Create a Free Moodboard. See who is using SampleBoard to create awesome moodboards. 'I tried other online software tools before discovering SampleBoard, but I found them slow and with limited options. The ease of use and accessibility of SampleBoard were what won me over. Now I can spend more time restyling homes and helping my clients sell. Jul 20, 2015  Download the latest version of Mood Board for Mac - Create small collections of images to use as inspiration. Read 0 user reviews of Mood Board on MacUpdate. Save your mood board for the web. To save your mood board for the web, go to File Export Export as (If you’re using Photoshop CS6, choose File Export Save for web). To upload your mood board to social media, choose PNG as the file type. If you’re putting your mood board on your blog, choose JPG and lower the quality just a bit. Oct 24, 2019  Best storyboarding software & story boarding apps for video creatives and filmmakers. If none of the online and offline storyboard tools in our list is a good fit your video production story telling needs, than download 60+ FREE Storyboard Templates.

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Mood boards are a common element in any creative project. Here are some tips and some great free tools for creating and managing your boards.

In particular, with all the recent versions of Photoshop, when we drag an external image inside an existing document the picture is imported as a Smart Object, which allows us to resize, rotate and move the single images as layers without worrying of quality losses.

However, there are also some small applications that are designed specifically for creating and using mood boards or reference galleries.

Mood Board software

Kuadro

Developed by independent game developer Kruel Games, Kuadro is an image viewer that allows to open as many images at the same time, to lay them out in different ways having them floating above the active window. Layouts can also be saved for alter use.

Kuadro is free (but welcomes donations to support the projects) and available for Windows and Mac OSX.

PureRef

Available for Windows, Mac or Linux, PureRef is a lightweight application conceived to helps artists and designers tool to organize and view their reference images.

It offers a flexible canvas with many features and shortcuts for maximum speed of use and customization.

It has a “name your price” policy, so if you find it useful you can support the development with a small fee.

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For more information you can also check the review by Matt Kohr from CtrlPaint.

Evernote

There are virtually countless applications that can be used to organize reference images – even a simple text editor can do it. However it is worth mentioning Evernote, which has many interesting syncing, sharing and tagging options that can facilitate the task.

Moodboard for iPad

Among the mobile apps, Moodboard allows to create and share mood boards by adding photos from the Library. It is available as a paid app ($9.99) and in a free “Lite” version.

The best sources for mood boards imagery

The two more obvious – and also best – source for visual material are without questions Google Images and Pinterest.

In particular Pinterest has a high level of quality and its images are not only tagged with many types of keywords – including materials and emotional qualities associated with each image – but most of the time are already organized in boards with specific themes.

This is a great feature that speeds up the construction of our own board by simply looking at others’ selections. On the other hand, the inherent risk is getting lost in this ocean of wonderful, polished imagery.

Beyond Google Images and Pinterest, there are other places where it is possible to find specific material.

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Car Body Design (shameless plug) for instance has different gallery pages that can prove helpful: the Design Sketch Board has thousands of transportation design sketches, the Featured Design Sketches page is a smaller, high quality selection of works from young and established designers, and the Image Library includes several galleries on specific car design themes.

Visiting portfolio websites such as Behance and ArtStation allows to quickly check hundreds of different creative projects, which can help setting the atmosphere or find the right presentation technique or getting inspiration for the design language.

Another source of material is offered by the world of stock images and videos: here, like for Pinterest, it is possible to make search using generic, abstract terms and the results are usually quite relevant.

While the stock images are mostly not free, the basic, watermarked low resolution version can easily work for generating ideas – even if before using them on non-personal documents it is strongly advisable to check the usage license.

Speaking about photos, among all the websites presenting original photos it is worth mentioning Flickr (for the quantity) and 500px (for the quality). There are also websites that allow to search simultaneously from different sources – for example Foter or Every Stock Photo.

Lastly, for every specific subject there are image-intensive websites, but for the most part using Google or Pinterest should give plenty of interesting material.

How do you organize your reference material for each project? Do you use a different tool or system? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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If you’ve ever used Pinterest or Instagram, you’ve likely come across them: mood boards. Whether you’re curating a vision for your brand or playing with ideas for your next creative project, mood boards are an effective way to tell a story.

Because they are so good at visually conveying abstract ideas (like brand or voice), mood boards can be especially helpful tools for communicating with clients and team members.

But where do you start?

Today, technology makes it easier than ever to create and share your online inspiration boards. Use the following tips to learn how to create and use a mood board for your next project.

What is a mood board?

A mood board (also called a vision board or inspiration board) is a compilation or collage of images, artwork, colors, words, and typography that communicate a vision, message, and overall mood for a project’s style or design.

