After a quick Q&A over on my Instagram, several of you asked to see more ‘behind the scenes’ posts related to art and design. We’re a few weeks into another lockdown here in the UK and for the first time in quite a while I’m feeling inspired and thought I would introduce a new series to the blog. Studio Life. A series dedicated to everything design-related. Taking you behind the scenes of the Interior Design and Graphic world. To kick off this series, I am going to share with you today the initial first step we would take when receiving a new project brief. Creating the perfect mood board. Whether that be for an Interior design project or you’ve just received a client brief to re-brand their business, a mood board is a great way to communicate with your client the direction and vision of your design. Initially, you would go through design stages before you start to curate your final mood boards that present your final scheme so I’m thinking of splitting this post into two parts. Make sure you’ve got your notepad ready. We have some ground to cover!
01 - Let’s talk basics - Concept design
Like any project, I first like to understand the story behind the client. It’s important to know how they envision their project and the direction in which they would like you to explore their vision. By this point, you would have covered with them the basic questions to allow you to put together the right look and feel they wish to achieve. I always like to start off with a secret Pinterest board dedicated to collecting the images I wish to use throughout the project. Think of it as a quick brainstorming dump. Dedicate a few hours looking through Pinterest, using keywords that relate to your project, to find images that you feel would be best suited to narrate your ideas. Instagram is another great place to find your sources of inspiration, along with a few other sites such as Yellow Trace and Dezeen. In some cases, I might go look through a few Tumblr pages but my go-to has always been Pinterest.
This is the time for you to think outside the box and be creative. As you are still in the early stages of concept design, the images chosen at this stage do not necessarily need to relate to interior design e.g. living room, dining room, etc. However, they should be selective and strong at communicating your concept. Here are a few keywords to keep in mind when searching for your images:
The location of the project - The location of the project dictates to you the type of building you will be working with and its heritage elements. For example, Mayfair has a distinctive colour palette that can be seen throughout its buildings that you might want to incorporate into your scheme. Mount Street has a few Art Deco references such as the intricate fretwork within The Claridges Hotel. This could be a reference to a shape that you wish to introduce within your design, whether it be wallpaper, joinery, metalwork, or even upholstery
Sensory experience - what senses would you like to evoke. Is it calm relaxing or perhaps its glamour & glitz
Ambiance - light, soft & airy, or is it dark & dramatic, or perhaps quirky with a slight edge of drama.
Colour palette - Think about the overall scheme and your client’s taste. If the sensory experience is calm you would opt for monochrome or muted tones.
Textures and materials - Be selective of your concept images and keep in mind your 5 senses! think about look, smell, touch, etc.
02 - The Narrative
Your mood board is what sets the tone for the whole project. You really want to stay true to the narrative and ensure that you have a strong one at that. By introducing a strong narrative at the beginning of your design stage, not only will it allow you to keep the story of your design consistent throughout the project but also will further enhance the overall mood and scheme. As the concept mood board is the first introduction to your client’s project, you want to present to them that you have understood their vision and really get them excited.
As an example, I will take you through some mood boards I have worked on for my past projects and how I like to convey the narrative within my concept design. To me, Interior Design has always been about introducing sensory experience and paying tribute to phenomenology within design. My Designs have always been created to enhance your senses once entering a space. I like to think that the materials and textures chosen are a poem, conveying a story to the viewer. By using this methodology in design, the type of materials used with sound, lighting, and the overall ambiance results in the feeling of connectivity between yourself, space, and the objects used.
03 - The Canvas
Now that you have a true understanding of your narrative, it’s time to let the creative juices flow and start placing your images on your board. I always like to see my mood boards as a blank canvas. Each mood board you create will be different from the previous one depending on the look and feel you are trying to illustrate. Try not to restrict yourself with block images and just let it flow. The software I like to use for mood boards in either Photoshop or Indesign. If you are a student you can access these programs for free over on the Adobe website. There are also a few other free online websites that can be used to create your mood boards such as Canva and PicMonkey.
Private Show Villa - Muscat, Oman
Let’s start with one of my projects that was located in the Middle East. This project was set in a beautiful Oasis within Muscat’s newly designed private community. The design of the private show villa was intrigued by the movement of water and its power to articulate a sensory experience in design, the colour and form were drawn from the language of this intriguing element alongside the districts beautiful manicured mountains and pristine sands. The palette’s inspiration is a blend of nature contrasted against the angular forms of the villa’s architecture; colour verses monochrome, textures verses smooth.
Luxury Residential Design - London
This mood board was created as a concept for a living room design with an eccentric vibe and lover of the arts who will occasionally visit her London home during the summer break. Her current scheme did not reflect her personal taste and she wanted a space in which she can both entertain and ‘chill’ in. The living room was created in a truly unique and eclectic style. The warm base palette is complemented with neutral and soft wooden tones, enhanced by bright accents and bold organic shapes.
Boutique Candle Brand - Canada
Canadian based candle company with a focus on all-natural soy wax candles. The mission was to elevate the existing brand design and personality. Taking inspiration from ‘slow-living’ the brand is modern and playful, but quality is taken seriously. The new look balances simplicity and luxury and is translated through a calm neutral colour palette.
Images from my Pinterest boards (Clockwise) 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/ 9/
Don’t forget to follow my Pinterest for a curated collection of beautiful things worth noting. You can find many inspiration images from my boards such as my Visual Board, Pigment & Details to name a few. Where do you like to collect your inspiration images from?
I hope this helps and as always, I would really love to hear some of your thoughts below.
Stay Gold.
Amni x