What to Look for When Creating a Design Moodboard
Design is a beautiful thing. So beautiful in fact, that it only takes a few scrolls on Pinterest to get side swept by gorgeous designs and a nonstop rainbow of color palettes. So if you’re building a mood board, how can you achieve something timeless and on brand?
Whether you’re a designer or a business owner looking to work with one, this guide will be helpful to you in creating a useful and accurate moodboard.
The first step is defining a clear list of 4-8 adjectives that describe your brand. Is it classic? Homemade? Boho? Edgy? Getting these cues on paper is what will help reign in your visuals once it comes time to make image cuts. Take a look at your list and make sure it doesn’t contradict itself.
Next up, start gathering your visual inspiration on a Pinterest board. The goal here is to cast a wide net. Grab everything that speaks to how you feel your brand should be represented. Be sure to get a wide variety of images: scenes, color palettes, typography, packaging, and logos. You want these images to help dictate everything from type to color so it’s important to have more than just stock photo style imagery.
The “More Like This” feature on Pinterest is a great tool for finding additional images that match styles you’ve already pinned. Remember, Pinterest isn’t the only visual search tool out there. Dribbble, Unsplash, Instagram, and even product packaging in real life are just a few of the many other places you can look for brand inspiration. If you’re not quite into the mood board stage yet, get into the habit of saving things that speak to you. It’s much easier to dig into an archive than it is to start from scratch.'
“It’s much easier to dig into an archive than it is to start from scratch”
One of my best tips for this stage of research is to think big. It’s good to have an idea of what your competition is doing, but it’s even better to look to the brands that have full-on teams of people working to get their image just right. I like to look at store brand packaging, signage, menus, cookbook designs, professionally shot product campaigns, and brand social media pages.
For example, Whole Foods makes some of the best social graphics and I love looking at the packaging design Williams Sonoma does. Even if they’re in a different category than what I’m doing, I can still be inspired by the layout, typography, and color usage.
Example of Whole Foods Instagram Story
I love the simplicity of this. The slightly irregular dashes next to “new” are a subtle nod to Whole Food’s natural and organic brand values but still look fresh because of the scale they’re used at. The hard shadows on the product photography helps them all feel like they’re related.
After you have a wide swath of images, step back and take a look. Think of your list of brand adjectives as clues and start to look for repetition.
Are there any colors you’re seeing a lot? Are they warm-toned or cool-toned?
What is the feel of the typography? Is it luxurious, minimalist, trendy, classic, ornate, handwritten…you get it.
Is there a particular photography style you’re seeing a lot of? For example, hard shadows, soft lighting, natural environments, etc.
Now take a look at your list of adjectives again and start seeing where you can make some cuts or additions. I like to use Pinterest’s “sections” feature for this and archive all the pins that aren’t working to their own area. To make sure you’re not falling prey to trends, be very critical with your selections and ask yourself whether or not they match the adjectives you listed. For example, if you want a clean and minimalist vibe, it might not make sense to have a muddy/warm-toned palette or display style typography.
Once you get your board narrowed down, spend a few more cycles adding and reiterating. Don’t look at it for a few days and come back to see how you feel. Once you feel it’s in a good spot, you can use a tool like Adobe Spark or Canva to create a free mood board. This is a totally optional step, but there’s just something about seeing everything organized and next to each other that makes my heart sing. You’ll want your final mood board to have around 10-15 images tops. Too many and it might be hard to get clear design cues.
When you’re all done, be proud of yourself! That mood board is the first little seed of something beautiful that will reflect you and your brand.