Though anyone can make one, mood boards are particularly popular tools among creative professions like design and marketing that often need to communicate abstract concepts like style and tone.

For example, brand strategists use mood boards to help set the look, tone, and voice of a brand.

When to use a mood board

One of the best things about mood boards is their versatility. You can use a mood board for both your personal and professional pursuits, either individually or within a team.

Create a mood board to:

• Spark inspiration for your next project.
• Define your creative direction.
• Confirm your brand style.
• Communicate your ideas.

While many individuals like to use mood boards to direct their creativity, mood boards aren’t just for solopreneurs or art departments.

In fact, mood boards are a great way to communicate abstract ideas to a range of teams across an organization, including more technical groups like developers. Using visuals helps bridge the communication gap between teams who may work under different vernaculars (like marketing and development).

This is also why mood boards work well for presentations to clients—often clients do not know the jargon or industry vocabulary to communicate what they want. But they know it when they see it. Mood boards translate those concepts into a visual language everyone can understand.

What to include on your board

Every mood board is different. Depending on the mood or style you’re aiming for, you might include any combination of the following.

Photos and imagery

Photos and other artistic imagery are one of the most powerful elements of a mood board. However, not all images are created equal. As you search the Internet (or your own camera and artwork), choose only the highest quality images that reflect your target vision.

Art

Art is a great way to create emotion on your board. The specific artist, style, and even time period of the artwork can evoke powerful and different reactions.

Words

Use words, phrases, or even short quotes to convey a general feeling or help further define your project’s style or brand. Make sure that you tailor your board so that the words you choose complement and enhance the other elements in your collage.

Typography

Perhaps just as important as what words you use is how those words (or letters) are styled. Typography and font choice is an effective way to communicate tone and personality on your board. Just think how different a Comic Sans mood is compared to a Copperplate Gothic.

Textures

Adding texture to your board can add depth and evoke different emotions. Consider adding textured paper, fabric, craft items, and even objects from nature (like flowers). If you’re making a digital board, add pictures of these elements.

Patterns and shapes

Play with patterns and shapes to create (or disrupt) movement, symmetry, and energy on the board.

Where to find inspiration for your mood board

The fun thing about mood boards is that you can source inspiration from anywhere. Rifle through magazines, photos, your sketchbook, or take ideas from the great outdoors.

Of course, so many options can be overwhelming, especially if you’re scouring the Internet. Consider looking at these sources to narrow it down:

• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Other brands or websites you admire
• Artist pages

Pinterest is an especially useful tool because it aggregates images under so many topics. Simply use their search bar to filter by keyword or follow a specific group, individual, or brand board to find images related to your vision.

Tips for creating a mood board

Start early in the project to direct your vision

Mood boards are most effective when they are deployed at the beginning of a project. They help get the creative ball rolling so to speak and can help establish a common visual language that team members can refer back to throughout the project.

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Additionally, by creating your board early in the creative process, you can avoid future revisions stemming from miscommunication or misunderstanding.

Create an online mood board

Traditionally, mood boards were made on physical foam boards. But today, the Internet makes it easy to curate vision boards at the touch of a button. Online mood boards provide these additional benefits:

• Nearly unlimited visual resources from which to curate images
• Faster and simpler curation process with online inspiration board makers
• Easy sharing options with multiple people

Online board makers give creatives flexible options to customize their boards and build unique curations.

Be precise in your curation

It may be tempting to add a bunch of images and ideas that you like to your board. However, less is usually more when it comes to mood boards.

As you curate your board, only include imagery that precisely nails your concept. Leave the rest out, or alter them to fit. For example, if you have a photo you love but the colors are off, consider editing the photo to adjust the color scheme.

By curating each element with precision, you will have a more cohesive and effective mood board.

Know your audience

If you are drafting a mood board for a client project, it’s important you understand the client and their brand. This goes along with the tip above to curate each element precisely. The better you know your target audience, the better you can tailor your board and create a mood that speaks to the client.

Stay flexible

Remember—mood boards are not a prescriptive exercise. They are a tool to get the conversation started but aren’t necessarily the final iteration of your concept.

Use your mood boards to guide your creative direction and encourage communication and collaboration on the project. Stay flexible and allow the mood board to evolve as you hone in on your vision.

Create an online mood board with Lucidchart

Today, creating a mood board online is easier than ever with Lucidchart.

Lucidchart is a visualization platform with an unlimited canvas and customization options to create your next project. Curate your favorite ideas by importing images directly to the canvas or using the platform’s built-in image search to find images or icons that convey your ideas.

When you’re ready, share your project with your team—Lucidchart lets you collaborate in real time so everyone has a chance to contribute.