An effective tool for design explorations.
Published in · 5 min read · Sep 23, 2019
What is a moodboard?
Moodboard is a collection of images/real objects/textures setting a tone or mood of a product. It gives a sense of how the product will look like and feel like, what kind of emotions the product could arouse.
When and why is a moodboard used in the design process?
Moodboard is used during the initial exploration phase. The purpose of moodboard would vary based on what you are trying to achieve. If you are working on a particular feature of the product, it could be used to explore the type of language or messaging that could be used. Or the type of images, illustrations, infographics that feature could have. Many designers use moodboards to share it with the team and get feedback from them. I personally do not use moodboard when working on a specific problem of the product.
The other common purpose is to define the branding and styling of the product. This is a very popular methodology when working with various clients. I use moodboards with our clients for this purpose. Moodboard acts as a medium of communication for visual design. While sharing it with clients, I talk about the opportunities we have in the product. It is a collaborative process to brainstorm the colors, fonts, language, emotions, and overall feel of the product. Anything that can give direction to the visual design of the product is a good idea to share and discuss with clients. It is a big time saver!
How to create moodboard?
To start with it, you want to first think what do you want out of it. I always start with a blank canvas and ask myself that for the requirements I have from clients, what do I want to start with on this canvas? And that leads me to several questions:
- What is the goal of the product in the subject?
- Who are the users of this product?
- What are the users going to feel when using this product?
- What problems this product is solving?
- When and where would this product be used? Day? Night? While driving, at school, at the office, at home?
- On which devices this product would be used? Mobile? Desktop? Watch? Tablet?
- If it is a physical product, what would be the texture like?
The list of questions can be longer depending on the project but this set of questions are good to get started. When I have the answers to these questions, I am ready to explore different themes. It is always a good idea to share 2–3 moodboards with clients/team and get feedback or reaction from them. Each moodboard could have a theme of the overall product. For example — Fresh, youthful and bold theme or Organic, warm and soft theme. These themes would define the overall feel of the product. Think of the emotions you want people to feel when using the product. Write down these themes on a piece of paper, or post-its.
Once you have 2–3 themes, start thinking about the assets you would need. I list down these at this stage:
- Color palette
- Real images
- Illustrations
- Graphics
- Fonts
- Language
- Texture
- Navigations
- Shapes
Once I have written down the assets I am looking for, I am ready for the fun part! Collecting inspirations. This is my favorite part. From the themes, you noted, search images/objects/texture that would express those emotions. You also want to keep the assets in mind. If there are images that have the colors that could be part of a product’s color palette, grab it. If you found one that has great font choice, grab it. Go crazy with explorations — Go to dribble, behance, pinterest, google, wherever you get inspiration from. It could also come from your surroundings, real objects. Just take photos if you find something really interesting. Save all the collections in a folder so you don’t lose them. Everything is yours! :)
Okay, once you have collected all the images and you are satisfied with the adventure it is time to start creating moodboard. I create moodboard in Sketch and use Invision boards to share with clients. I take one theme at a time and start arranging them. There are a lot of templates for moodboards, but I like to keep it simple. I pick images with same or closely similar colors so it does not look fruity unless that’s my intent :) When adding the images write down why are you adding it? What do you want to get out of it when you present them to the team? Every image has a purpose for why it is there. Be sure to note down your thoughts. This not only helps in adding meaningful images but also to prepare for the presentation.
How to share moodboard with teammates/clients?
Alright, now it is presentation time! When I had created my first moodboard I was very nervous about presenting them to the clients. I jotted down the specific topics I was going to talk about for each image on my moodboard. I did for the first time, and I found it very beneficial and now I do it every time. I also write down a sentence or two on the images sometimes.
When presenting to the clients, talk about the overall tone of the moodboard. Speak about specific assets (remember you noted down earlier?) Tell the story of the moodboard. When presenting share what you think are the opportunities and how they could help in achieving the goal. Ask any clarifying questions if a teammate or client says, “I like this image a lot”. In my experience, sometimes clients look at the moodboards and point to one and say, “I like this one.”
Ask them why and what specific what parts they like? Help clients speak the design language :) As a designer, we have to help them become our collaborator. I have found this exercise very helpful. It is super fun and saves a lot of time during explorations. Moreover, you get a great amount of stuff to put in your blank canvas!
If you have used moodboard differently I would love to hear about it. Please comment if you have any thoughts/suggestions.
If you enjoyed reading the article, tap the 👏 button below :)
