Mood Board: How to

I hate mood boards.

Mood boards are for a point of reference and inspiration. They should show the key elements of your design ideas identified through your research. I hate them, I can't ever make them look right, until recently!

To complete a mood board, it involves a few basic steps:

• Gather your research: Research your subjects and themes, and use mind-maps to identify your favourite aspects about them.
• Once you've found your favourit ebits and pieces, use images and text to represent them visually. Mood boards are all about the visuals.
• A tip given to me by my tutor was to decorate the background in an appropriate style. Below is the mood board I've done for my jacket, and how it evolved from a bit dull into a really effective piece of inspirational work!

 This is my first mood board. I always do three or four test runs where I play about with the configuration of the images and text for the best possible aesthetic layout. I photograph them as I go to make sure I can remember what went where. I also try different background colours and different style depending on what is appropriate for the work I'm doing.

It's useful because now even if I move onto other project and back to that one, I can easily get inspired and into the right frame of mind. It's also a great tool for explaining to clients and audiences exactly what you are trying to achieve with your final piece of work.
I now do mood boards not just for official works, but for things I like and ideas I have for the future. Pinterest is a great way to collect images as you go, before selecting the best from them for your final board.

This is the final mood board for my Culture Vulture project. Please note how much better it is than my first preferred layout and style. The design work in the background really makes the images and text stand out, and the way that things are grouped together gives a sense of context. I like the images I chose in the end, after running through almost 35 different ones. There is no limit to the number of images or captions you can have, you could also include fabric samples and particular findings that you find appealing.