Mood Board Must Haves

The importance of a mood board

Starting a project without a mood board is like cooking a new recipe without first looking at the ingredients list. A mood board is important for setting the vibe and aesthetic for a new creative project. Getting your ideas and inspiration all out in front of you in one collective area can help you feel more confident and prepared when tackling something new and exciting.

When you decide to embark on a new project, whether it’s branding, a website, interior design, or even just working on something personal, a mood board is always a good idea.

What to include in your mood board

Obviously there aren’t really any rules when it comes to creating a mood board, the entire point is to just put all the things that are inspiring you or matching the tone of the mood you are wanting to set for a project. With this being said, if you’re wondering if there are specifics you can include in your mood board that might help your inspiration for a project, here are a few:

• include examples of font styles you like

• include scenes or images that have colors you might want to include in your project

• images of rooms or places are great to include when it comes to inspiration for an overall feel you want to convey

• package design examples are always great for branding or packaging projects

These are just a few ideas, but definitely some key pointers on items that can help give your mood board some direction and clarity.

Something else to note, if you’re wondering how to pull inspiration without feeling like you’re copying the examples in your mood board in your actual designs – if you’re making a mood board for a logo project, you can avoid including logo examples in the mood board so that way you aren’t pulling inspiration from other logos, this way you know you aren’t copying them. You can include things like hang tags, bag designs, or book covers instead to inspire your logo designs.