When it comes to plotting out ideas for your branding session, a little Pinterest inspiration (or should I say pin-spiration) can go a long way.
Digital or physical?
The process of creating your mood board doesn’t have to be complicated. Whether you choose to pull images from the Internet and assemble them online, or grab some foam board, Elmer’s glue, and a stack of magazines is completely up to you.
However, even though it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole on Pinterest, tying all the ideas together can feel a bit overwhelming. This is where a mood board comes in super handy.
Not sure what that is? A mood board is any type of visual presentation that is made up of images, textures, fonts, etc that inspire you. A mood board is an awesome tool you can use to gather your ideas and feelings about your brand in one central place. I highly encourage all of my clients to put one together - even if it’s just to help you pick your outfits for an upcoming branding session.
Many of my branding photography clients have already partnered with a professional web or logo designer and have walked through the mood board process with them. If this is you, I highly encourage you to use that existing mood board as a jumping-off point for your branding session. You definitely want your session to tie in seamlessly with your website and logo, so the work you’ve put in with these professionals is a solid foundation to build on.
In your business, your mood board sets the tone for your branding. It’s the best tool to help you create your signature style for your business.
Most of us are pretty familiar with navigating Pinterest, but if not you might find this tutorial helpful. Once you’re comfortable with the platform, you’re ready to create a killer inspirational mood board for your branding session in incorporating these three steps.
#1 - Stay Organized
It’s common (and encouraged) to come up with more than one mood board for your branding session, but staying organized is key to pulling it all together at the end. Pinterest makes it easy to set up boards with different titles or categories. You can even take your organization up a step and tag your boards with keywords, notes, etc. I like to pin a bunch of stuff and then go back and refine once I have a better idea of the direction I want to head in for my shoot.
#2 - Don’t Limit Your Search
Mood boards provide a unique opportunity to go wild. If you’re looking for inspiration for your branding session, you might be tempted to only search for brands similar to yours. My advice is to not limit yourself by only searching pins in your industry/genre. Instead, look outside the box and go crazy pinning textures, fonts, colors, imagery that have nothing to do with your brand or industry at all! You’ll be surprised at how much you can learn about yourself and your brand by going through this exercise.
#3 - Make Sure Your Pins Align With Your Brand Qualities
Not everything you add to your mood board will make it into your branding session in a tangible way. Instead, what you add to the board will lend itself to both you and me understanding your brand on a higher level. Adding plenty of thematic content (pins that convey a feeling or aesthetic) will help us understand what type of imagery will resonate with your audience/client base. Pretty pictures are great, but if the photo style doesn’t align with your brand qualities, it won’t be sending the right message.
So what do you think? Are you ready to compile a killer mood board and get inspired for your branding session? I hope so! If you’re needing some more pin-spiration, check out this board I put together on Pinterest to help you start with some ideas.