Mood Boards: Good Vibes Only

Recently, I had the opportunity to work on an exciting project for one of our clients, and the way I typically like to start a larger scale, creative project is by creating a mood board.

I think what comes to mind when people hear the term mood board is a visual display of different fabrics or textiles typically used in interior or fashion design.

In graphic design, a similar design process can also be helpful. Some designers choose to skip this step, because they think it is going to be too time-consuming. Not only are mood boards a fun and exciting way to get you and your client hyped about a project, but they also can be extremely helpful and an important step that you may not want to forgo.

Mood boards can really help the visual communication between you and your client.

From a client’s perspective, it’s an informative way to show what the graphic designer has envisioned. Mood boards are more structured … they are a well put together way of presenting an idea without spending too much time going down a wrong design path. It’s not as overwhelming or confusing as sending a collection of random screen shots found from many different sources. The imagery is also easily replaceable and allows the designer to create multiple and varying looks for a client who wants to explore different options.

Mood boards visually show the vibe of a project or brand being created.

When looking at a mood board, you should easily see the direction the project would go and the emotion it is going to give its audience. The board consists of a collection of colors, graphics, photography styles, and typefaces. When creating new branding for a client, the goal is for the board to eventually become a style guide.

I personally love this process because it can be applied to multiple types of design, whether it’s an entire branding project, a single poster design, different social media platforms, or even front-end website design. Mood boards are a great way to kick off larger scale, creative projects!