Mood Board
A Visual Journey
Have you ever wondered how successful brands create and maintain their visual identity effortlessly? It starts with a simple yet powerful tool – the mood board.
What exactly is a brand mood board?
- It is a starting point to envision and shape your brand’s visual elements, all in one place.
- It is also the go-to outline for building up the already-designed elements in a consistent manner.
Creating Mood Board
Did you ever make a collage? Imagine you have virtual scissors and glue to assemble a few elements on a screen. These will be the key components you need for the board:
- a carefully curated color palette,
- playful yet professional typography style,
- vibrant graphics that will inspire your logo.
Placing all your initial choices on one board will allow you to explore if these elements can work together, convey your brand’s message, and create harmony. Or not.
Where exactly to begin? Assuming you have already done the research suggested in the chapter before, and are aware of your industry standards and expectations, consider your mission and the target audience, and then list adjectives that would describe your brand,
Example: A Mood Board for a “Cozy Caffee”.
The Mission:
- “Create a friendly space where kindness meets deliciousness”
- “Arrange a comfy hub for the local community, supporting ideas and talent exchange”.
Audience, standards, and adjectives:
- Audience: creative, inventive, peaceful, family-oriented
- Colors and shapes standards: natural, earthly, whimsical
- Adjectives: cozy, relaxed, delicious, tasteful, elegant
All the information and a few photos lead me to colors:
- Brown: for earthliness, comfort, and COFFE!
- Green: for nature, growth, and harmony
- Orange: for enthusiasm, and creativity
- Pink: for sweetness, and romance
I was also playing with fonts that are decorative and a little quirky, drew a simple vector of a cup, and coffee beans, threw in an image of a ginkgo leaf for the earthly-herbal feel, made a couple of versions – and voila – there is a first sketch to talk about.
QUICK TIP: Start your design by taking photos on the premises. Nature has a great way of harmonizing colors. Try to pick your initial color ideas from these photos.
* This simple template is here just to help visualize the process. But if you’d like to use it, it is available in my Etsy Shop, and it can be edited in a free CANVA account.
The Mood Board Basic
1. Colors Have Meaning
While working on the example above I assigned different descriptions to the colors I considered. That is because colors are associated with different meanings and emotions. For your convenience, I prepared a free PDF file with a list:
To read more about choosing colors please visit the article: Colors For A Brand.
2. Fonts Have Personality
Fonts can be classy or contemporary, elegant, or playful, bold, or subtle. Matching font characters with the personality of your brand is the best way to maintain brand consistency in the future. Fonts also need to appeal to your audience and most importantly: they must be EASY TO READ
Usually, you need 2, sometimes 3 sets of fonts:
- One that stands out – for your logo, titles, and headlines.
- One that is super easy to read – for the body copy of your content.
- For highlights, accents, or your logo use a unique display font.
NOTE: Some fonts require a license for use in a commercial setting. So, look for fonts on reliable platforms, and check in their settings what the requirements are.
To read more about choosing fonts please visit the article: Fonts for a Brand.
3. The Logo Has to be Simple
There is a reason I did not start this list with the logo. It needs to represent the company like nothing else, so the mission, values, message, colors, shapes even fonts need to be specified before you start working on your logo.
Your logo will show up on business cards, city billboards, and social media profiles. It must be easy to reproduce and maintain its integrity and clarity when scaled up or down. Therefore simplicity is the key to a good logo design.
Also, it should remain impactful and recognizable in both color and black-and-white formats. That is why the two-color logos are the best. Think: Apple©, Nike©, or Target©. Note: white is also a color.
You will need:
- Graphic Version: a symbol that represents your brand visually.
- Text Version of the Logo. It contains your brand name. Here the font can be unique and fancy, maybe even custom-designed, but at the same time easy to read across many different platforms and sizes.
Remember, your logo is the visual cornerstone of your brand identity. Invest time and effort into crafting a logo that effectively communicates your brand and resonates with your audience.
Don’t fall for a seasonal trend trap. A balance between innovation and timelessness will ensure the longevity of your design.
To read more about choosing fonts please visit the article: Logo for a Brand.
Ready to start? Let the mood-boarding journey begin!