2. Personal Mood board

HOW TO BUILD A PERSONAL BRAND MOOD BOARD IN 5 STEPS

Some of you may be asking yourselves, what is a mood board? It is a mosaic of images, words, graphics, and objects that project what you want your brand position to be. In developing your personal brand, think of a mood board as a snapshot of where you want to be. It is a destination postcard. Designers have used them for years to gain an overall feel for where their product is going to fit in the market. You can use them to identify your personal brand position and why it’s important to you.

5 Easy Steps to building your mood board.

1. The Gathering. Find pictures, icons, textures, etc. that represent the feeling or “mood” you want your personal brand to evoke. Be inclusive and pull together anything you may want to use. We’ll pare it down later.

2. The Arrangement. Take all of the stuff you’ve acquired and arrange it, collage-style on a board, poster, or wall. I usually like to group things together that are similar in emotion or ideal. You’ll see why later. As your board is forming up, take notes of common themes that begin to pop in your head. The idea here is to gain insight and inspiration for what your true personal brand is. Don’t affix things until after step three, which is…

3. The Purge. Before you solidify the mood board you need to refine it. Eliminate anything that doesn’t align with your personal brand position. You are looking to clearly communicate who you are and where you are going. If a graphic or color doesn’t represent that, then it has to go. Also, keep it to three-to-five words that define your characteristics, ideals, and emotions. Too many will add complexity to the visual.

4. The Test. Now that you have trimmed the fat, it is time to test your personal brand mood board. Send your board to a friend, relative or mentor. Have them tell you what they see. It should be consistent with your vision of your personal brand. If not, revisit steps one, two, and or three.

5. The Finish. Turn 2 FORMATS OF YOUR FILE (.AI & .JPG) and be ready to present!

MUST INCLUDE:

-Color Palette - 5 color swatches (squares, rectangles, circles, or any representation of your 5 colors) google search "color scheme generator" or in illustrator open color themes panel >

4 or more items of imagery that supports your personal brand. 1 or more textures or patterns that reflect your personal brand.

2 Typefaces - fonts that represent your style - could be quotes or personal vernacular (lingo). Dafont.com & create outlines!

Points assigned for craftsmanship and presentation