A mood board I created 3 years ago for my portfolio website I have yet to put up. The good news is that even after 3 years, I still love it and keep it up on my office wall.
What is a Mood Board?
When beginning a project, I have become more and more appreciative of the process of creating a mood board, or series of mood boards, for myself and my client. “Mood Boards” are not just collages that contestants on Project Runway make; they are a really useful & fun way to begin any creative project. If you use Pinterest, than you probably already understand the basic concept of mood boards. A mood board is essentially a number of images ,within a particular subject, that you find captivating. Where Pinterest falls short though, is that on Pinterest you are collecting images over a long stretch of time and then you “pin” them onto vaguely defined boards. There is also something really sad about the padded space between the images. Personally, I love creating a cluster of images that may not look like they have anything in common to somebody else, but they make complete sense to my senses.
Using Mood Boards for Projects
As a freelance & full-time graphic designer, I accept a wide range of projects from a wide scope of clients. When I first began working, I felt very proud of my style and would often assume that my client would love anything/everything I created. This is not only an arrogant approach to working but it is also a quick way to pigeon-hole oneself into a specific style. Though it can be a bit uncomfortable, it is very important for a designer to take the time to try to really understand their client’s needs. Some of my best work was created when I resisted jumping into sketching/designing and I took the time to think about the client, think about the product, and really imagine who would be seeing it and how/where it would be used.
*Warning* I am about describe my thought-process and approach to the first steps of a design project. I am not much of a writer, and I have never tried to articulate this process before. I sincerely apologize if you feel dizzy after reading this.
After initial research and preliminary discussions with my client I will begin forming 3 distinct “feelings” to be captured onto 3 distinct boards. I will then search the web, magazines, and references to anything that also provokes the intended feeling. For each “feeling” I create a board. I develop each board until I feel satisfied and then I sit back and asses: “If this board were a person, what would they be like? A high-power business man? A girl who dresses like Zooey Deschanel?” “What typefaces would suit this board? Helvetica, Georgia, Curlz?”
These questions may seem a bit silly, but they can save you a lot of time and your client a lot of money (depending on how good you are at negotiating 
). After I have developed 3 refined boards I send them to my client and ask for their feedback. Because each board has been created with images that I am instinctively attracted to, I am typically really happy with any choice they make. It is every designers dream to feel like they are creating something they love and something their client loves. I truly believe finding a shared visual direction is the first step to this success.
If you are in a creative field or do anything creative in your spare time, from poster design to re-decorating your bathroom, I would suggest investing in a bit of quality time with a few magazines, your scissors and a glue stick and start making your own boards.
First, you DO write very well. I like your style. I, too, love mood boards – though I’ve really only used Pinterest (if that counts). I think my issue with Pinterest is that the risk of having your style contaminated by another’s style is so high. Does that make sense? It seems that working on a mood board in relative isolation from other “opinions” (or, in the case of Pinterest, collections of mood boards displayed by other people) would be best.
Have you ever had a client act really confused by the mood board process? Has anyone rejected all three mood boards?
I think Pinterest is good for brainstorming & searching for things, but I think it can be way too overwhelming for a mood board. Especially when you start clicking on images and suddenly you have 2 dozen tabs open to a bunch of blogs. It is like a giant maze of rabbit trails – contamination is right!
I have had clients confused by the process. I think it sounds a bit goofy to a lot of people – but I think the entire design process feels a bit goofy to a lot people. In general, most of my clients are working with a designer for the first time and are pretty open to the whole experience.
Great idea. I’m working on a project where I have to compose music for a spoken word project. I think I’ll try this since “mood” and changing moods are very much a part of the project. I will post sounds not images. Just not sure how I’ll do that exactly. Hmmm. Good food for thought!
What an interesting concept Barbara! Please let me know what you come up with.
Pingback: The Value of a Mood Board. Part 2. | Everyday Illustrated·
Very nice article and thanks for sharing your creative process! In case you’re interested, we’ve just launched a new tool to build private mood boards in a collaborative way: http://www.musepeak.com. We’d love to hear your expert feedback!
Pingback: Mood boards | Simple Style Finds·