How to Create a Mood Board? Definition, Importance and Guidance

Bringing your design ideas to life after starting from scratch is fun, which is possible by creating a mood board. And visual representation of things shows how beautiful they can be. A mood board is a tool for collecting and communicating your ideas and representing them. You may also call it a collage of stock images, patterns, color schemes, illustrations, notes, etc. With this, you can convey a particular style or mood of a specific project.

The primary purpose of creating a mood board is to understand those concepts which cannot be understood verbally. Or it can be used at the start of a project during the brainstorming phase to see how the entire project (video, film, campaign or design project) would look like. Once the board is made, the team may start working by taking that as a base.

Let’s take a look at how vital a mood board is and how to create mood boards.

Table of Contents

What Is a Mood Board and Why Is It Important?

Inspiration and Materials for Your Mood Board

Choose a Theme or Concept for Your Mood Board

Create a Mood Board

Refine and Revise Your Mood Board

As mentioned earlier, a mood board is a combination of multiple pictures, color schemes and patterns, and you can add as many components to it as you want in order to bring your idea to life. One of the concerning but essential things about a mood board is that it shouldn’t necessarily be arranged neatly. Since it’s a creative process, you must decide what works well for you. But if you make a structure, everything will be easy to understand.

The best part about mood boards is that they define the direction for your upcoming projects. They represent the big picture, and you have to start implementing your ideas. And since it’s a visual representation, anyone can understand it. There are two main types of mood boards; digital mood boards and physical mood boards. Digital ones are made using foam boards or cardboard, while digital boards also include 2D and 3D visualization. We’ll see how these are made later in this article.

The first step to creating a mood board is to gather inspiration to make it and then go for a platform. Multiple online platforms, like Behance, Pinterest, magazines and personal photos, are available these days. You will not only get a vast collection of images here but ideas as well for creating your mood board. And in terms of colours and patterns, there is no better option than Nature, which itself is a combination of multiple colour schemes and patterns. Start hiking in the woods and visit parks to get a clear idea.

You may also visit museums where you’ll get exposure to different styles that may help you create a unique mood board. And last but not least, books are the best source of inspiration. Try to read books on multiple topics like art and fashion and use those concepts in real life. After gathering materials, you can review each of them and see which suits your project the most. You can cut the images out (from magazines) or save photos digitally in order to organize them. This can be done using specific textures and colors and with various online platforms such as Canva or Pinterest. It’s up to you to decide whether you want a digital mood board or a physical one, but it’ll also depend on what kind of materials you have.

Finally, you can try different layouts and see which one represents your idea in the best possible manner. That’s how you can find inspiration and create your own mood board.

Brainstorming ideas while creating your mood board is fine, but that doesn't mean you should get distracted and go off-topic. You must have a clear theme in mind about what you are going to do, which will help you focus more. It'll also help you convey your message clearly, making it easy for viewers to understand. And once you create a roadmap, you'll realize what is unnecessary there and what things should be changed.

Having a clear theme requires you to be clear about what you've in your mind. If you've things scattered in your head, you may segregate them and discuss them individually. Moreover, research is an important part here. It doesn't matter whether you're looking to start a business or something else; you must research in order to be able to provide or do what others need. All in all, choosing a theme or concept is really important if you want the entire process to go smoothly.

Creating a mood board with a clear theme is time-consuming and may be hectic. You can follow the following steps to make it easier and straightforward.

Define the Theme

First, you must define the concept or theme of your project along with its mood and color palette. You may categorize the topics further in order to make the entire thing look better.

Choose the Software (for Digital Board)

The easiest way to create a mood board is to let a software choose its components. And most software will do it for free. For example, MioCreate allows you to collect and organize pictures and videos for free and organize them. Canva is another option where ready-made templates are available; you just have to drag images and insert them into those templates. Milanote is another addition to the possibilities which offer mood board templates for free. So, you can go for any of these and start creating the board.

Collect the Elements

Collecting the elements requires you to be creative, and you may have to roam around for this purpose. You may go out, take pictures, read books, and then collect as many elements as possible to make a unique mood board.

Arrange the Elements and Present the Board

Lastly, you have to arrange all the elements you collected so that all of them combined represent a single thing. For that purpose, you may experiment with various layouts as well.

So, you may follow the above-mentioned instructions and create a mood board of your own.

Now that you are done with the essential part, create the board. The next step must be to revise and refine it, so it doesn’t distract the viewers and act as a representative for your project. For that, you must identify the key points and see if they communicate effectively with the target audience. This may also include patterns or texture.

Secondly, see if everything on the board is cohesive, i.e. pictures, composition and colors are making sense or not. Also, see if swapping of images is needed anywhere. However, the most critical aspect is to experiment with different layouts. Try one picture with multiple color combinations to see which works well for your board.

Lastly, get feedback from others by showing your mood board to them. This must be done prior to its launch, and it should be done by a professional who understands every bit of how mood boards can enhance the beauty of your project. Don’t fear constructive criticism, as it is a part of life.

Once you refine and revise your mood board, that means you agree that your mood board is representing your goals and vision correctly. That is when you should start further proceedings.

Conclusion

A mood board is a versatile tool that lets you communicate your ideas and helps you turn them into reality. All you need is to understand that there is no right or wrong way of creating it; you just have to focus on your goals and the idea you want people to get attracted to. The best way to start this creative process is to gather some inspiration along with the elements from platforms like MioCreate, and then follow the instructions given above, but a pro tip is that you shouldn’t be afraid of getting feedback from others. Keep learning, and you’ll end up having a mood board that attracts your target audience.