A mood board is an organised collection of images, colours, material samples and keywords on a single surface, used to fix the intended atmosphere and direction of a design before anything is drawn or bought. It is a communication tool: it makes visible what is hard to convey in words.
In building and interior design it is used mainly at the start of a project, between client and designer. “Warm and natural” means something different to everyone; twenty images side by side make it concrete.
Two kinds
Digital. A collage of photographs, colour blocks and references assembled in a presentation or design package, or on a collecting platform. Easy to share and quick to adjust.
Physical. A board or box holding real samples: a piece of tile, a timber sample, a paint card, a fabric swatch, a handle. For material selection this is by far the more reliable version — colour and texture on a screen always differ from reality.
Judge samples in the room itself and at different times of day as well: north light, evening sun and artificial light give a completely different impression of the same colour.
Making one that actually works
- Pick one direction. A mood board showing five different moods is not a decision, it is a catalogue. Narrow it deliberately
- Work in proportions. Show which material is the primary one and which are accents. A common rule of thumb from interior design is roughly 60 per cent base colour, 30 per cent secondary and 10 per cent accent
- Include what stays. Add photographs of the existing floor, windows or brickwork that is not changing. The new has to sit alongside it
- Think about light. Include the colour temperature of the lighting. Warm white around 2700 K and neutral white around 4000 K change the feel of the same room completely
- Add dimensions. An image of a large loft is misleading if your room is 3 by 4 metres
- Note what you want from each image. “For the timber colour”, “for the way the storage is arranged” — otherwise the image gets taken on wholesale
- Be honest about budget. Do not include materials that are out of reach; that only leads to disappointment later
A mood board does not replace a drawing. It fixes the atmosphere; dimensions, structure and detailing belong in the design and the specification.
Related terms
- Interior design
- Material selection
- Colour scheme
- Concept design
- Brief
- Minimalism
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