We all love em, we all sit for hours on Pinterest making them,

but lets go back to basics on moodboarding.

Hint: your current approach to moodboarding could be holding you back

When we are inspired, we tend to jump right into the fun parts, with colors, imagery, and even creating right away. This is definitely fun and we’ve all done it, but I bet a lot of us have also found out hours later that not much came out of it except for a few disconnected ideas with not much to stand on. So, let’s figure out how to make our ideas real by rethinking our approach from start to finish (and I promise it will still be fun).

Step 01: Step away from  Pinterest

Yes, we all want to jump right in find stuff, and pin, pin, pin! But the best place to start is away from the computer and fun ideation tools. Let's start with just yourself and some introspection....

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What are you creating a moodboard for?
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Do you have some creative guardrails?
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Do you have a set of keywords to live by before searching endlessly for all the things that go in 80 different directions?

If the answer is no, take a moment, get off the computer, and grab a pen and some paper. Start to write down your answers to these questions to create a guide for your inspiration gathering on pinterest. Use the insights you gather here to keep you on track and connected to your task at hand before any pretty images might derail you!

Step 02: Notice what you like

You are now allowed to step back into Pinterest, or Cosmos, or Public Works. Honestly wherever you moodboard, go there and start pinning ideas together. As you you gather ideas start to keep a keen eye out and notice...

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What themes are emerging?
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Is there any repetition? (this is a good thing)

Are some colors showing up more often than others?

What elements, shapes, textures, and imagery styles are you seeing?

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What feeling is coming through?
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Get very scrutinous, curious, and analytical here. You will you will start to see trends and theme start to stand out. Even as the cohesion start to emerge always as WHY. Ask yourself why did I pin this and how does it relate back to the direction I scoped in Step 01? If the answer is ever "I don't know" I bet you just really appreciate and love the style but it might not be for you.

Step 03: Reflect and refine

So I bet you've got over 70+ pins on your moodboard. Let's try to whittle that down to just the essentials, about 10-12 images. Too many ideas equals one very swirly brain with no single direction.

Extract your must-have inspo (you can move these to their own moodbaord or bring them into a PDF)

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And let the others go 
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You’ll start to see you just appreciated the beauty of some images but realize they didn’t actually reflect the vision you defined in Step 01. It's an essential part of this step to always go back to Step 01 and validate which pins stay and which ones should go.

Step 04: Be inspired & detach

This is arguably one of the most important steps. It's time to remember that your final moodboard is purely a source of inspiration. Don't get too attached to your final selection of images. They are there as a guide for your own distinct visual direction...

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Be inspired
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Detach
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Go get creative!
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These are purely inspiration, not exactly what you are going to create. No matter what you are making a moodboard for - be it a logo, interior design, a party, your personal style/outfits, the layout for your garden, or visual direction for a photo shoot - the aim is not to exactly replicate what you selected from your final images. So take this moment to love them and remember they are just here to inspire you to create something so personal to you, detach, and go create something stunning!

          Before you go!

If this is your first time visiting By Hand, welcome and I'm so glad you found us. The process we walked through today is the exact approach I use with all my clients to effectively transition them from overwhelmed and confused to confident and deeply aligned. Is is one of the many steps in the creative process that are so crucial to defining the right design direction for your own brand.

Ready to work with a designer who cares about your vision as much as you do?

Book a call with me

The Key to Moodboarding

FALL BACK IN LOVE WITH YOUR CLOTHES AGAIN this autumn