The Magic of Mood Boarding
My visual people, I see you.
Every time I post a mood board on social, the DMs come flooding in.
“Where did you get your massive mood board?”
“I want to make one but have no idea where to start.”
It’s funny to write about mood boarding in any ‘formal’ capacity because it’s one of those things I’ve been doing since I was a kid.
In elementary school, I would hang out in the art room cutting up magazines and pasting visuals to poster board. In high school, it was my bedroom walls that got the mood board treatment. I would cut up my Vogues and W’s (and sometimes Teen Vogue, although those pages were sacred) and dream of a world that was very far away from my bedroom in a tiny South Florida town.
I continued to make mood boards in my dorm room in college and all of the apartments I lived in in New York. It’s easy to look back and label it as “manifesting” but for me, at the time, it was about surrounding myself with an energy of how I wanted my life to feel, and maybe, one day, who I could become.
I didn’t fully comprehend the power of mood boarding until I worked for Emily Weiss at the original Gloffice in 2012. In a one-room office in Soho, sitting 8 floors above the Crate and Barrel on Houston, the beginning of the Glossier universe started on a wall.
The iconic image of Kate Moss lensed by Craig McDean for Calvin Klein in 1995 lives rent-free in my head. As does the image of two joyful sisters laughing, in Jim Britt’s 1976 portrait series, which was later used for Comme des Garçons’ A/W88 campaign.
All of this is to say: that the essence of who the Glossier girl was (before Glossier was a business) was breathed to life on that wall.
As I began to build out the Crown Affair universe, I instinctively started with the visuals. It was the main tool I had to start making something feel real, even when I was in the earliest days of product development.
My initial board started with two images from my favorite living artist, Ed Ruscha. The first was the cover of a Gagosian catalog from his 2007 show at the Davies Street London space called Ed Ruscha: Busted Glass. I don’t remember where I first saw the cover but I remember seeing that shade of green and having a physical reaction to how perfect it was. I’d never seen a green like this before, so I logged it in one of my saved folders to come back to later…
The second image was a portfolio of six works from 1970— News, Mews, Pews, Brews, Stews & Dues. This series was included in his MoMA Retrospective earlier this year. I was able to finally see them in person (they were in front of the chocolate room, for those of you who visited) and can confirm that they’re even better IRL.
Before we get to the actual gathering of images, let’s chat board options.
Option I: Lowest-Touch Option, Foam Core Boards
Your local art store should have these in many size options. I started with this smaller size from Blick. They’re on Uline as well if you want to order in bulk.
When you’re ready to go big, you can graduate to the 48” x 96” size and be like this guy:
Option II: Least DIY, NY BlackBoard
For my Miami home office ordered the 4 x 8-foot linen-wrapped option from NY Black Board. They’ve been making boards in the States since 1944, and based on my many conversations with the lovely customer service guy, they usually don’t ship boards of this size to individuals.
My board was delivered on a pallet and the shipping fee was about the same price as the board itself. Board + shipping was $1,051, plus paying two handymen to install it on the wall. Let’s call it $1,200 all in. For the shipping cost, the board was delivered to Miami, so I’m sure it’s a bit less if you’re looking to ship to the tristate area.
Was it worth not having to buy multiple cork boards, staple them together, wrap them in linen, staple gun that fabric, and then pray it looks okay? Absolutely.
Do wish I was more handy and had the time to make a 4 x 8-foot board? Yes. But I have no regrets given I look at and use this board every day.
Option III: DIY and Some Ready-Made Options
Eyeswoon has a great tutorial of how to DIY your own board. And here are a few smaller, ready-made options from McGee & Co, Etsy, Amazon, Pottery Barn, and Wayfair if you want something nicer than a foam board, or want to hang a few of these in a row.
And now, how to start the mood boarding process if you’re not sure where to start.
Instructions: Find 3 - 4 visual references from each category below. Print them out (or save down if you’re doing this digitally) and arrange them in a way that feels fluid to you.
Category I: Art
IMO, the best place to start. I was an art history major in college, so I’m biased, but there’s nothing more direct and simple than the impact of how art makes you feel.
Category II: Film + Movies
There are few better places to create a tone of a universe than storytelling in film. Is there a movie that deeply inspired you when you were young, or a filmmaker you love now whose world you’d like to step into? Pull a few stills.
Category III: People That Inspire You
Have fun with who you choose— it could be simply for their aesthetic, about their work, or a mission they represent. I didn’t include them below but Jane Goodall, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Jim Henson (or his work) make it into most boards I create.
Category IV: Nature
Maybe tied with art as the greatest inspiration of all. See what visuals in nature you’re drawn to. Water, trees, light, fire, patterns, organic forms, whatever feels right to you is perfect.
Set an hour or two aside for yourself to create. Put on a playlist (if you want something chill and inspiring, I like listening to these healing frequencies, for something more fun and upbeat I’ll put on New Radicals or Jamiroquai radio).
Do you have another approach to mood boarding or finding inspiration? Share with me in the comments!
Take care, and take your time, always.
Dianna
Ps. I wanted to introduce a new little outro for this newsletter….
Introducing: 3 Things I’m Into and 1 Haircare Tip
This fascia roller. ($12) I went to Ricari Studios in LA for a lymphatic drainage massage and it was as magical as everyone says. As I was leaving I asked what I could do to keep taking care of my lymphatic system at home and she sent me a link to this fascia roller. If you have inflammation or feel puffy, go get this now. I use it every morning for a few minutes to ‘wake up the body’ and it’s become a favorite new tool.
Therabody RecoveryAir Prime. ($599) In the Ricari session they put me in this super casual $50,000 compression pant machine (yes, you read that right) and it was also heaven. Apparently, Lady Gaga has a pair of these on her plane to recover between shows. If I were her, Taylor Swift, or any major athlete I would live in these. I clearly can’t splurge on a $50,000 compression pant drainage system, but these Therabody boots are within my budget. They arrived last week and I used them every day. So far so great, it definitely boosts circulation and helps with drainage.
Mango Rhinestone Ballerinas. ($80) Rec via my girl and main muse, Juliana Salazar. An affordable way to hop on the rhinestone flat trend. They’re the nicest looking pair I’ve found sub $100.
Haircare Tip: Brush for Hair Health!
If it’s wash day, take a few minutes before getting in the shower to brush your hair before you wash it. Brushing your hair helps move the healthy oils from the scalp down to the strand. It also moves any buildup and debris at your scalp so you get a better cleanse. Think of it like dry brushing your body pre-shower but for your scalp.
Love this, and maybe silly q- but is everyone just printing up a storm? Do I need to get a printer again?? Thought ink was a cost I could cut out but alassss
What a pleasure to read, Dianna! Love the thoughtfulness that went into this post. Moodboarding is part of a life well lived.
Edward Ruscha's retrospective is coming to LACMA: April 7-October 6. You'll have to visit the next time you're here!!