What is a moodboard and what are its benefits

02 Aug,2022

Every project has its essence and its visual references that can be organized to create an identity and establish a roadmap to be followed. To assist in this process, establishing what a moodboard is can be decisive.
In practice, the moodboard is a very important tool to establish the brand in a visual way and can be used in several areas to create concepts.
Therefore, understanding what a moodboard is, what it is for and its relevance are ways to successfully execute different projects.

In general, the moodboard is very commonly used in the areas of fashion, architecture, graphic design, among others, as it helps to translate the personality of the individual or brand, creating concepts, both for physical and digital projects.
This tool can be an excellent facilitator in the creative processes, allowing the project to be carried out based on valuable concepts and principles.
Therefore, the moodboard is essential for professionals who want to carry out high quality actions and identities, standing out from the competition.

What is Moodboard?

Moodboard, as the name implies, means mood board. It is a tool that allows you to organize visual, textual, auditory and even sensory references that can somehow translate the essence of projects, brands, products, among others.
It has the frame format and can be created easily in different tools, such as Canva, Photoshop or other design software. It can even be made in a practical way with physical panels, such as cork, steel and even paper.
With this it is possible to join several references digitally or create a physical frame with collages, samples of scents, photos and other elements that you want to use to create personalized gifts.
In this way, the creation process will be simpler and easier for everyone involved in the project.
Despite being a resource widely used in the areas of graphic design, fashion and architecture, the moodboard can also be used for digital marketing projects, brand structuring and several other sectors.
With regard to marketing, more specifically, this is because the tool can facilitate the creation of websites, landing pages, email marketing, among others.
In marketing and advertising, the moodboard is an element that helps bring the briefing to life.
Thus, you can create an incredible project and direction for the work team, with interesting strategies and content and make sure that, when taking ideas off paper, the creation of the visual identity can be optimized.
However, when there is no moodboard to accompany the project, some unforeseen event may occur or the preparation may take longer than planned.
In this way, it is important to create a quality moodboard so that your work has excellent results.

What is the moodboard for?

One of the main reasons for the existence of the moodboard is to help professionals in defining the style of a project. This nomenclature “project” can be used for brands, people, products and services.
Many people imagine that a sense of style is only valid in the worlds of architecture, design and fashion. However, this concept can encompass the essence of several areas in the world, for example, the most qualified production of Christian children's books.
Thus, the moodboard is used to help professionals define aspects that transform a project into something unique, strengthening the intended identity and the power of fixation in the public's imagination, as well as the proper visualization of the idea.
It can be the basis for understanding colors, visual direction, graphic elements or any other definition necessary for the elaboration of creative concepts.

Why invest in moodboard?

Before investing in the moodboard, you need to think about a product. By imagining it, you can already visualize the commercial and all its elements, characteristics that should be explored in the frame.
The panel has this power to create an atmosphere that makes people realize what the product, project or action is about.
It is this understanding and clarity that entrepreneurs in the elevator maintenance segment can use in their marketing projects.
A quality moodboard allows you to bring the briefing to life and ensures that the project's result goes as planned, creating a very interesting visual alignment between client and agency, for example.
It is very common for professionals in this area to create the moodboard before starting the creation of the logo and design of a brand, in order to align with the client.
This is an excellent way to involve everyone in the creative process, increasing customer confidence in your work, as well as avoiding rework, saving time and capital.

How to create a moodboard?
The creative process of a moodboard is simple and requires professionals to understand that throughout the project this material may need to be revisited and even updated, depending on the case.

Choose the design style
There are several design options that can be part of the project. The big point is to understand the personality of the target audience and the pieces that will be developed, as well as what identity you want to create for the brand.

Regarding the style, the professionals involved can opt for models such as:
  • Minimalism and modernism, which involve sober colors and quick strokes;
  • Classic, which adopts a more traditional style, but elegant and usually with sober colors;
  • Retail, with capital letters and warm colors that represent urgency.
It is very important that the style is directly linked to the visual identity of the project. This is true for many projects, be it monitored alarms, a new brand of custom clothing or even services such as installing structured cabling.
In other words, it is a versatile action that can be applied to different sectors, as long as the main objectives and what you want to convey with the brand are established.
Visual pieces that are part of grand strategies need to be connected to your base. In the case of campaigns focused on selling products, it is very important that they have graphic, textual and visual elements of the company.
It is the visual identity that has the role of creating a unit of delivery to the reader, demonstrating the essence necessary for the elements used to be associated with the products and, consequently, with the brand and the expected feelings.

