How Mood Boards Can Drive Your Style
How Mood Boards Can Focus and Drive Your Style
What Is a Mood Board?
You’ve likely heard of vision boards, but have you delved into the magic of mood boards?
Mood boards are powerful tools used to gather inspiration and establish a clear visual direction for projects or ideas. If you’ve ever curated a collection of images on Pinterest, congratulations—you’ve already created a mood board!
Why Mood Board?
The goal of a mood board is to build a visual database of inspiration. Sometimes it’s hard to articulate exactly what we mean. As the adage says, a picture is worth a thousand words. The components of a mood board combine to create a visual feeling or mood that communicates clear objectives and tells the user where to go. We know if we want to land in a certain destination we need to have the proper directions. A mood board is your Google Maps.
Building Your Visual Map
From art directors to designers, mood boards help those in the creative field sharpen their focus. These visual collages typically feature images, but they can also include key quotes, color palettes, and even fabric swatches, all working together to convey a specific mood or concept. The result is a cohesive visual narrative that captures the essence of a particular idea or theme. By combining these elements, mood boards evoke emotions and establish an atmosphere, serving as both a source of inspiration and a creative guide. They encourage exploration and personal expression and allow a unique interpretation of style.
Don’t Get Lost in the Details
There’s no right or wrong way to create a mood board. You can’t do it wrong. It’s all about discovering what resonates with you personally or what images align with your goals. Sometimes, the most exciting insights come from simply collecting images without being locked into a narrow scope of work. As you gather visuals that speak to you, a cohesive idea begins to emerge. When you finally complete your mood board, you’ll have a personalized visual guide that truly reflects your individual style and aspirations.
Let the Mood Board Be Your Compass
As a stylist, I rely on mood boards to tailor visuals for each client. They serve as a guiding tool to flesh out our style objectives. In fact, most of my styling services start with a mood board. Before our meeting—whether in person or virtually—I encourage clients to create a Pinterest board featuring styles, colors, and outfits they love. This process not only helps clients articulate their visual voice but also provides me with valuable insights to curate pieces that align with their vision. After all, as we mentioned, a picture is worth a thousand words, and a full mood board is a literal treasure trove of inspiration!
Embrace the Journey
Once your mood board is complete, it becomes a launching pad for your style evolution. Remember, it’s not a strict blueprint for recreating every image you pin. Instead, think of it as a dynamic visual tool that inspires and directs your creative efforts. It narrows your focus while allowing room for exploration and growth. It helps focus on silhouettes your drawn to or the colours that most resonate for you, for example. And the best part? Your mood board can evolve—just like you.
Still Feel Like a Mood Board is Out of Sight?
Don’t get too in your head about this. Looking for pretty or inspiring images shouldn’t feel too high stakes. This is just an exercise to help find focus and give a visual dialect to your thoughts. If it needs to change – no biggie. You’re dynamic, your style will be too.
I often repeat that every person has a sense of style regardless of whether we see that in how they dress or not. Everyone has things that they like, things they don’t like and things they just naturally gravitate toward. Try building your own mood board. You might be pleasantly surprised how much fun you have.
Don’t believe me? Book a discovery call and let me help you dig out your personalized aesthetic!
