You should include images or reference material that show what sort of motifs, design ideas and themes you will be using e.g. This could be shown through just the images you choose or you could include colour chips also. Your mood board should show a strong sense of the colour palette you intend to use. They could be photos that you’ve taken, magazine images or images from books. Or sign up for my FREE Illustrator mood board templates If you’re having trouble knowing how to start a mood board, you can learn step by step how to create mood boards, find inspiration and create your own mood board templates here. If you’re not, at least you haven’t spent a lot of time developing ideas that your client won’t like.įor those who set their own briefs, mood boards allow you to formulate a clear direction as a starting point for creating your designs. It saves time if you know whether you are heading in the right direction at this beginning stage. If you are working for a client then a mood board allows them to get a sense of your design direction so you can check if you are on the right track.
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There are no rules for creating mood boards but they should convey your theme, colour and motif direction. They enable you to visually communicate your ideas and allow you to collate all your inspiration together in one place. Mood boards are a great reference point for starting your surface pattern designs.