Finding aesthetic inspiration is an important process in any creative medium. But, this can be especially valuable in web design, branding, and curating social media content.

What Does ‘Aesthetic’ Mean?

Strictly speaking, the word ‘aesthetic’ concerns beauty or the appreciation of beauty. However, more loosely defined, an aesthetic refers to the overarching style or ‘vibe’ of something.

A strong aesthetic can go a long way on the internet. And while you may have a clear vision of your overall style it’s useful to have a fundamental outline to reference.

When it comes to creating your aesthetic it can be tempting to start from scratch and try to create something that’s wholly yours. However, this can be a time consuming and frustrating endeavour.

I suggest finding an existing style or aesthetic and start shaping it towards your goal. Choose your favourite elements and cut the rest. 

Expand on your vision slowly and take note of what components are ‘pillars’ in your aesthetic. These pillars are facets that once removed would affect your overall style. Break it down to as little elements as possible then build it out again.

You want to understand your aesthetic inside and out to ensure your vision comes out as a cohesive project.

You don’t have to spend all day scrolling through Tumblr posts to find an aesthetic anymore. There are tons of websites and apps dedicated to collecting and visually sorting images.

The most obvious choice for this would be Pinterest. A simple keyword search will pull up 1000’s of related images to draw from. And while this can be good for finding specific keywords or themes, usually the visual composition of the images are too broad.

Same.Energy is a relatively new visual search engine on the scene, however, it’s AI-powered image search is incredibly helpful when looking for aesthetic pictures. 

Simply upload an image and within seconds you’ll have a seemingly endless scroll of beautiful images of art, photography, and more based on your upload.

Filed in // Brand Identity, Social Media, Branding, Strategy