Mood Board 101
First of all, what is a mood board?
A mood board is a collection of images (digital or physical) that set the tone for the aesthetic of your brand. When viewed as a whole, the set of images should convey a mood that guides the creation of the visual identity.
How do you make a mood board?
When looking for images, you should consider your target demographic and what would appeal to your ideal client. Your mood board can include all sorts of images including:
colour palettes
patterns & textures
examples of typography
logos
website design
photography
graphic elements, icons or illustrations
Once you’ve gathered a bunch of images, spend a bit of time looking them over and delete the ones you don’t love or that aren’t cohesive. You don’t have to do this all in one sitting…in fact, I would recommend coming back to it with fresh eyes a few days later.
Why make a mood board?
Images are especially powerful because they are able to transcend the language barrier. As a designer, creating a mood board is a fun and necessary step in my brand strategy process. After compiling the guiding words and themes from my client’s intake questionnaire, I search for images that embody the type of feeling we’re aiming to create with their brand identity or website. When I show it to my client, they are quickly able to affirm that I’m getting the vision…and if not, we take a step back to reassess and realign.
Where to find images?
Images can be gathered from a variety of sources. Pinterest is a great place to start because of the vast library and ease of use. If you are looking for higher-res images that you can actually use in your project going forward, I would recommend checking out Unsplash, Pexels and Rawpixel (free or very low cost).
