INDEPENDENT CASE STUDY

Pinterest — PinTogether

Fostering a community space for Pinterest users to spark creativity and share inspiration.

TEAM

Just me!

ROLE

Product Designer

TIMELINE

March 2024 - May 2024

SKILLS/TOOLS

UX Research, Prototyping, Figma

CONTEXT

Pinterest has always stood out to me as a unique social media platform, offering something different from the typical experience—a quality I think a lot of people appreciate. This got me thinking: what if Pinterest could feel more community-driven while still keeping its distinctive charm? To explore this idea, I took on an independent case study as part of my Digital Product Design class at Cornell.

INTRODUCING...

PinTogether

a feature that lets users share their own pins inspired by weekly prompts, creating a space to share ideas and discover fresh inspiration.

USER RESEARCH

What Do Pinterest Users Actually Want?

Going into this, I believed that while looking for inspiration, users wanted the opinions of other users to gauge if the content aligns with current trends or resonates with a broader audience. Therefore, I originally focused on improving interactions between friends on the app.


I interviewed 6 individuals and gathered these findings:

Sharing pins is a challenge

Pinterest lacks a dedicated space for collaboration

There’s no centralized way to view all of a creator’s pins in one place

Revising My People Problem

From my research, I realized that users don’t necessarily seek social interaction between friends. Rather, they care more about finding new content and being able to easily share their own content with other users.

So, I revised my people problem:

When looking for inspiration on Pinterest, users want to find new, fresh content. But users can’t do that well because...

1. Users use the app for themselves rather than for their friends.


2. There is no designated space in the app for users to share content.

MARKET RESEARCH

How Other Products Foster Community

Spotify blends, TikTok duets/stitches, and Instagram DMs are some solutions social media platforms implement to encourage collaboration and social interaction between their users.

Pinterest does have features similar to these, such as collaborative boards and direct messaging. However, the issue lies in the fact that these features exist, but it is not being used by users.

It raises the question of how social features from other platforms could be adapted for Pinterest without losing its unique identity, and how Pinterest might strengthen its sense of community.

Pinterest’s Current & Past Initiatives

In 2018, Pinterest introduced the idea of Pinterest Communities to bring people together with shared interests and provide a space for collaboration. However, the feature was short-lived and was removed in early 2019 and was converted into group boards.

Today, Pinterest offers a separate platform called Pinterest Community—a space designed for creators and advertisers to connect with peers, share best practices, and learn about resources and features to grow their brands or businesses on Pinterest. However, this platform is not tailored to the majority of Pinterest users. As a result, the core issue affecting my target audience remains unresolved.

BRAINSTORMING

My friend and I brainstormed several How Might We’s and discovered 4 opportunities:

Being Unique

Accessibility & Engagement

Collaboration

Connection & Expression

And almost 100 solutions:

In the end, I chose Creative Prompts (inspired by Instagram’s “Add Yours” feature).


Taking a gameify approach, I chose this solution to keep users engaged on the platform and give a reason to share or interact with pins.

ITERATING

Creating a Space to Pin Together

First, I started sketching my vision for the Creative Prompts feature.

First Lo-Fi Design of PinTogether Feature

Making the Space Visible

I deliberated over the ideal entry point for users to seamlessly access this feature, aiming for a balance between accessibility and non-intrusiveness.

A. slide carousel w/ different prompts

B. showcases users and arrow call to action

C. floating iteration of B

D. prompts spread throughout homepage

I opted for option B due to its clear call to action and strategic placement, ensuring visibility and accessibility for users.

Prompt vs. User

Creating the PinTogether feed, I had to choose whether I wanted to showcase the prompt or the user.

I chose the first iteration as it highlighted the user who made the prompt as well as the number of users who added a pin to the prompt.


Highlighting the users was a design choice to help create a greater sense of community within the feature and Pinterest as a whole.

Sharing Pins Conveniently

Another important thing to ensure the success of my feature was to make sure that users were encouraged to create a pin and contribute to a prompt.

A. adding a pin from prompt feed

B. adding pin from nav bar

The prominent placement of the ‘Add Pin’ button beneath the prompt feed also serves to incentivize users to create their own pins, thanks to its heightened visibility. So, I decided to focus on that flow as opposed to adding a pin from the navigation bar.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Keeping Things Moderated ✅

After considering feedback and critique, I acknowledged the challenges of allowing users to create their own prompts, including issues with repeated prompts and cluttered content.


Consequently, I redesigned the feature to have Pinterest generate prompts that change weekly. Each weekly prompt will focus on a different topic, such as fashion, beauty, food, photography, and art, to provide users with a diverse range of interests.

Boosting Fun and Engagement 🎢

I introduced upvoting to boost engagement, along with "Top Pinners of the Week" to foster connections and enhance the game-like experience of PinTogether. A weekly wrap-up highlights users with the most upvotes for a specific prompt, displayed at the top of the main feed.


To ensure prompts remain accessible for inspiration, I added a filter button to toggle between current and past prompts, and a status indicator in the feed to reduce user confusion.

FINAL SOLUTION

Become a “Top Pinner”

Weekly prompts, each with a unique topic

Share pins with ease

Heart your favorite pins

REFLECTION

My Takeaways

Always prioritize the user.

Initially, I approached this project thinking about what I personally wanted from Pinterest. However, user research revealed that what I perceived as a problem wasn’t actually an issue for others. Ultimately, the needs of users drive the direction and success of the final product.

Embrace flexibility.

When revising my initial problem statement, I had to pivot the project in a new direction. As I gathered more user insights, I continually adapted my designs to align with their needs.

Iterate, iterate, iterate!

As my first case study, I didn’t expect to go through so many design iterations. Each version sparked new ideas, revealed fresh user flows, and uncovered additional considerations to create a seamless design.

If I Had More Time...

I would have conducted user testing to evaluate the effectiveness and appeal of my feature. With the insights gathered, I would have explored additional iterations, experimenting with different entry points or even creating a leaderboard of top pinners to refine the experience further!

Conclusion

Pinterest stands apart from other social media platforms by prioritizing user-centric content tailored to individual interests. However, this focus on personalization raises the question: What happens when users seek something new? Moreover, if social features remain underutilized, what purpose do they serve?


PinTogether addresses these concerns by providing a dedicated space for users to interact, share their own content, and discover fresh inspiration. By facilitating community engagement, PinTogether resolves the challenge of finding new ideas and connecting with others. While Pinterest’s strength lies in personalized content, the addition of community-driven features like PinTogether offers mutual benefits for users and the platform.

Let’s get in touch! ◡̈

aep227@cornell.edu

Ashley Paik © 2025

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