Lev Kuleshov (about the Kuleshov Effect). The film does not reproduce reality, it creates its reality." Ultimately, the plan means nothing in itself, since the meaning will only stabilize in the relation/association with other images. "By bringing together completely different plans, they can regain a meaning that they did not have alone.
Relational systemsĮach mood board layout has to expose relations of complementarity between different objects in order to build a solid idea or concept. If you present visual elements outside of your industry it's easier to drive the conversation to the look & feel of the product and not to specific details concerning UI screens.Īt a high level, a mood board is basically a map or a relational system, which is a very useful creative exercise to communicate a message. It’s by the designer Tobias Van Schneider for a handmade shoe! The coolest mood board example I know is the one presented below. The most common graphic elements in mood boards for digital products are colors, fonts, typefaces, photography, illustration, geometric forms, layouts & grids, presented on surfaces like UI screens, packages, flyers, posters, and newspapers. It's up to you what to explore in each case. Usually, existing art and design works are used for the mood board, but you can also make use of original pieces. The visual references on the mood board have to share something in common and fit a certain style, tone, voice and feelings. Alternatively, you can just go outside and get inspired, as Gaudi did before building the Sagrada Familia.
#Graphic design mood board Offline#
This research can be done through online galleries and archives, but if you have the time, try to go offline and visit museums, libraries, and municipal archives. In practice, a mood board is composed of individual images, gifs or even video and other elements (if they add value to what you want to communicate) collected and curated from a previous, wider, research. Whether you call it “industrial mood board”, “graphic design mood board ”, “product design mood board” or any other variation, the steps to create one are simple, engaging and liberating, no matter the medium. Personally, I find it to be the most interesting step of the design process. What is a mood board?Ī mood board defines the look and feel of a product before jumping to the UI/UX design tools and designing all the final interface screens. In digital design, the time for inspiration is called the mood board. It's not the opposite of "hard work", but more of its previous state. Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative.
Facebook Linkedinĭuring my interview at Imaginary Cloud for a Digital Product Designer job opening, I was asked: hard work or inspiration? I lingered a bit and answered: “Inspiration.”