Why you should start with a moodboard
It took longer than it should for me to appreciate the power of a moodboard. Early in my career I equated it to scrapbooking and manifesting and didn’t see its value as a tool for communication.
These days, it’s rare I pitch a new direction for brand evolution or begin any large-scale, net-new project or campaign without sharing inspiration and mindset direction first.
Here are the main benefits I’ve found for why any big, new project deserves a dedicated moodboard:
1. Get prepared
A project should always begin with research. It’s important to get an understanding of what’s in the market, check in on your competitors, and understand current trends.
Moodboards are a way to synchronize thought, research and inspiration. You start getting a feel for the direction a project is headed, and it will allow you to marinate more on ideas before jumping into execution.
Seeing different ideas and directions side-by-side might create different connections in your brain you may have otherwise overlooked.
2. Get organized
Categorize it. Look at the project holistically. What are the different use cases? What different directions could you go? Are some images you collected more conceptually inspiring versus visually? Line it up depending on category so you can better understand all potential directions.
You'll begin to better see what assets you'll need to create, how big the workload is, where to mix and match so every piece of the puzzle feels cohesive.
3. Get buy-in
Moodboards are a great way to present your plan and thought process to stakeholders before spending too much time creating. Stakeholders like to feel involved from the jump and are more likely to approve the final design when they’ve understood the direction you were planning all the while.
It’s a way to provide options and have discussions that will give you a better idea of their thought process, biases and preferences. It gives both parties a chance to take a step back and get questions answered and get aligned before diving in.
Also, it’s a good way to avoid getting too tied to one idea early on.
4. Refer back
Moodboards and their categories can help you later on. Referring back to them as you go ensures you're delivering on the direction you said you would. Looking back on what initially inspired you keeps your creative energy flowing. It helps you to continue considering different expressions and elements without getting stuck on a single visual solution.
And remember, being inspired by and copying are two very different things! Make sure your designs don’t too closely resemble any one piece in your moodboard.
Collecting inspiration is one of the most fun parts of designing. It’s when all the doors are wide open, possibilities are endless and the exploration is about to begin. Don’t rush through this step, enjoy marinating in ideas before beginning to create. Your work (and your teammates) will thank you.
