How To Make Killer Mood boards

Image sources: 1, 2, Pinterest.

     I love making mood boards. I first learned the ropes from reading DesignLoveFest; my understanding is that in the dawn of blogging, she loved to pair two images together and write about them. So adorably, refreshingly simple, I fell in love with her blog right then.

Since I've been blogging, I've been making my own mood boards, but very rarely do I post them as I did this one way back 2018. I've been wary of being accused of just publishing "fluff" posts, but hey, there's nothing wrong with a little eye candy now and then, so today I'm going to show you how to make a killer mood board.

Step 1: Gather materials

For the purpose of this post, I'm going to talk about my digital mood board process, but you could always apply this advice to the physical realm; just grab a glue stick, scissors and your favorite magazines. As for the rest of us, I like to head over to Pinterest. 

I usually have multiple secret boards going at once for mood board purposes. I also find it easy to just scroll through my most recent pins, saving whichever images speak to me and fit my theme. Tip: Remember to bookmark the images - crediting the source is always nice!

Some guidelines to keep in mind:

• Which colors compliment each other?
• Can you find a great pattern or quote to compliment your theme?
• Is there enough contrast in the images you're choosing, or do they all tend to blend together?

Step 2: Choose an editing program

There are so many options. You can collage on your phone. You can collage on your desktop. Personally, I always use Canva because it saves all my uploads and past work in one place, but it's totally up to you.

Step 3: Putting it together

Here's the fun part: play around with your images until the lay out is pleasing to you. You could even experiment by overlaying graphic elements or fonts. You're the artist here, and it's your vision. Neat, huh?

Photos from Pinterest.

A few mood board examples I found on Pinterest...

Okay, so this is actually a brand board created by the talented Emmy Jones, but it was too pretty not to use as an example. Here, Emmy has combined patterns, fonts, textures, colors, and used a few attributes as the general theme of the board. Everything mingles together seamlessly. This is what you want to aim for: not a mood board where everything matches, but where it flows.

Source: A Pair & A Spare

Another highly skilled mood board maker is Geneva of A Pair & A Spare. She creates a monthly inspiration board, like this one posted in February, and I can only dream of one day possessing her affinity for collaging. So gorgeous.

Will you be trying your hand at some inspirational mood boards? I'd love to see them!