Planning to create a mood board? Wondering what elements it should include to make it look appealing? There are seven main elements that your mood board should include to truly represent your idea. These key elements decide the feel and appeal of your mood board. Also, carefully choosing them will help you create a coherent look.
Keep in mind that a mood board should be attractive and classy to inspire the people who see it. For that, bringing the right things together to design the mood board is important.
To help you create a perfect mood board to impress your clients, we have mentioned the important elements. So, read the article to learn how you can bring your idea to the physical form.
Key Elements of a Mood Board
1. Color
Colors are a great way to express a personality, feeling, or energy. You need to choose colors that complement the brand’s color scheme you are working with. Another trick to add contrasting colors is to choose colors for photos and images you have added on the board.
Make sure to use a particular color scheme throughout the mood board to create a coherent look and set the mood.
2. Graphic Elements
The mood board includes more than just colors. You need to add graphic elements that will help you collect references for the following things:
- Borders and frames
- Textures and patterns
- Illustration
By adding these elements, you can make your mood board look unique. They also give you an idea of whether each element in your project will complement the others.
3. Logo
When creating a mood board as a visual representation of your ideas, you need to add a brand logo. Add it at any corner where it will be visible to show you have created the mood board for them.
Also, you can incorporate logos in different styles, such as hand-drawn minimalist style or printed on colorful paper. You can also keep them the logo style vintage, monoline, or simple, just as it is. Keep the logo as a point of reference while deciding colors, pictures, and other mood board elements.
4. Typography
This is another important element that can make or break the visual appeal of your mood board. You need to carefully decide the fonts of each text you want to incorporate on the mood board. If you are confused, then experiment with two to three fonts and choose which suits you best.
You can also consider the logo font while deciding on the typography. For example, if the logo is simple and decent, then keep your text elegant. If the logo is colorful and has a classy font, then look for stylish fonts for your mood board.
5. Physical Elements
Based on the purpose of your mood board, you can add different physical elements. This helps viewers understand the reason for your mood board and make it easily understandable for others. The following are some physical elements whose images you can collect to include in your mood board.
- Packaging
- Business cards
- Website
- Social media posts
- Social media profiles
- Brick-and-mortar shop signage
- Uniforms
- Office Stationery
- Vehicle signage
- E-books, books, books covers
- Presentation slide decks
6. Your Brand’s Effect
While designing a mood board, it’s important to add your signature brand style to it. This can be anything that truly represents your brand and make it different from others. It can be colors, particular patterns, designs, or mediums you choose to present the mood board.
Additionally, choose a brand effect that you can use for every client. This way, every time someone sees your work, they will know that you created it.
7. Tell a Visual Story
Your mood board should have a visual story. The visual story will help others to understand your idea about the topic. It will give them an idea what will be the final feel of the project.
The perfect mood board is easy to understand and looks attractive. There should be clarity in your story so that your mood board gets approval.
Bottom Line
Besides the above-mentioned things, illustrations, shapes, and patterns are also important elements of a mood board. While designing a mood board, it’s best to add everything- from images to fabric, so that it can display everything that you are planning to include in the project.
You can also experiment with different things to get the result you are looking for. Most importantly, reviewing each aspect of your mood board before presenting it to the client is important to ensure there are no flaws in your board.