Create mood boards for your collection (2024)

Create mood boards for your collection (1)

What is a mood board?

A mood board or inspiration board is a compilation of photos, typography and illustrations, that serves as a guide when you work on a collection. As a surface designer, mood boards are indispensable to ensure that your collection has a cohesive colour palette and flow to the theme.

The best resources to gather images and ideas is from Pinterest. You can create a board on that platform, or alternatively, you can use a template. I’ve created free download for you, which you can use either on Photoshop or Illustrator.

Step 1: Browse Pinterest for inspiration

This is a fun process! Go online and look for images, typography, and illustrations that you feel is the right fit for your collection.

For example, the theme I’ve chosen for this mood board is ‘Life’s A Party’. This collection will party-oriented. I’m thinking patterns with cakes, balloons, party hats etc.

Save the images as JPEGs (preferably into a folder) onto your computer.

Step 2: Download the template

<< Click here to download the free template. >>

Create mood boards for your collection (2)
  1. Open the template and all the images you are using in Photoshop.
  2. On your template, find the layer that you want to place the image in, for example Box #5. Each layer is numbered for your convenience.
  3. Drag an image onto your template. Every image will create a new layer for each image.
  4. Place the image directly over Box #5.
  5. Then, in the layers panel, drag your image layer so that it’s the layer above Layer #5.
  6. Right mouse click on the image layer, and click ‘Create Clipping Mask‘.
  7. The image will now appear only on Box #5. You can now move, edit, and resize the image within that area using the Transform Tool (CMD+T/ Ctrl+T).
  8. Repeat with the remaining boxes.
  9. To customise your Color Palette, select a circle with the Move Tool (V).
  10. Open an image, and use the Eyedropper Tool (I) to pick a color you’d like to use in your collection. It will appear on the Foreground/ Background Color Tool.
  11. Select the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and click on the circle. Select the next circle with the Move Tool (V) and color it like before. Rinse and repeat.
  12. Finally, to hide the numbers, click on the eye next to the Numbers folder.
Create mood boards for your collection (3)
  1. Open the template in Adobe Illustrator.
  2. Go to File > Place and select the images you’d like to use in your mood board.
  3. Select an image and drag it onto a box, for example, Box #1.
  4. Send it all the way to the back, so that the grey box is in front of the image.
  5. Select Box #1 (without the text) and the image, then use your right mouse click and select ‘Make Clipping Mask‘. The image will now appear only on Box #1.
  6. Repeat with the remaining boxes.
  7. To customise your Color Palette, place an image on your document. Select a circle with the Selection Tool (V) and then, use the Eyedropper Tool (I) to pick a color you’d like to use in your collection.
  8. Select the next circle and continue to color it with the Eyedropper Tool.
  9. Finally, select and delete the numbers text.

Image Credit: Rainbow Cake // Pastel Balloons // Pinata Fringe // Pastel Donuts // Rock Candy // Party Hats // Tassels // Hey Sunday // Party Animals

Create mood boards for your collection (2024)

FAQs

What is the free site to create mood boards? ›

Miro's mood board creator allows you to edit every aspect of the board, including colors, fonts, images, frames, and files. Quickly access the many editing tools on the left toolbar and create a mood board that fits your needs.

Which platform is best for creating mood boards? ›

Evoke the right mood and convey your ideas clearly with a beautiful mood board.

What software could you use to create a mood board? ›

Mural is more than just a digital mood board tool; it's a comprehensive visual collaboration software that simplifies workflows. With the help of Mural's images and notes features, you can discuss and effortlessly share your design ideas with your team.

Are mood boards legal? ›

Legally Using Inspiration Boards

Yes, but it is important to take steps to ensure you are doing so legally. The safest way to do this is to share saved or pinned images that you created and hold the copyright to. It is also safe to share images that you have license from the copyright owner to use in that manner.

What is the difference between a mood board and a style board? ›

To summarise, a style board comes first and sets the tone for the overall direction of the project. The mood board is a representation of how your room will look and feel once furnished, styled and completed.

Is Pinterest good for moodboards? ›

Pinterest is by no means a perfect application. There are many tweaks I'd make the the UI if I was given the chance. But Pinterest does do what it sets out to do incredibly well: it is a place to collect ideas and visuals into boards. The beauty of Pinterest as a mood boarding tool, is that it's not merely visual.

How do you make a homemade mood board? ›

How to Make a Mood Board Using Canva
  1. Create a free Canva account. ...
  2. Select a “canvas” to work on. ...
  3. Save all of your images on your computer. ...
  4. Upload your images to Canva. ...
  5. Place your images onto your digital canvas. ...
  6. Adjust until you are happy with your mood board. ...
  7. Remove the background from your images.
Mar 3, 2023

What is the difference between a collage and a moodboard? ›

A mood board (inspiration board) is essentially an amalgamation of ideas, a digital (or physical) collage of concepts, whereas a photo collage is an assemblage of several images to create a whole new form for artistic expression.

How to make a design board for free? ›

Canva is the world's easiest design tool — and the best part? It's free. Create a beautiful, and shareable mood board with Canva, in minutes.

What should a mood board include? ›

A mood board typically includes a combination of images, texts, photographs, and textures to explore and present an idea in a way that words alone cannot. However, these design elements are not standalone features on a board. Instead, these components combine to tell a cohesive story about a vision.

Is Mattoboard free to use? ›

Waste Less & Design More 🎨 with Virtual Sampling. Use VSamples© to design 3D material boards, all Online. Free for Designers!

What is a digital mood board? ›

A moodboard is a visual tool that helps you communicate your design concepts and ideas. It's a curated collection of images, materials, colour palettes, text, and other elements arranged to evoke a particular style or feeling.

How to create a moodboard online? ›

Start with a template or create your own moodboard layout

Milanote boards don't have any restrictions—you can create arrange things any way you like. But if you want to save time, you can use one of Milanote's beautiful moodboard templates to get the perfect layout. Choose from over 100 free, easy-to-use templates.

Can you make a mood board on word? ›

Microsoft Word can be a useful tool for creating moodboards. Start by collecting images, colors, and fonts that represent the mood or theme you want to convey. Use the built-in tools in Microsoft Word, such as shapes, text boxes, and images, to arrange and organize your moodboard.

Is Figma good for moodboards? ›

Using Figma to create mood boards is a simple way to visually communicate your next design project. Customize your mood board design with varying fonts, images, and color schemes. All you need is a web browser to get started.

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