How to Make a Mood Board: 5 Steps Any Creative Can Master

How to Make a Mood Board 

How do we define mood board?

Mood boards can be used as visual inspiration for any kind of creative project, from art direction for a movie to creating a work of art. Even web designers rely on mood boards when developing a project.

If your goal is visual storytelling, this is the first step along your path. To understand their value, let’s take a look at the definition. 

Words can only say so much, and when you're collaborating on visual work, it makes complete sense that you would use visuals to communicate with your collaborators. Now, let's get into how to make a mood board, step by step. 

The Process Explained

How do you make a mood board?

A mood board (sometimes called a lookbook) is a platform where professionals can collect and curate inspiring visuals for creative visualization. These boards allow them to communicate ideas with stakeholders in an efficient, visually appealing way.

Click the image to see what a finished mood board should look like.

We’ll walk you through how to create a professional-looking mood board using StudioBinder’s mood boarding software. However, when learning how to make a mood board, remember that these steps are universal.

What's The Goal of Your Moodboard?

1. Define your creative goal

The first step is deciding on the approach you want to take for your mood board. A board for a wedding, a board for a feature film, and a board for a website will all look very different.

Take a look at comparable mood boards out there for the medium and genre you want to work in. Essentially, put together a mood board of mood boards. See how other creatives are assembling and presenting their ideas.

How Can I Find Mood Board Inspirations?

2. Gather visual inspiration

The next step in how to make a mood board is selecting visuals. This includes gathering images, text, quotes, videos, and other visual elements that help to illustrate the objectives. 

When searching for visuals, it’s essential to consider how they will interact with each other as well as how they represent the project’s overall vision. It can be helpful to start by using the list of keywords you created related to the project brief, then search for visuals that match those terms. 

This is especially helpful for incorporating more abstract concepts like the idea of "melancholy." There are various ways melancholy can be expressed, but through visuals, creative alignment is more easily achieved. 

What Other Elements Can I Add?

3. Add details and text

Now that you’ve assembled your visual inspiration, you may want to include notes on some of your selections. For example, what is it about a certain image you want to emulate?

Text can also tie images together. For example, you can delineate which images are more relevant for a costume designer versus for a production designer.

If it isn't clear by now, mood boards should be created to fit you, your style, and be the most efficient way to communicate ideas. No two mood boards are the same. But what are some details that you might include in a mood board?

• Annotations to highlight specific elements
• Text boxes to help group imagery 
• Filters to dial in your vision even more

With your imagery set, it's time to dive into the next step: arrangement.

How Should I Assemble My Mood Board?

4. Arrange your mood board

Once you’ve gathered all the necessary visuals, it’s time to start organizing them into a cohesive board. While this can be done physically, digital mood boards have plenty of benefits, such as efficiency and organization.

It can be helpful to first group similar visuals together, then arrange them in a manner that best conveys the project’s objectives. This is also an opportunity to experiment with different layout options and see which one works best.

It’s important to keep in mind that they should be flexible — if something doesn't fit your design style, don't be afraid to rearrange the visuals or start from scratch. 

Who Should I Share My Mood Board With?

5. Finalize & share

Once you have completed putting together all aspects of the mood board onto one big surface area then it's time to finalize it. Export your mood board so that others can see what goes into creating your unique vision. After all, part of its purpose is communication. 

Mood boards are often shared with any of the following:

• Friends or colleagues outside the project for objective feedback
• Collaborators on the project to get them creatively aligned
• Clients who expect to see your creative direction 

Getting approval or notes from your clients and gathering additional thoughts should be a major part of your collaborative planning. You can then go back into your board and make updates, or you can use the conversations it’s prompted to inform your next steps in the project, such as storyboards.

Mood boards are an incredible tool to express and communicate your creative direction while also providing stylistic references for all team members involved in the project. Once you've mastered these steps, the question of "how to make a mood board" will no longer be so daunting.

Are There Mood Board Templates?

Create mood boards with a template

If you’re looking for more free mood board templates look no further.

No matter what creative project you're working on, we have mood board templates for photography, film, branded content, and more. See the entire collection in our template library, where you'll also find templates for shot lists, storyboards, and AV scripts.

Up Next

Create your own mood board now

Now that prepped on how to make a mood board, let's make a digital mood board! Dive into StudioBinder's mood board software and see for yourself just how useful and motivating it is to have a well-made mood board. Collect your images, highlight your favorites, share your work, get feedback, and more.

Up Next: Start Mood Boarding →