Making a Mood Board | GDT Week 3 - Post 2

As a creative exercise, this time I tried making a mood board, which is an easy way to show ideas.

Mood boards are collages of images, videos, text, textures, colors, and any other visual elements that help communicate a specific mood, style, or theme. They are widely used in design, fashion, advertising, interior decor, and for personal projects.

Some important aspects of mood boards:

• Purpose: a mood board is meant to inspire creativity, communicate, and define a style, experiment with different visuals, and evoke emotions.
• Components: they can be created “by hand”, using boards, scissors, glue, and images, but also can be created digitally, using design software or any other online tool. 
• Benefits: mood boards serve as a source of inspiration, they can facilitate communication among team members, and with their composition, they ensure visual clarity.
• Evolution: they can be used as a reference point. Mood boards evolve over time as a project progresses or new ideas develop. You can use it as a reference point for maintaining consistency.

TYPES OF MOOD BOARDS

• Design mood boards: to define the visual direction of a project.
• Inspiration mood boards: to gather ideas and inspiration for a project.
• Brand mood boards: to establish a brand's identity.
• Editorial mood boards: to convey a theme or story for a photoshoot or a publication.

HOW TO CREATE A MOOD BOARD

• Purpose: define the purpose of your project. Understanding that will help you guide your choices.
• Materials: gather visual materials that align with your purpose such as images, textures, photos, etc.
• Format: physical or digital mood board.
• Workspace: for a physical mood board you will need canvas, scissors, glue, and the material you collected. For a digital mood board, you will need a design software or other online tool.
• Color: use a color scheme that represents the aesthetic.
• Organization: categorize your materials to help you see what different compositions will look like.
• Creation: arrange the materials in the space you chose and add labels and notes. Try experimenting with layering.
• Review: step back, review what you're doing, and don't fear to make refinements.
• Share: as a source of inspiration or to communicate ideas to others. Also, allow feedback.
• Update: if your vision or interest evolves over time, update your mood board.

I created a digital mood board. It's a personal mood board because it's about things I like.

I had a good time while creating it. It allowed me to know myself a bit better, and express my style and mood at a given moment, and I was able to share my ideas in a creative, easy way.

In the coming years, I'll look back to this project and take it as a reference for my progress as a designer, and my evolution as a person. At the time I made it I liked all those things, maybe in the future I will still like them or not. The human is in constant change, so who knows...

There isn't just one way to make a mood board. They align with our desired style or mood.

Will you try making one?