Contract - May 2012 - (Page 146)

tools Pinterested, by Design How the hottest social media site is helping designers and their clients Pinterest is a visual organizer for images found across the Internet. Pictured here is a screenshot of one designer’s account in which designrelated boards of digital images are organized for easy viewing. Perhaps no other website better demonstrates the rapid trajectory of social media than Pinterest, which is now the third-most popular social networking site behind Twitter and Facebook. And with its emphasis on visual image board organization, perhaps no other socially connective site is better suited to the architecture and design community for categorizing inspiration and ideas. Pinterest gives designers a digital platform to share work, collaborate on projects, and discover new ideas. “Pinterest is popular within the professional design community because it offers a visual platform that helps designers quickly represent their work to clients while also finding inspiration from others,” says Erica Billups, a spokesperson for Pinterest. Beyond being a popular tool, Pinterest can help designers in their work as a simpler way to organize online images in a user’s own unique sequence, as opposed to a basic image bank. “The ideas I have in my head can be easily conveyed by finding that right image online [and then pinning them to a Pinterest board],” says Stephanie de Villa, a designer at Gensler in Seattle. Pinterest helps in schematic design Having concrete examples of inspiration during the schematic phases of design can open lines of communication with a client who may not fully understand what a designer is trying to convey otherwise. Royce Epstein, a senior resource specialist with the Philadelphia office of Kling Stubbins, says Pinterest recently provided a common language on a project that struggled during its early stages. “Through imaging, a client found she liked midcentury design, but also baroque, so I made image boards based on these moods. It helped her understand the concept and weigh in on what she sees, so we now do this on almost every project,” she says. Pinterest also served as a great tool for a client in China, Epstein says. The language barrier and physical distance presented obvious challenges, so the project became heavily image based. “We communicated more directly through images; it’s a great way Pinterest can assist the new normal.” continued on page 148 146 contractdesign.com May 2012 http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - May 2012

Contract - May 2012
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Coming Events
Exhibition: Coverings
Exhibition: Highlights from Salone Internazionale del Mobile
Product Focus: Enlivening the Flexible Office
Product Focus: A Collection to Define 21st Century Herman Miller
NeoCon® Preview
Hospitality’s Influence in Workplace Design
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Campus
Steelcase Office and Work Café
Shlemmer Algaze Associates
Red Bull Amsterdam
THQ
Grey Group Roof Deck
Knoll, East Greenville Headquarters
The Metrics of Distributed Work
Tools: Pinterested, by Design
Exhibition: Hallingdal 65
Designers Select: Office Furniture
Sources
Ad Index
Exhibition: Lasvit Liquidkristal by Ross Lovegrove

Contract - May 2012