A moodboard is a panel or presentation that depicts the style of a future design project. This method of visualization is widely used in creative circles.
In this article, we will tell you what a moodboard is, how to make it yourself, and most importantly, what such a “board” can be helpful in general. Surprisingly, you can even use it for game planning with online casino bonus india and other unusual things.
What is the purpose of a moodboard?
Imagine you worked long and hard on a project and matched colors, fonts, styles, and textures. As a result, the customer looks at your work and significantly frowns. Yes, he did not like it, but it does not mean that your idea could be better; it shows that he had a different view of the final result.
A moodboard is created and agreed upon before you start working on the project to avoid situations like this.
Here’s what a “moodboard” might include:
- photos and images;
- text;
- headlines, slogans;
- color palettes;
- fonts;
- design elements;
- examples of similar products;
- logos;
- icons, buttons, etc.
A moodboard can contain anything that can convey the mood of the future project and finally form an idea of the final product for both the customer and the contractor. You can return to the visual representation of the concept at any time if suddenly there are disputes during its implementation.
Moodboard is used in architecture, web design, advertising campaigns, and fashion, as well as in preparation for photo shoots and video clips. In a word, in any creative sphere.
It is not a mandatory stage of work. Still, it greatly facilitates it because it is easier to agree on all the details at the start than to do a few options for the project to choose. All because, initially, there needed to be a clearer understanding of what needed to be done.
Sometimes it is much harder to decide and agree in words than to explain something visually. The advantage of a moodboard is that it does not require much time to create.
It can be a board on which the necessary elements are attached to convey the project’s mood. But now, more often than not, computer technology is used to create it. Just about the valuable programs, we will talk about next.
Programs for the creation of a moodboard
We have selected services that will allow you to build a moodboard quickly and efficiently, considering all your wishes. Here are not only designers but also tools for inspiration.
Services for creating a moodboard:
- Pinterest. It will help make “boards” of different subjects, using links to your materials. The service is convenient as a repository of ideas. At the same time, it will offer you different versions of images based on requests. The program is not suitable for creating ready-made collages. Registration on the site is free.
- Eagle. The application allows you to group pictures by color, keywords, and other characteristics. It works with all file formats, saves images from the browser, and has many other features that make developing a moodboard as fast as possible.
- Canva. This app is popular among those who create content for social networks, but it’s also great for our purpose. The service offers free and paid versions of layouts. You can work in the program from your phone, as there is a mobile app.
- Bannersnack. The service offers ready-made templates to create “board” and advertising banners. There are paid and free options to use.
- SampleBoard. A paid service in English that easily syncs with Pinterest. It is popular with designers and event organizers. It has an image editor, a template builder, and tools for importing moodboards.
- Miro. The program is famous for creating diagrams, kanban boards, and other visualization types, including moodboards. There are no ready-made templates here; you can upload your images and make markups.
- Dribbble. An app for inspiration. This online service lets designers, illustrators, and other creative professionals post their work and rate other authors’ projects.
- Adobe Spark. The tool incorporates several Adobe applications and allows you to create graphic content, including a moodboard.
As you can see, tons of useful apps will make creating a moodboard easier, and you don’t need to know Photoshop.
So, now that you have a brush and paint at your fingertips, all that’s left is to decide what you’re going to paint. Let’s talk about the stages of creating a moodboard.
Stages of moodboard
moodboard is not a chaotic arrangement of pictures and other elements in one space, but a visual representation of the essence of the future project. Therefore, the content of the moodboard should be integral, and images and inscriptions should be consistent.
To make it easier on yourself, we suggest adhering to the following steps in creating a “moodboard”:
Determine your purpose. It’s essential to understand why you need a moodboard: for personal purposes or commercial presentations. It is where the style and color scheme begin.
- Find images that symbolize the project. To do this, you must carefully study the details and the competitive environment.
- Refer to past experiences. Indeed someone has worked on a similar product before, or the product itself has looked somehow different.
- Use something that inspires you. No, I’m not talking about pictures directly associated with the product but with things you like personally. These can be images, signs, poems, or even simple flyers. Add these to your repository and use them in your moodboard.
- Decide on a color and font. It’s better to do this early on than to remember at the time of the project. They should blend in with the overall picture and convey the main idea of the work.
- Take another look at the moodboard and understand what is missing. Revise all used elements and remove unnecessary items.
It’s important to understand that moodboard – is not a copy of the project; it’s a concept that will adhere to the designer in its implementation. For example, suppose the moodboard presents a picture of colors. In that case, it’s about a palette of colors, smooth lines, and transitions.
It is believed that the “moodboard” has no limitations. However, there are still a few creation rules that will definitely be useful to you.
What should not be added to a moodboard?
A moodboard should be understandable even to someone with nothing to do with the project.
Here are a couple of tips on what not to include in the moodboard:
- Incongruous and opposing elements. It could be more disorienting and prevent you from creating a clear picture of the idea.
- Long phrases. “Moodboard” is primarily a visual description of an idea.
- Complex pictures and associations. Remember that some elements can be deciphered ambiguously and incomprehensible to the client. For example, you should leave images of celebrities as is.
- Use popular images. It’s better to spend more time searching for elements but create something unique than repeating yourself from time to time.
Moodboard can visually show the client what feelings the project will evoke in users if it is about the product. Thanks to such a technique, you can achieve a shared understanding of what the result should be.