How to Create a Mood Board in 5 Easy Steps

You’ve probably seen a number of mood boards on designer’s Instagram pages and websites showing anything from color schemes to material ideas to possible furniture selections.

As the saying goes “a picture tells a thousand words”.⁠ There are A LOT of mood boards in a designer's world as they are an effective way to visually show inspiration & organize ideas for a design project. Want to make your own but don’t know where to start? Here are 5 easy steps to make your own mood board:

⁠1.) Decide on the type of board you want to create. 

There are essentially two options - digital or physical. Digital includes desktop programs like Powerpoint or Keynote or you can use online apps like Canva or Pinterest. My favorite is Canva which allows you to use their basic platform to create graphic content for free. You can also create physical boards with paper, corkboard, foam board, etc. (I actually created my vision board for the year on scrap card board. But that’s a topic for another time..) 
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2.) Determine the concept⁠.

Do you have an overall theme you’re trying to pull together? Maybe it’s a moody and dramatic living room with dark, masculine tones that’s perfect for family movie nights. Or maybe it’s a welcoming and colorful dining room where you can entertain guests and show off your personality. Whatever idea you’re aiming to create, try to narrow down the direction and feel you want the room to have.  This may change as you get started and that is totally ok!
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3.) Gather inspiration.  

There is inspiration everywhere, use it to your advantage! Explore the physical environment around you. Wander out to secluded areas of nature or maybe to a street lined with a unique and colorful shops. Look to art, magazines, or photographs. And of course, jump online. Various websites and social media will have countless ideas to peruse through. 
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4.) Collect elements that inspire you.

Save, photograph, cut out, print (whatever floats your boat!) a variety of images that appeal to you. Include colors, textures and other components like furniture and accessories to help describe and unify your thoughts. 

5.) Bring it all together!

Organize the items onto your board until you get a layout you like.⁠ You can place them in a collage or into a grid-like pattern. Once you’ve finished, take a step back. Do you like what you see and does it make you feel good? Great! If not, tweak your ideas and rearrange until it looks the way you want it to. 

Voilà, your mood board is now complete!