Why You Need to Mood Board Your Next Project For Better Results.

The Importance of Mood Boarding Your Project.
 
Also known as an inspiration board, brainstorming board, collage of pretty pictures and images; Mood boards are the single most important method of brainstorming.  A mood board is important for virtually any project and it should be the first step you take before even thinking about getting to work. It’s helpful if you’re already creative, but even more so if you don’t have a creative bone in your body. Designing a sculpture? Sure. Developing a videogame? Definitely. Shooting a movie? Absolutely. What about decorating or painting your apartment? Make a Mood Board.


So, what is a mood board?
 
Wikipedia (Obvi the new world dictionary) defines a mood board as “a type of visual presentation or a collage consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. A mood board can be used to convey a general idea or feeling about a particular topic.”
The purpose of a mood board is to help you gain a better idea of what components you would like to go into your project. This is especially important when you’re trying to pitch an idea to someone else. Sometimes you may not be able to find the precise words to convey your idea to your team, or perhaps your team doesn’t have the same creative capacity that you do. A mood board will help to give them a clear visual representation of what it is you want to make. 

But when should you mood board?
 
This is easy. ALL THE TIME. I frequently employed the benefits of a mood board when I was designing hardware at Snapchat. I couldn’t have survived wedding planning (physically, mentally, emotionally) without a composition detailing the style and aesthetics of the perfect wedding. And currently I’ve got an inspirational mood board that I’m using to design and develop a new video game that I’m working on. The fact of the matter being that you should always have your collection of images close by that you can reference whenever you need. Can’t you just keep pictures on your phone? Perhaps.

But there are so many other great resources for mood boarding.
 
There are so many Apps for mood boarding that it’s hard to keep up, but once you find one you like, engage it relentlessly.
GoMoodboard and Pinterest have Google Chrome Pluggins. The Knot and similar sites are great for weddings. Working in Film or TV – Check out The Matboard. Branding and advertising? Give Canva a whirl. Are you actually making a movie –Studio Binder is a fantastic resource. In fact, check out this article they wrote specifically on mood board resources.

If all of this is sounding like WAY too much information then just use your phone. Screenshot or save images as you surf the world wide web and mark each image as a favorite or put it in a specific folder. The key point being that you should start mood boarding now. I even mood board gift ideas whenever I see something I like, either for myself or for others. It can be an addictive practice though so I suggest you dive in hard and fast so as to completely immerse yourself into the mood board lifestyle.

Whatever your reasoning. I suggest you give mood boarding a try. Start small, learn what works best for you. It may turn out that too many apps are overwhelming. Don't have any current projects in mind? That's ok. Try making a mood board of all the places you want to vacation and what you want to do while there. Don't hold back! Everything from food you want to eat and drinks you want to drink, activities you want to do while you're there. Think about outfits you'd like to wear that really put you in "Vacation mode". There is really no risk to starting a mood board. It's meant to be fun and collaborative so if you're comfortable, bring someone else in on the project or just share what you already have. The more time you spend working with mood boards, the easier and more natural it will feel. 

​Pretty soon you won't know what you were doing before this.