In the last few years, there has been an increase in mood boards. What are mood boards you ask? A mood board is a collection of visual ideas, pictures, and sometimes even videos, that can help a designer or a team know how to give people an idea for the feel of the project you are working on. We are going to go through the history of mood boards and how they can be used to better your business today!

Moodboards have been around for many years but they looked a little different in the beginning. They started with caveman paintings and Egyptian tomb walls. In these pictures, the cavemen captured their hunts or their battles and the Egyptians painted pictures of the person’s life and what they will be doing in the afterlife. While it does not really sound like what we use them for today, it definitely fits in with the definition of what we use mood boards for. Jenny Hawthorn gives a great definition of a Mood Board by stating, “A mood board is a valuable tool used to put all ideas in one place in order to visually stimulate the design process and be referred back to for inspiration” (Hawthorn, 2019). What a great definition that proves the point that these ancient pictures below are considered mood boards for their time. In the modern-day, we see apps like Pinterest being used to create mood boards for everyday users. Users are able to make a collection of images, recipes, and articles that they can use or visit later. Once they have those saved, Pinterest will start popping up other images, recipes, and articles like the ones the user has saved so they are able to explore and add to their collection. This is the more modern type of mood board that has evolved from the Egyptian and cavemen paintings.

Now that we know a little bit more about mood boards, you may be asking “How do I make one?”. Making a moldboard is easy and just about anyone can do it! The first step to creating any moldboard is to find your inspiration. Once you have your inspiration, you can start to map out your aesthetic for your project by adding pictures, wording, fonts, icons, and colors that you want to use. This process can take a while as you and your team start to piece things together. You will start to see that some things will not work together and you will do the process of elimination until you have the perfect mood board for your project. You want your mood board to reflect your business and its goals so make sure that you are staying on brand or you will have to restart the process all over. Also, remember to be flexible as you are working through this process. You might need to restart your mood board mid-process and that is okay! It just means you will have a better mood board in the end.

I firmly believe that every project should be started with a mood board. It helps you and your team to be organized and stay on brand. It also gives you a point of reference in the designing process when you feel lost on how the finished project should look and feel. Mood boards can be used in any profession and are not just subjected to designers. I encourage you to try to implement using a mood board in your next project and see if it works for you and your team! You just might be surprised at the pros that making a mood board will bring to your company.

References: https://jenhawth.medium.com/origins-of-moodboards-6b2afaf79ed7#:~:text=A%20fashion%20or%20interior%20designer,after%20a%20hunt%20or%20battle.

As a marketing major, I never thought I would be doing as much web designing as I am doing. As I started to get into the marketplace, website maintenance and website designing has become a big part of my day-to-day job. As I graduate in a few weeks, I wish I would have taken more web designing classes and been more interested in how to do basic coding and other web designing basics so that I was more prepared for my current role. One of the best articles that explain the perfect relationship between marketing and web design has is Digital Influence: Web Design’s Impact On Marketing Strategy written by Goran Paun, Forbes Councils Member. This article is a great reminder that these two things can work together to create something beautiful. As I walk through this article, I hope that you are able to see that web design is a part of marketing and your business should invest in creating a website if you do not have one already because it is essential for your business to succeed.

In this article, Goran stresses that way websites are used now is different than how they were done in the past. The goal with websites now is to have the user interact with your brand based on your website. If the website is not up to the current standards and only focuses on functionality, you will lose customers. Garon states that “…no matter what the industry is, a website that is up to date, informative and aesthetically pleasing builds trust with potential clients and, therefore, can impact customer acquisition and conversion rates” (Garon, 2019). One of the big points Caron points out is that websites are easy to track when it comes to providing insight on what your company might need to work on and what is working well. You also want to make sure you have a website that is unique and matched with your brand. You want to steer clear of websites that are clunky and not up to the current standards. This is a big thing that will build trust with your customers. You want the user experience to be fun and inviting! Try adding interactive and engaging content to your website so that you can hook your users. Ultimately, your website should reflect your brand in all of its glory. Stay away from putting something on your website that does not line up with your brand vision or mission. Garon brings up the necessity of SEO or Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a very important step of the web design process and if you are not sure how to put those practices into play, you should hire someone who knows. SEO focuses on linking your website to keywords that will help you reach your target market. This is a good step to come back for those that are looking to better their current website.

This article was written in 2019 before the pandemic. As we try to figure out what life looks like post-pandemic, we need to shed the old wineskin and step into the new wineskin or companies will start to lose customers. If in 2019, they were starting to see that change in how customers built trust with a company, I believe it is even more important to have a high-quality website post-pandemic. Shopping and interactions have moved to be almost all online. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, “E-commerce sales jumped nearly 32 percent in 2020 compared to the prior year” (Boudreau, 2021). This just goes to show that as marketing is taking a look at how to change their marketing plans, they need to consider updating their current website or creating a high-end website.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/04/04/digital-influence-web-designs-impact-on-marketing-strategy/?sh=57796a295eb8

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/18/covid-retail-e-commerce-environment-522786