In this guide you’ll learn a new approach to a classic technique. Moodboards are a great way to set the visual direction for a UX project, but they don’t need to be static PDFs any more. Modern moodboards can include video, motion or even sound. You can easily share them online with your clients and your team to get feedback. And instead of sitting in a folder gathering dust, they can stay flexible and can evolve over time.
We’re using Milanote for this guide, but you could just as easily use Pinterest, or a good old fashioned cork board.
1. Be clear what you’re trying to achieve
Moodboards fall into several broad categories. They can either be literal and practical (i.e. featuring fonts, colors and images that you actually plan to use in a final piece of work) or they can be less literal and more about exploring tone and mood. You can tackle these two different types sequentially, or you can just do one or the other.
2. Choose a few high level directions
At this point you probably have a few different directions you’d like to explore. This is good! It’s important to keep an open mind about what the right solution might be. Remember, a moodboard is all about exploration, so don’t get too attached to a particular direction just yet.
3. Collect any written inspiration
Before you start adding images, it’s a great idea to collect any written content you have. This might include brand values, positioning statements, taglines or any other parts of the brief that will inspire you or keep you on track.
4. Add any visual elements that already exist
Now it’s time to start adding visual elements. Start with the easy stuff. If a logo already exists, drop it in. Same goes for any existing expressions of the brand like websites, design elements or photography. These might not make it into the final board, but they’re still a great place to start. Don’t worry about organizing the images just yet, that will come later.
5. Collect inspiring design from around the web
Next it’s time to start searching online. There are lots of fantastic sites where you can find great visual inspiration for free, like Dribbble, Behance and Designspiration. The keyword you use to search can be literal words describing the topic of the moodboard (e.g. “bicycle”) metaphors (e.g. “ribbon”) or descriptive (e.g. “clean”).
6. Add some photography
Websites like Pexels, iStockPhoto and the Creative Commons search are great places to find free photography. The photos you choose can start to define things like tone, cropping, lighting and color. You can also start to decide whether photography should contain people, who they should be and what emotions they should be expressing.
7. Add colors and fonts
Color palettes and fonts can be a great way to express a particular mood or personality. Tools like Kuler can be a great starting point for finding colors that complement the brand you’re working with. Another trick is to pick colors directly from the images and photos you’ve added to the board.
8. Add examples of motion and animation
The days of static moodboards are gone. With an online board it’s possible to embed examples of how movement and animation could contribute to a piece of creative work. Grab some animated GIFs from Giphy and video from YouTube to bring your board to life.
9. Focus on composition, hierarchy and scale
Now that you’ve got the raw pieces, it’s time to start arranging them into a final composition. Starting by scaling and placing the logo can be a good way to anchor your composition. Use the size of elements to indicate their importance, and put related elements side by side. This process can take a while, so just relax and enjoy it!
10. Add some notes explaining your thinking
Although a moodboard is a piece of visual communication, it’s going to need some explanation before it will make sense to someone else. Adding short notes about why certain elements were chosen can really help communicate your ideas. Embedding these notes in a board keeps everything in context.
And you’re done!
Now you can go and admire all of your hard work (or check out this finished example).
Milanote is a new kind of notes app designed specifically for creative work. Find out why we created Milanote.
