Designing brand visual identity elements, such as logos, packaging, websites, and many others, is a challenging process that requires not only technical skills but also creativity and vision. In such a context, tools that support the design process, such as the Brief described in the previous post, prove to be extremely useful. However, the Brief is just the beginning, after its analysis, the graphic designer will start creating a moodboard. In today’s article, we will discuss what a moodboard is and how it affects the design process.
Moodboard – irreplaceable support in the process of designing a brand’s visual identification
Moodboard is an irreplaceable support in the process of designing the visual identification of a brand. Thanks to color palettes, graphic templates, consistent typography, and inspiring photographs and drawings, the designer will create an effective tool for building your brand’s image. Thanks to the moodboard, it will be easier to find inspiration for the design of the logo and the selection of icons or photos for your website.
What is a moodboard?
A moodboard, or more familiarly, an inspiration board, is a set of photos, colors, textures, fonts, drawings, and other elements that, when combined, illustrate the idea and objective that we can follow at the next stage of design. In its form, a moodboard can resemble a collage. It is also associated with a mind map, which helps to see the project’s vision in its full context. A moodboard is an ideal tool for defining the direction of a graphic design. Thanks to a collection of inspiring elements, the creator can easily set the aesthetic tone of the project. This allows us to avoid chaos and maintain visual consistency from the very beginning.
What should a moodboard include?
The content of your moodboard should be carefully selected to reflect the character and values of your brand.
The moodboard may include:
1. Logos of various brands to show the style we are going for
2. Colors – the colors must reflect the character of the brand and be consistent with its values
3. Inspiring photos and images – these can be both photos related to the industry in which the brand operates, as well as those not directly related but referring to its values
4. Quotes and keywords that refer to or emphasize the brand idea
5. Materials and textures – you can add textile, wooden, or metal elements that match the brand’s image
6. Inspiring projects – artistic projects from other industries and sectors that inspire or relate to brand values
What does a sample moodboard look like?
Below we present sample moodboards created in our agency:
Zielona Przystań, client: Supremi Private Limited Company
PK Green, client: PK Green Commodities
Szkoła Mat-Fiz, client: Szkoła Mat-Fiz
What is the purpose of creating an inspiration board?
Creating a moodboard aims to collect and organize various inspirations in one place. This makes it easier to organize thoughts and find and develop ideas. This allows you to effectively speed up and facilitate the design process, as well as present the graphic designer’s vision and ideas to the client in a visual way. Thanks to this, we can “feel how the final effect should look like already at the planning stage before the first sketches of the project are made.
Source of inspiration
Moodboard is the spark of the creative process. It allows you to trigger your imagination and stimulate creativity. Creating an inspiration board allows you to effectively get rid of creative block and makes it easier to generate ideas and search for new inspiring creative solutions. Thanks to this, the creator can more easily find unique solutions and ideas that will distinguish their project. Working on a moodboard helps open your mind to new ideas, techniques, and styles that would not have occurred to us before.
Communication
Moodboard facilitates communication between the designer and the client and helps avoid misunderstandings. It speeds up the design process, as it allows for determining the direction and style of the emerging identification, advertising, logo, or website at an early stage.
The client often has their own visions and expectations regarding the design. A moodboard is a great platform for communication between the client and the graphic designer. Instead of describing often abstract concepts in words, the designer can show the client a mood board, which helps to better understand the design intentions and allows for faster adaptation to the client’s expectations. Thanks to the decisions we make at the stage of creating a moodboard, we avoid going in circles, dead ends, and groping in the dark at later stages of work. This significantly speeds up and facilitates the whole process.
Consolidating the vision
When creating a mood board, the designer has the opportunity to align their own visions for the graphic aspects of the brand with the directions set out in the brief. When the various elements are linked together on the moodboard, they become concrete reference points, which helps clarify the intentions and maintain consistency.
Is a moodboard necessary?
Some people believe that a moodboard is essential, while others maintain that you can do without it. However, it all depends on the task at hand and whether visual support will be helpful in the creative process. In the case of designing a visual identification, logo, website, or packaging, it is worth spending time creating one.
In summary
Moodboard is an invaluable tool in the process of designing identification and brand creation. It supports the creative process and inspires and facilitates communication. Thanks to it, the designer can more easily define the direction of the project, find inspiration, and communicate with the client. That is why it is worth using this tool in the design process to achieve the best effects and create projects that delight with their originality and consistency.
