I love mood boards!

I've been using mood boards a lot lately! I created this November mood board to come up with a color palette for my Happy Autumn Zine .

Since mood boards have been popping up a lot for me and my work lately, I decided to share a little lowdown on mood boards. For example:

What the heck is a mood board?
Who the heck uses mood boards?
When the heck is a mood board used?
Why the heck use a mood board?
Where the heck to find graphics for a mood board?
and finally…
How the heck to use a mood board?

What

A mood board is a set of graphics, photos, colors, textures, fonts to set the, you guessed it, "mood."

When

Using mood boards is a great way to get started with a project and beats the staring at a blank screen or canvas.

Where

Finding graphics and photos to add to a mood board is super easy. Sites like Pinterest, We Heart it, Unsplash are three sites that came to mind off the top of my head. A quick google search will bring up more resources, I’m sure.

Who

Mood boards are used a lot by a variety of people. Artists use mood boards for art projects — writers for stories, set designer for movies, wedding coordinator for a wedding, interior designers.. the list goes on and on.

Why

Using mood boards essential when working with clients. Mood boards give you an exact vision of what the client wants in their project. I also like to use mood boards in my work because it keeps me on task and gets the creative juices flowing. There is nothing worse than staring at a blank screen or canvas waiting to be inspired.

How

Creating a mood board can be simple or complex. You can create your mood board as I did in a digital format with Photoshop or Canva. If you want to go old school, you can cut and paste images onto a poster board.