Creative people of all types often draw inspiration from magazines, images, and other visual artifacts. They often use a mood board

as a creative backdrop for brainstorming. A mood board is often a large piece of foam core or cardboard covered with images from many different sources to create a “mood” for the project in question.

When creating a mood board, a designer often begins their workfl ow by fl ipping through the pages of magazines, often fashion magazines, looking for visual inspiration. Images that illustrate aspects of their vision are cut from the magazine and placed upon a mood board. Designers often collect visually interesting odds and ends that can be pinned onto the mood board like pieces of leather, color swatches, fabrics, feathers, dried leaves, etc.

As the designer’s vision develops, they rearrange and refi ne the images on the mood board. The mood board refl ects the creator’s acute insight into style, aesthetics, and cultural cues that are relevant to the design concept. Finally, the designer uses the mood board when discussing their creative concepts with others and as a reference point when implementing the design.

Color stylists in the automotive industry often use mood boards to propose the selection of colors and trim. Looking to runway fashion for insight into the future trends in color, aesthetics, textile design. Top automotive designers are often seen in Manhattan or Paris during fashion events. Fashion magazines litter the tables of the offi ces of these cutting edge industrial designers. The two mood boards are shown as examples of mood boards proposing new car colors. Can you imagine car colors that would satisfy the intent of the mood board designer?

Let’s make a mood board! Start with a goal in mind. Any creative project will do: designing a party outfi t, redecorating your living room, or concepting a music video. To create your own mood board you will need:

• A foam core board• Scissors or a retracting utility knife• Glue, thumbtacks, or tape• MagazinesStart by searching the magazines for images that

illustrate, enhance or expand your design concept. Cut the images from the magazines with a utility knife or scissors and arrange them on the foam core board with thumbtacks, tape, or glue. Other found objects can be pinned onto the mood board too. Gel pens or markers are useful for labeling, highlighting, or re-coloring images on the mood board. Ask other people for feedback on refi ning your design. Try creating a second mood board for an alternative to the original concept.

When you fi nished your mood board, send photos of your mood boards, comments, and other fun things to me at: justmoodboards@gmail.com

Personal Bio: Clement Shimizu’s area of specialty is computer graphics in the context of color appearance design. He has dedicated his life to serving artists, designers, and other creative people. He does this in his academic research at the University of Minnesota, his work on immersive projection systems at the Elumenati, and also his personal life providing technical support to Minneapolis’s vibrant arts and design community.

Let’s Make a Mood BoardBy Clement ShimizuMood Boards by Molly Roark

Hydrogen Blue in the OCAs energy effi ciency is surpassing engine power as the driving force of automobile sales, color stylists visually communicate this new effi ciency through careful material selection. Inspired by the sporty fashion trends of California’s southern coast, Hydrogen Blue in the OC proposes a lively blue for a hydrogen powered concept car. Both mood boards created on commission from Clement Shimizu by Molly Roark for a research project in industrial design techniques for metallic automotive paints called Color Styling Tools.

Ora

nge

Bal

l of P

aris

Alth

ough

col

ors

for E

urop

ean

vehi

cles

are

ofte

n le

ss c

hrom

atic

then

thei

r Am

eric

an

coun

terp

arts

, Ora

nge

Ball

of P

aris

pro

pose

s a

vibr

ant m

etal

lic c

olor

that

a y

oung

and

fa

shio

nabl

e Fr

ench

lady

wou

ld fi

nd a

ppea

ling.