Major Improvements to Polyvore

This weekend we launched some major improvements to Polyvore. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

1) Text tool

A lot of people have been clipping images from Fonts.com as a way of adding text to their sets. We were impressed and surprised by this clever workaround, but we figured we ought to just build a text tool to make it easier for everyone.

Now when you go to the All Items tab of the editor, you should see a "Text" option.

Just click on it and you'll be presented with different fonts. Drag the font you want to use to the canvas, just as you would drag an item to the canvas.


To change the text, use the controls in the top right corner. You can resize the text box by dragging its corners.


2) Color improvements

Thanks to our summer intern Chi Cornell, we also launched some big improvements to Polyvore's color matching technology and color-based search. We used to do a poor job of analyzing dark colors, often classifying dark shades of blue and purple as black. We were also getting complaints about our confusing, disorganized color palette. Chi improved the accuracy of our color analysis and also created a simpler, cleaner, easier to use color wheel. Great work, Chi!

The old color palette.

The new color palette. Much better!

3) Spam blocking and Private message settings

Spam and chain mail are not permitted on Polyvore. To help enforce this, we've added some automated spam detection. If you send too many "Please join my group" messages or other kinds of spam, you won't be allowed to send any more messages for a short while.

We've also added some private message settings, which allow you to block private messages from people who aren't your contacts. Go to your profile page and click on the "Edit my account" link. You can edit your Private Message Settings to only receive messages from your contacts.



4) Tags for sets

Now you can organize and classify your sets using tags. We encourage you to use tags to describe the occasion, style, colors, or celebrity inspiration for your outfits. Tag-based search is coming soon to Polyvore, and good tags will make it easier for other people to find your sets.