Mood Boards in UX: How and Why to Use Them

Summary: Create mood boards to collect visual inspiration, communicate brand identity, and decide on the product's visual direction.

A mood board is a collage of images, video frames, patterns, or text that convey a certain feeling at a glance. Mood boards are widely used in various applications of visual art including branding , graphics, fashion, cinema, industrial and interior design. Sometimes, they are even used in nonvisual fields (e.g., music, fragrance design) to capture moods and feelings.

Why Use Mood Boards for UX or UI Design

In UX design, mood boards are used to visually show the feelings or values that the digital product should create . Mood boards are collages that are approachable and easy to understand –- even for people with little design experience.

For example, imagine your team is building a career app for urban-construction workers. You might list some words describing the visual vibe you’ll aim for: