What's a Mood Board?

Do you realize your business has a ‘Mood’?

Yes. It sure does. From your physical presence, to your writing style to how you interact with your customers, there is a overall ‘Mood’.

The visual representation of a ‘Mood’ for a business is called a ‘Mood board’ and let me warn you… they rock!

Mood boards are probably one of the most fun parts of being a designer. I have started to create them for almost all my projects and they are something you can do for your business, your day, your goals (not that I’m in love with vision boards either, Mary C) or basically whatever floats your boat!

Here’s one I just created for a new website I’m doing. It’s good to start with like 2-5 keywords, to give yourself some parameters. For this board the words were: Established, Simplify, Wisdom, Urban, Reflective.

 

The Process (change as you see fit!):

1. Write the keywords.
2. Create a some color ideas first (optional).
3. Scour the web for images that relate, collecting them on a private board on Pinterest. (you can totally use magazines)
4. Remind self none of the images need to be literal. Work less from your head, and more from your gut.
5. I hand-pick my favs (some of which end up working, others not-so-much) and then I combine them into one image.
6. The result is a little visual guide, nothing concrete – but I can refer back to it like a map, so I stay on target with my design. Not to mention, I find it very therapeutic and restful – because there are no rules! And for a rule-follower like me, I often need some playtime. 🙂

The ‘Why’:

There are many reasons to create a mood board for your business. The best one I can give you is for you to be more conscious of the ‘mood’ your business portrays online, through your personality, your writing, your Facebook page, etc.

If you know how your business is “coming across” to people, you can keep your message consistent and clear and you can tweak the ‘mood’ to attract more of your ideal clients. Not to mention, it can help you keep all the visual aspects of your business cohesive and consistent.

The End:

Maybe creating a mood board for your business or something personal might help you right now? 

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