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10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards The Shutterstock Blog http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6essentialstepstomasteringmoodboards 1/14 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards Need to get inspired? Illustrate a particular aesthetic? Pitch an idea? Look no further than the mood board. Essentially a collection of images, themes, textures, and words that together demonstrate a concept, a mood board (or “inspiration board” as it’s sometimes called) is a creative way to help your client or team better grasp your vision. Before it’s even time to present ideas, a mood board can be a great way to brainstorm and provide a visual point of reference to stay on task with projects. While there are many benefits to mood boards, getting started with this collage-style art form can feel a tad overwhelming. You’ll probably have flashbacks to grade school art projects as you pull out the scissors, glue, and torn materials, but rest assured, mood boards don’t have to look like a kiddie craft gone awry. For a polished piece that correctly represents your creative direction, follow these simple steps and develop a presentation that’s worthy of your amazing ideas. 1. Get Inspired From antique postcards to modern swatches of sleek metal, you can use just about anything on a mood board. To begin, your goal is to find them. If you already have a vision in mind, seek out elements to tell your visual story. If you’re still after the next great idea, your search will be for pieces that get the creativity flowing and make you feel excited.

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Page 1: Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boardscarrieanton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/moodboard_sstock.pdf · Illustrate a particular aesthetic? Pitch an idea? ... 10/20/2015

10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 1/14

Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards

Need to get inspired? Illustrate a particular aesthetic? Pitch an idea? Look no further than the mood board.Essentially a collection of images, themes, textures, and words that together demonstrate a concept, amood board (or “inspiration board” as it’s sometimes called) is a creative way to help your client orteam better grasp your vision. Before it’s even time to present ideas, a mood board can be a great way tobrainstorm and provide a visual point of reference to stay on task with projects.

While there are many benefits to mood boards, getting started with this collage-style art form can feel atad overwhelming. You’ll probably have flashbacks to grade school art projects as you pull out the scissors,glue, and torn materials, but rest assured, mood boards don’t have to look like a kiddie craft gone awry.For a polished piece that correctly represents your creative direction, follow these simple stepsand develop a presentation that’s worthy of your amazing ideas.

1. Get Inspired

From antique postcards to modern swatches of sleek metal, you can use just about anything on a moodboard. To begin, your goal is to find them. If you already have a vision in mind, seek out elements to tellyour visual story. If you’re still after the next great idea, your search will be for pieces that get thecreativity flowing and make you feel excited.

Page 2: Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boardscarrieanton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/moodboard_sstock.pdf · Illustrate a particular aesthetic? Pitch an idea? ... 10/20/2015

10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 2/14

Old photo,Historic Venice – Vintage Postcard; Italy by Mikhail Pogosov (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-87937129.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=imgc)

Page 3: Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boardscarrieanton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/moodboard_sstock.pdf · Illustrate a particular aesthetic? Pitch an idea? ... 10/20/2015

10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 3/14

Set of metal plate steel background by ben bryant (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-115112668.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=imgc)

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10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 4/14

This scavenger hunt of sorts can take place anywhere, be it online, at home, or on vacation, and in placesthat are either completely familiar or brand new to you. There is no right or wrong way to seek outinspiration. However, if you need a little nudge, here are some great places to consider:

Print: Magazines, catalogs, newspapers, and flyers can all be torn up and used as elements on yourmood board. For things like books and vintage elements that shouldn’t be destroyed, scan and printimages.

Online: Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/), Imgur (http://imgur.com/), Reddit(https://www.reddit.com/), and (of course) Shutterstock (http://www.shutterstock.com?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=pb) are all great places to scroll through and see what catches your eye.

Photos: Be it albums filled with old pictures or more recent digital collections on Facebook,photographs offer details of locations, fabrics, and textures that can increase your creativity.

Tourist spots: Museums, monuments, outdoor trails, and other spots people intentionally visit canexpose you to new territories for exploration. Bring a camera and sketchbook so you can capturedetails big and small.

Old stomping grounds: Everything old is new again, so even if you’ve visited, say, the historic pub downthe street more times than you can count, approach it with fresh eyes to find a new perspective.

2. Find Your Focus

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10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 5/14

Seamless texture showing mineral close up by Dariush M (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-214942210.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=imgc)

It’s time to organize and edit the materials you collected during your inspiration scavenger hunt. At thisstage, you likely won’t have all the components needed to create your mood board, but you should have atleast a few pieces that stand out — creating a dominant aesthetic or theme to build upon. Hone in onwhat moves you, and use those pieces to lay the groundwork for your creativity.

3. Hunt and Gather

With your focal points identified, it’s time to flesh out your vision. One or two visuals does not a moodboard make. Instead, it should come alive with supporting colors, textures, words, graphics, and imagerythat together means something bigger to the viewer. Using your focal point as the new inspiration, findelements that both complement the theme and tell a more complex story.

