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How To Create A Brand Mood Board To Keep You On Track

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Building a recognizable and influential brand requires so many things… Creativity, investment, a little bit of fun and experimentation, and a clear and awesome team just to begin with! 

But, it can be hard to manage all these different aspects of branding, and clarify who your brand is, your values, your goals, and your overall vision for your brand image. 

Well, there’s one thing that can unify everything you need when building your brand. A brand mood board is a fantastic tool for vision building and brand brainstorming. It’s like a themed collage – a visual representation of ideas using images, text, diagrams, and other graphic design elements

In this handy guide, you can find out what a brand mood board is, what it can do for your business, and how you can create one. 

What Is A Brand Mood Board?

Maybe you already understand what a mood board is but you don’t know what makes a brand mood board? 

Well, the idea is the same. Your brand mood board brings together different visual design elements (like colors, text, pictures, videos if it’s digital, etc) to create a visual depiction of your brand. The elements in your mood board should reflect the essence of your business. 

Whether you’re a new or established business, creating a well-designed mood board every once in a while can help guide your marketing campaigns and brand decisions and (re)define your presentation and image. 

A mood board can be a physical, actual board that you can put together using cardboard, a glue gun, pens, and other materials. But, you can also create it virtually using free design platforms.

Why Mood Boards Matter: The Benefits Of Brand Mood Boards

They Inspire

You’ll likely hit a block during your branding process. Branding isn’t easy! Luckily, your mood board can become the perfect inspiration source. 

Looking back at an old mood board can reignite the feeling you got when you created it. It can help you find that flair again! 

Creating a new brand mood board can help get your creative juices flowing, too!

They Help Keep All Business Projects On-Brand

Brand development is not a one-person job. You need the support of your creative team and other people in your organization. 

Bring together individuals from different departments to contribute to and engage with your board. Your marketing department may have an entirely contrasting view of your business’ brand than a sales rep. 

By bringing together these perspectives, you can develop a nuanced brand that all your employees can relate to. Thus, your mood board becomes a tool for team-building and organizational creativity. 

It’s also a fantastic way to make sure all employees promote a cohesive brand experience across different platforms – from sales to social media to your website. 

Virtual brand mood board

They Tell The Story Of Your Brand Visually 

Visual storytelling is a powerful tool. Creating a mood board is a wonderful way to make sure that all your brand’s visual content cohesively supports the same story.

By developing a mood board, you can establish a visual narrative to show others what makes your brand unique, what it stands for, and what it’s all about!

How To Create A Brand Mood Board To Keep You On Track

Now that we know what a brand mood board is and the amazing benefits it can offer your business, let’s get to the juicy bits: how you can create an awesome mood board that suits your brand. 

Ask The Important Questions

Branding, as a marketing or creative field, is all about polishing the look, feel, and tone of a brand or business. It’s all about how people perceive your brand. 

So, the first thing you want to establish is how you want them to perceive your brand through your mood board. Ask yourself the following questions: 

  • First, you need to figure out what you want your brand to be. What is your brand focus? What are your brand values and objectives? 
  • Consider the inspiration for your brand name. Sometimes, going back to what inspired the business can help you go forward.
  • Who is your brand mood board’s target audience? Your customers? A potential new client? Your target audience will influence the aesthetic and tone of your board. 
  • What are your goals for the mood board and the brand overall?

Prepare A Color Palette 

An important element that will guide the look and feel of your mood board is color. Once you’ve thought about the questions above, choosing a color palette shouldn’t be too difficult. 

Pick tones and hues that match your values, goals and general business tone, etc. The colors you choose are important in conveying your brand message and they influence other elements like your font and images. 

Find Inspiration

With a color scheme in hand and an idea of the mood you’re going for, you can go hunting for inspiration. Instagram and Pinterest are fantastic spaces to get creative visual concepts. You can narrow it down by typing in searches for businesses or brands that are similar to yours just to get you started. 

Look out for and save different visual design elements that you enjoy. These could include: 

  • Colors within your palette
  • Text and typography
  • Textures (for physical mood boards) or textured images for virtual versions
  • Images or pictures including illustrations (source stock photos)
  • Patterns (geometric shapes, abstract patterns, etc.)

Bring Everything Together

With all your elements collected or created, it’s time to bring it all together. Remember to think about juxtaposing contrasting things, or grouping similar elements. 

Keep it simple, clear, and uncluttered. And, have fun!

Once you’ve created your brand mood board, you can start curating content that fits in with your brand’s vibe and build a cohesive content strategy. 

Creating a mood board

Branding – What A Mood!

A brand mood board can be just the thing you need to put a little pep in your business’ branding step. Use it to drive your creative and design direction, and to bring you back to the important aspects of your brand image every now and again. 

Account Manager | Contentellect - Intelligent Content Creation

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