How to Create a Professional Looking Mood Board

WE TAKE A LOOK AT A RECENT MOOD BOARD WE CREATED FOR A ‘CLASSIC MODERN’ INTERIOR DESIGN SCHEME AND HOW WE ENSURED IT WAS STRUCTURED, BALANCED AND COHESIVE; WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF CREATIVE FLAIR AND INDIVIDUALITY.

We’ve all been there; staring at a blank screen on our computer trying to muster up the energy, inspiration and know-how to produce a stunning mood board that encompasses everything we’re trying to propose for a new interior design scheme, to help our client/target audience understand our vision for this space but also help us stand out as experts in our field.

Here’s the truth: IT’S HARD.

Researching and sourcing images; trying to find THAT particular shade of blue for a cushion; scouring Pinterest for HOURS to find the right walnut pendant light and then attempting to pull all of our images together in a visually pleasing manner on a screen (usually at 9pm when you can actually find the time to do it!).

IS IT ANY WONDER THAT MOOD BOARDS PERHAPS DON’T GET THE TIME AND ATTENTION THEY DESERVE?! WITH A FEW SIMPLE TRICKS YOU CAN TURN YOUR MOOD BOARD FROM A HOT MESS INTO A WORK OF ART! HERE’S HOW! ⇓

1. Image Size & Composition

I say this in my Facebook Group CONSTANTLY! You must pay attention to the images you’re including in your mood board! They must be an adequate size; be decent quality AND be FRONT FACING with no shadows! The only time I would allow shadows in my mood board is when it’s under a sofa or it’s so tiny that it’s hardly recognisable. It’s simple: if you don’t adhere to these guidelines, the overall appearance of your mood board will be unbalanced.

TAKE OUR FREE COURSE, WHERE WE TALK YOU THROUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGE SIZE, QUALITY AND COMPOSITION WHEN IT COMES TO MOOD BOARDS

Mood boards can look equally beautiful in hard copy or on a monitor, especially with the continuing demand for eDesign services

2. Layout

The actual layout of the images on your mood board is EVERYTHING. For the magazine style mood boards above, I ensured there was harmony between the images and amount of white space. From my experience, white space is where Interior Designers struggle the most. Most of the time, when I see mood boards online there is too much white space. This usually produces a mood board with lots of floating objects; no one wants their beautiful products floating around aimlessly in white space – it produces a disjointed look. Placing your images around a hero product (in this instance, the sofa) will help to create structure.

3. Groups

Just like real-life, items grouped in an interior adds depth and visual interest – it’s the same with mood boards.  In my mood board above I’ve grouped and layered the cushions and a few decorative objects. The decorative objects have been positioned either in the lower section of the mood board or above a larger object. This stops the objects from looking like they’re floating.

4. Border

Unquestionably, mood boards like the magazine style above benefit from the added structure of a border. We’ve included a creative border using paint strokes and have created a cohesive look by matching the colour to the design scheme.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO APPLY CREATIVE PAINT BRUSH BORDERS TO YOUR MOOD BOARDS USING PHOTOSHOP.

5. Font

We love adding a simple title to our mood boards. It creates a sense of presence and is a great way to add personality. We’ve made the word ‘home’ stand out so that it is more obvious to the viewer. It also helps to reinforce this word and its positive associations while looking at this mood board. We’ve chosen a simple font style so as not to distract from the beautiful images on the mood board. Don’t forget that font styles can most definitely complement the style of your design scheme!

We hope you found the tips above useful! Drop a comment below if you have any further suggestions, or have a question about mood boards!

REGISTER WITH THE SKETCHUP HUB TO DOWNLOAD OUR FREE EBOOK FOR MORE DETAILED ADVICE ON HOW TO PRODUCE STRUCTURED AND BALANCED MOOD BOARDS (YOU’LL GET ONE FOR FLOOR PLANS TOO!) 

READY TO GO ALL-IN?! CLICK HERE TO TAKE OUR ONLINE MOOD BOARD COURSE! WHERE WE SHOW YOU HOW TO CREATE PROFESSIONAL MOOD BOARDS USING CANVA AND PHOTOSHOP.

NEED MORE HELP? CONTACT US!