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10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 6/14

Background from a velvet fabric by Oleksandr Chub (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-163289510.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=imgc)

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10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 7/14

Burlap rough texture by Arcady (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-73564225.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=imgc)

Texture: Call upon all the senses, not just sight, when creating a mood board. Imagine what a swatch ofsoft, luxe velvet evokes, versus a coarse, fibrous piece of jute burlap. Texture can come in the form offabric swatches, but look for out-of-the-ordinary materials too — jewelry, hardware, andembellishments, for example.

Palette: Be creative with how you show color. Our Palette tool(http://www.shutterstock.com/labs/palette/?image_type=photo&keyword=), which allows you toexplore images by color palette, is useful for finding unexpected images that match your colorscheme. Pantone cards (http://www.pantone.com/) are another option. And don’t forget about foundobjects, which can serve two purposes by featuring color and showing another unique element,like culture, time period, or emotion.

Text: Words should be used sparingly to avoid the feel of a slideshow presentation. When donecorrectly, text can help to guide a viewer through visual cues, while creating the opportunity for usingfonts and colors to add to the board’s design.

Features: Any objects or elements that are part of your vision should also be used in the mood board.For example, if you’re an interior designer, show the lamp and bedside tables you have in mind for the

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10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 8/14

master suite. If you’re a website designer, include the buttons you’ve designed and the client’s logo onthe board to demonstrate cohesiveness. Don’t make the user work too hard. Remember, the purpose ofthese boards is to help convey an idea to people who need more visual cues.

4. Pick Your Approach

Young people and small business, hispanic woman at work as fashion designer and tailor by Diego Cervo(http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-115214350.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=imgc)

There are two approaches you can take when composing your mood board: physical or digital. A physicalmood board is a tangible, hard good that you can touch and feel, whereas a digital one is either designedon a computer or is a digital photograph of a physical board. The direction that is right for you depends ona few elements:

Audience: If your mood board needs to be presented to people in remote locations, digital is obviouslythe best way to go. On the other hand, if this is a visual you’ll be leaning on for design direction, havingit be easily accessible on the wall of your workspace might make a physical board the more logicalchoice. Of course you can always take a detailed picture to send your physical board via email too.

Strengths: Choose an approach that plays up the most important elements of your mood board. Forexample, if texture is key and you’re unable to capture the tactile nature in digital form, go for aphysical board. Or if a computer screen offers you richer colors than a printer can, stick with digital.

Flexibility: If project approvals tend to turn into “design by committee,” choose the approach that bestallows you to manipulate the mood board on a moment’s notice. If you’re going digital, have a go-to“toolbox” available of back-up elements that can easily be moved into place. For a physical board,use temporary adhesives.

5. Build Your Board

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10/20/2015 Inspiration in 6 Steps: A Guide to Mastering Mood Boards ­ The Shutterstock Blog

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6­essential­steps­to­mastering­mood­boards 9/14

Collage of photos in pink colors by Lucy Liu (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-291760007.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=imgc)

You have everything you need; now it’s time to create the end product. If you’re making a digital moodboard, be sure to scan the images, textures, and other elements you plan to use. If you’re creating aphysical board, you’ll need a few supplies: foam core board or a bulletin board, temporary adhesives, T-pins, an X-Acto knife, scissors, and a ruler.

When it comes to composition, remember that the way elements are laid out on the board can be just asimportant as the elements themselves. For example, a collage style might be better when conveying aloose and relaxed direction, whereas a grid design can evoke a more conservative feel. Play around with afew different arrangements to see which layout best relays the message of your vision.

You want your mood board to either sell your audience or inspire what you’re working on, so look forways to create depth. Use textures, and also layer images and swatches to give your board dimension and amore tactile feel. While this is sometimes easier to do on a physical board, it’s possible with digital, too.Lastly, be sure to give the board some negative space (http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/8-tips-for-maximizing-your-designs-with-negative-space). Edit your mood board down to avoid giving yourviewer visual burnout.

6. Do It Again!

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Don’t stop after just one board; make more to get a creative break during a mundane project, to giveclients additional options, or to get in the mood to pitch new ideas. They’re fun to create, and the moreyou practice, the better your boards will be!

Top image: Collage of photos in pink colors by Lucy Liu (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-296886032/stock-photo-collage-of-photos-in-pink-colors.html?pl=design-6essesteptomastmoo&cr=pb)

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Posted in: Design (http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/category/design), Design Tips (http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/category/design/design-tips),Inspiration (http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/category/inspiration) | Comment (http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/6-essential-steps-to-mastering-mood-boards#comments)

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