Exercise
Mood Board.
Time Limit
2-3 hours.
Aims and Objectives
The what’s and why’s of creativity are bridged by the how’s. In photography, how may be the equipment, methods, and techniques used in a task or body of work. But some things can be fuzzy and abstract to convey, such as a style or feeling. For this, mood boards can gather emotional feedback for a project, before production starts.
The primary aim is to bring inspiration together into a cohesive document. Mood boards act as a reference point to communicate creative directions and visual styles to a client or end user. The objective is to collate aesthetic and emotional tastes through a mix of images and text. This can be used to benchmark the work you want to produce.
Mood boards as a visual tool aid creatives in both professional and personal use.
Requirements
An online search engine and a board application in the digital space, or magazines, scissors, glue, and a piece of paper in the physical space.
Output
Spend time searching online, or flicking through magazines for photographs, illustrations, and keywords that communicate a theme you want to create for a project or job. Gather them in a single digital or physical place. In your chosen workspace, collage the media together into an informal, but cohesive visual. Be selective, a small collection of well proportioned images say more than an array of thumbnails. Once complete, save, screenshot, or photograph the board for future reference.
Mood boards can put inspiration into practice, and consolidate the intangibles of creativity.