
- A marketing type scale for Pinterest Sans: not published (Gestalt publishes the product scale only).
- Pinterest Sans licence: proprietary, not available; Figtree is our stand-in.
- The full brand site brand.pinterest.com sits behind a login; Gestalt 2.0 sits behind Okta. This book uses the public business brand guidelines and the public legacy Gestalt docs (marked "might be outdated").
- Mission statement: not found on a public page we could read; the Gestalt home line is used as purpose.
- The homepage varies per load and by season; the anatomy records the 2026-10-31 seasonal variant.
Each value is marked published, observed, our reading or our recipe, with its source. Checked 2026-10-31. Not affiliated with Pinterest.