My client called my design derivative after I leaned too hard on mood boards.

Some say mood boards spark creativity, others argue they kill original thought. What's your view on using design inspo?

4 comments

4 Comments

How do you find the right balance with mood boards? I've totally been there, my client once said my design was just a copy of my inspo.

the_ryan1mo ago

Mood boards work best when you pick one small thing from each image instead of the whole look. Like maybe you take the texture from one photo and the spacing from another layout. That way you're building something new instead of just remaking a single reference.

blair_taylor1mo ago

Totally with @the_ryan, but nailing that mix is where the magic happens.

jordan6941mo ago

Yo, everyone talks about the visual pieces but forget the vibe. What if you pulled the feeling from one image and the story from another? Like one photo gives you that calm morning energy, then another has that raw, unfinished texture that tells a different tale. Mash those feelings together and your work gets its own soul instead of just borrowed parts. It stops being a copy because you're not just taking what things look like, you're rebuilding why they make people feel something. That emotional mix is what makes a design actually new.