Color palette
When making the moodboard, it is essential to be concerned with the color palette of the project.
It can cover different shades or variations of the same color. Regardless of the choice, it is essential to understand the relationship of colors with the rest of the project, in order to reinforce the message and create harmony.
Revisiting strategies related to visual identity is essential when defining colors. This is because, many times, they are selected in advance or only need a second color to be chosen to proceed with the other steps.

Use textures
A very interesting idea in the moodboard is to work beyond the images.
Textures and other complementary elements are interesting resources to deepen ideas and add more personality to the air conditioning company's projects, for example.
Building construction projects that are more minimalistic can have softer layers, for example, marble. On the other hand, works that involve strength can have a brick texture, and this information and even samples should also make up the picture.
The goal is to adapt the intended concept and the textures used for different projects, not just those involving architecture, decoration or fashion.
This is because this element can be analyzed subjectively and represent essences that go far beyond the obvious use for the brand.
For example, textures can be applied to determine the identity of publications and marketing actions of a jewelry store, adding aspects of fine fabrics to highlight the characteristics of the pieces.
The moodboard of a fashion consultant who is serving her client needs to be in line with the person's style.
Thus, if the client has a romantic style, the choices need to speak to her personality, being able to include elements such as flowers to emphasize the characteristics that they want to include in the personal communication.

When choosing textures, some fabric possibilities that can compose the moodboard are:
  • Velvet;
  • Income;
  • Silk.
Finally, this element offers a clearer view of what you want to have as a result in the identity of a product or brand.

Pay attention to the choice of typography
Thinking about the text is important, even if the panel has more graphic and image elements and resources.
However, writing is also considered a visual element and needs to be thought out strategically to reinforce the expected message and personality of the elements.
This process is not limited to the moment of writing the text, but evaluating the way the words will be visually arranged and even the font style to be used to convey the message desired by a condominium management, for example.
Therefore, this is a procedure that helps to establish brands, products and different projects.

Resources beyond photos
Thinking about elements that go beyond static images, such as the use of videos, can be an interesting alternative to make the moodboard differentiated and reinforce the expected identity.
At this point, attention is paid to how this information will be entered, with easier visualization in virtual moodboard models.
The use of videos has gained strength in the digital environment and since 2018 it has been used in the most different communication strategies.
It is possible to use references that can be searched on the internet or bet on video applications and start one from scratch.

Useful tools for moodboard creation
There are several tools that can be used to create a moodboard for vacuum filter projects and other products/services. Many of them are free and simple to use.
Regardless of the tool chosen, it is important that the moodboard is easy to view for the entire team involved in the project and, above all, that the board can be easily consulted. Some examples of tools are:

Canvas
It is a design platform that has free and paid versions, allowing people to create different design pieces in a simple and practical way.

Pinterest
It is a social network focused on sharing images, from a simple photo to a more elaborate project. It is considered one of the most interesting tools to create a moodboard in the form of folders and create a unique aesthetic.

Photoshop
A traditional tool for designers, photoshop consists of a software that makes the process of creating a moodboard easier, using images from the internet.

Physical resources
The board does not need to be made only on digital platforms, that is, the professional can create a moodboard with physical resources in a practical way, investing in items such as a blackboard, paintings and walls.

The differential of this option is that people can touch and feel the textures and other elements present in the board and there is an agile update of the information, being able to be made available in a space of quick visualization for the whole team.

Advantages of moodboard
There are several gains in using the moodboard in projects ranging from steel string brands to traditional restaurants. In practical terms, the main positive points are:
  • Define the direction of the project;
  • Translate the brand personality;
  • Resolve disagreements more easily;
  • Align team members quickly;
  • Have the client's participation in the process;
  • Improve understanding of identity;
  • Organize ideas in a practical way;
  • Maintain order at work.
In this way, with several benefits, using the moodboard in the execution of projects makes it possible to achieve excellent results in the creation of brands and projects, offering what the customer wants, streamlining the creative processes and standing out in the market.

Text originally developed by the Business Connection blog team, a channel where you can find hundreds of informative content about different segments.


Veja Também: