Creating a Mood Board I found to be quite challenging because I didn’t exactly know what a Mood Board was. It’s essentially just an arrangement of text, drawings, etc. that are meant to evoke a certain style or concept. I decided to go the hand-drawn path. I wrote down “Design Thinking” in loose script, and then proceeded writing the steps on different colored post-it notes. Along with each step of the process, I drew a doodle that represented each one. For example: the eyeballs for observation. I took photos of my notes and drawings and transferred them into the computer. I then edited them in Photoshop, and then inserted them into InDesign. I was going for an equally neat and interesting balance of type and hand-drawn design. The outcome was unsuccessful because it looked like a poster rather than a mood board, which was very disheartening. I tried fixing it by rearranging the type and trying to fill up more of the space, however it just wasn’t turning out the way I wanted it to.

          My solution was to start fresh with a whole new take on things. Using the design thinking process: I observed all kinds of different Mood Boards on Pinterest and compiled different ideas and color palettes from what I found. Looking at what others in the class had created also sparked inspiration of what details I needed to focus more on. In my first mood board design I didn’t pay close enough attention to formatting, I focused too much on the hand-drawn aspect. The hand drawn elements also made the design appear more childlike rather than professional. I drew up different designs, patterns, and words. I then resolved to use the scanner rather than take photos of my work, this way they would come out crisp and cleaner. I overall used better type and colors and eliminated blank space. My final design turned out to be far more successful than the first in many different ways. The colors were bolder and compelling, the type was neat and legible, and it looked far more professional.
          
          Creating this Mood Board was definitely a big challenge for me because it forced me to step outside of my comfort zone. Although I wasn’t successful initially, I learned along the way and had to think on my feet. I applied the design thinking process and it helped me immensely to achieve something greater than I had anticipated. Design is all about failing until you finally succeed. Design and redesign helps you to create something better than you could’ve imagined. I applied Observation by looking through Pinterest Mood Boards, I then Brainstormed by compiling ideas and designs together and forming a general idea of what I wanted to accomplish, I prototyped by designing and redesigning, and then I was finally able to implement my final design because it was a more concise representation of my design that had exceeded my expectations. This experience was very beneficial to me as a designer because I learned that failure is a necessary step to achieve greatness.

Final Design:

                                                                       Original Design: