Kick Start Your Creativity with Mood Boarding
Mood boards as a visual starting point…
Moods boards have helped focus my design work. I love the visual and tactual approach to a physical mood board. Using images, fabrics, trims, and textural elements brings it to life.
Mood boards are a great way to kick start your next design project. If you’re spending more time at home, why not use it to begin planning a fun and creative project. Whether it’s designing a new handbag, experimenting with a new fabrication or exploring a new technique. Mood boards provide you with the first step in the creative design process.
What are the types of mood boards? Boards can be developed either digitally or by hand. I teach students both types. I have found my apparel design students love to develop physical boards while my fashion merchandising and brand driven students love to create digital ones. I give them the freedom to express their creativity either way.
So where do designers find inspiration? The answer is quite simple…from all around us. Inspiration comes from art, nature, from other designers and time periods, music, books and magazines are just a few examples.
Quick steps to getting started…
Find your inspiration: using the Internet, magazines to find images, old post cards, take a walk, explore an art exhibit.
Gather your materials: poster or foam boards, canvases, bulletin boards, sketchbooks, or a wall to attach your images and objects. Other suggested materials include scissors, tape, glue or pins, paints or markers, ruler, and board.
Determine a theme or just create a board full of interesting inspiration to be used later.
Assemble the board: glue and pin away! Be as creative as you want. You can use a template to organize your images or simply place them down collage style.
Now you’re ready to use your board as a reference point to begin designing!
I personally use mood boards for a variety of purposes. I will use them to design a space in my home, for an upcycling project, to create clothing and products for my home. As a teacher, I use mood boards to design new units, inspire students, and as a collaborative tool for large projects such as our annual fashion show. Here are a few images of my students mood boards and others I found on past fashion wander.
How will use a mood board on your next project? Will you create a digital or physical one? Either way, why not dive in and get creative.
