How to Create a Brand Mood Board Using Pinterest

Before designing a logo, choosing colors, or selecting typography, every brand project should start with a mood board. It's the visual foundation that ensures everyone - designers, clients, stakeholders - shares the same vision for the brand.

Pinterest has become the go-to platform for brand inspiration. In this guide, we'll show you how to transform your Pinterest saves into professional brand mood boards.

Why Brand Projects Need Mood Boards

A brand mood board serves several critical purposes:

• Alignment before execution: Get stakeholder buy-in on visual direction before investing in design work
• Reference point: A touchstone for all future brand decisions
• Efficient communication: A picture is worth a thousand words of brand guidelines
• Exploration tool: Test multiple directions before committing

What to Include in a Brand Mood Board

An effective brand mood board captures multiple dimensions of brand identity:

Color Direction

Save pins that represent your proposed color palette. Look for:

• Images with dominant colors matching your palette
• Color combinations that create the right mood
• Real-world applications of similar color schemes

Typography Feeling

While you'll select actual fonts later, your mood board should capture the typographic direction:

• Pins featuring type treatments you admire
• Lettering styles that match the brand personality
• Examples of type hierarchy done well

Imagery Style

How should brand photography and illustrations feel?

• Photo treatment styles (bright, moody, desaturated)
• Illustration approaches
• Subject matter and composition

Texture and Pattern

Tactile elements add depth to brand expression:

• Material textures (paper, fabric, metal)
• Pattern references
• Finish treatments (matte, gloss, metallic)

Overall Aesthetic

Include aspirational brand examples and lifestyle imagery that captures the brand's world:

• Brands with similar positioning
• Lifestyle and environment images
• Objects and details that feel "on brand"

Building Your Brand Mood Board

Step 1: Define Brand Attributes

Before searching Pinterest, define what you want the brand to communicate. Create a list of 5-7 brand attributes:

• Personality traits (playful, sophisticated, bold)
• Emotional qualities (trustworthy, exciting, calm)
• Positioning words (premium, accessible, innovative)

Step 2: Curate Relevant Pins

Search Pinterest using your brand attributes as keywords. Look beyond the obvious - a "premium" brand mood might be captured by architectural details, not just luxury products.

For each attribute, save 10-15 pins. You'll curate down later.

Step 3: Select Your Final Pins

Review your saves and select 12-18 pins that work together cohesively. Ensure you have coverage across:

• 2-3 color reference pins
• 2-3 typography/lettering pins
• 3-4 imagery style pins
• 2-3 texture/pattern pins
• 3-4 overall aesthetic pins

Step 4: Arrange on a Canvas

Using Pin Memory for branding, arrange your pins on a visual canvas:

• Place your strongest, most representative image prominently
• Group similar elements (all color references near each other)
• Create visual flow that tells the brand story
• Ensure variety in image sizes for visual interest

Step 5: Add Brand Context

Use text notes to bridge the gap between images and brand strategy:

• Label color directions with proposed hex codes
• Note which brand attribute each pin represents
• Add relevant brand voice keywords
• Include questions for stakeholder discussion

Step 6: Connect the Dots

Draw lines to show relationships:

• Connect color pins to images featuring those colors
• Link typography styles to applications
• Show how different elements work together

Presenting Brand Mood Boards

For Internal Teams

Share an interactive link so team members can explore and comment. This is ideal for collaborative brand development.

For Client Presentations

Export as a PDF that you can walk through in a meeting. Add a title slide with the brand name and project context.

For Stakeholder Buy-In

Consider creating 2-3 different mood boards representing different directions. This gives stakeholders choices and makes them feel involved in the brand direction.

Brand Mood Board Best Practices

Show, Don't Tell

Let images do the heavy lifting. A mood board should be understood at a glance, not require lengthy explanation.

Quality Matters

Only include high-quality pins. Blurry or poorly composed images undermine the professional impression you're trying to make.

Context is Key

Include real-world brand applications alongside abstract inspiration. Showing how similar brands execute helps stakeholders envision the end result.

Stay Focused

Resist the urge to include everything. A focused mood board with 15 pins communicates more clearly than a scattered one with 50.

Common Brand Mood Board Mistakes

• Copying instead of inspiring: Your mood board should inspire original work, not be copied directly
• Inconsistent aesthetics: Every pin should feel like it belongs with the others
• Missing brand strategy: Pretty pictures without strategic thinking aren't useful
• No annotation: Without context, viewers guess at your intent

From Mood Board to Brand Identity

Your mood board is a starting point, not an end product. Use it to:

• Guide color palette selection
• Inform typography choices
• Direct photography and illustration style
• Shape the overall brand aesthetic

Return to your mood board throughout the design process to ensure you're staying true to the approved direction.

Start Building Your Brand Mood Board

A well-crafted brand mood board sets the foundation for successful brand development. It aligns stakeholders, guides designers, and ensures the final brand identity achieves its strategic goals.

Ready to create your brand mood board? Connect your Pinterest to Pin Memory and start building your brand's visual direction today.