Alexis Kestler
A mood board is a collage of images, textures, colors and other elements that helps visually convey a style, aesthetic or concept. Mood boards are commonly used by designers, artists, entrepreneurs and other creatives to represent inspiration and direction for projects.
In the past, mood boards were physical – actual boards, paper and images pinned or taped together. Today, there are many digital options that provide significant advantages.
Online mood board makers allow you to easily:
- Add a wide variety of multimedia content beyond just static images – things like video clips, GIFs, audio clips
- Edit, rearrange and update elements of the board
- Store boards digitally for easy access and reference
- Share and collaborate on boards with team members and clients
- Export boards in multiple formats like PDF, JPG, PNG etc.
In this article, we‘ll compare the top tools available for building digital mood boards and look at key factors to evaluate them.
Key Criteria for The Best Mood Board Tools
Here are some key criteria to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different mood board maker options:
Ease of Use – The interface should be intuitive with drag-and-drop functions to add, edit and arrange items. Minimal design experience should be required.
Customization – Ability to fully customize the layout, themes, fonts, colors, and design. More control allows you to tailor the look and feel.
Assets & Content – Library with a wide range of images, illustrations, icons, video clips, textures and other items to use. Ability to upload your own content is also ideal.
Multimedia – Support for embedding video, audio, GIFs, graphics and other multimedia beyond just static images.
Collaboration – Features to allow real-time co-editing and feedback by team members. Useful for client presentations.
Accessibility – Ability to create, view and share boards on any device. Offline access option is a plus.
Sharing & Export – Multiple export formats (PDF, JPG etc.) to share finalized boards. Link sharing, embed options are ideal.
Pricing – Price tiers for extra features beyond free plans. Affordable upgrade options.
We‘ve compared the top digital mood board creators based on these criteria:
1. Canva
Canva is probably the most user-friendly and accessible online design tool available. The drag-and-drop interface makes it simple for anyone to create beautiful designs regardless of technical skills.
For mood boards, Canva provides:
- Hundreds of easy to customize mood board templates and layouts
- Massive library of stock photos, illustrations, graphics and other visual assets
- Ability to upload your own images and content
- Grid system for arranging visual elements
- Tools to add text, shapes, frames and adjust colors
- A free tier with plenty of assets – no subscription required
Canva mood boards are very quick and intuitive to put together. The excellent content library means you can fully build a mood board without any external creative assets.
Team members can view and comment on boards in real-time, but there is no co-editing.
Best For: Anyone looking for an easy way to make great looking mood boards quickly. The free plan has plenty of value.
2. Milanote
Milanote brands itself as a "virtual pinboard" tool. It provides flexible infinite canvases for collecting visual inspiration and creative ideas.
Key features include:
- Drag-and-drop interface to add images, notes, links etc
- 100+ templates for mood boards and other uses
- Ability to create multiple boards and organize/filter
- Real-time collaboration allows team editing
- Integration with Unsplash for free stock photos
- Upload any file type including PDFs, audio, video
- Notes can be grouped into flexible containers
Milanote offers a free tier with 3 boards for individuals. Team plans provide unlimited boards.
It‘s one of the best options for real-time collaboration on mood boards – clients and team members can co-create.
Best For: Agencies and teams that need to collaborate and workshop creative concepts together.
3. Adobe Express
As part of Adobe‘s leading creative suite, Adobe Express provides advanced customization and design options for mood boards.
Standout features include:
- Hundreds of professionally designed templates
- Advanced image editing tools to stylize visuals
- Ability to fully customize colors, fonts, layouts
- Animation and filter effects for images/text
- Integration with Adobe stock assets and fonts
- Drawing tools, frames, shapes and stickers
- Export in multiple formats up to 4K resolution
Adobe Express offers more control over visual styling than most other tools. You can brand mood boards to match a company‘s design system.
There is a free starter plan, then paid subscriptions with additional features.
Best For: Designers and creatives who need robust customization and branding.
4. InVision
InVision is a popular design collaboration platform. It‘s used widely by agencies and teams for collecting inspiration and creating mood boards.
Notable features:
- Templates and pre-made mood board layouts
- Advanced organization with tags, links and sections
- Real-time collaboration and commenting
- Integration with InVision prototyping and assets
- Large library of visual assets and stickers
- Create interactive hotspots to link out to other boards
- Custom branding and themes
- Ability to push updates to linked prototypes
InVision is focused on designers rather than beginners. It has powerful features but slightly steeper learning curve.
They offer a free plan for individuals then paid team plans.
Best For: Design teams that already use InVision and want seamless integration.
5. Mural
Mural is a leading online whiteboard platform that can also be used for mood boards. The infinite canvases provide plenty of flexible space to organize inspiration.
Notable Mural features:
- Dozens of mood board templates to start from
- Sticky notes, images, diagrams and other elements
- Drawing and annotation tools
- Real-time co-editing for remote collaboration
- Option to export final boards as images
- Agile frameworks like sprint planning built-in
- Large library of free illustrations and icons
Mural isn‘t designed exclusively for mood boards but provides templates to get started. It facilitates collaborative review and feedback.
They offer free plans for individuals and paid tiers for larger teams.
Best For: Cross-functional teams that want to align on creative direction and next steps.
6. Pinterest
No list of mood board tools would be complete without mentioning Pinterest. It pioneered the concept of the digital inspiration board.
Pinterest lets you:
- Curate ideas by pinning images from web to topic boards
- Add text, colors and sections to boards
- Follow others and reuse pins in your boards
- Natural visual discovery through recommended similar pins
Pinterest doesn‘t offer as robust customization as some tools. But the volume of content and clutter-free interface make it unmatched for discovery.
The free version provides full access. Paid plans allow you to promote pins and gain analytics.
Best For: Individuals who want a simple, visual way to collect and organize creative inspiration.
7. Creately
Creately is primarily a wireframing and diagramming app. But it can also be used to build mood boards and share creative ideas.
Notable features:
- Drag-and-drop workflow to add images, stickies, icons
- Diagramming tools like flowcharts and mind maps
- Real-time collaboration for live team feedback
- Comment threads and annotations
- Export final boards as image files or PDFs
- Shape and connector styling options
- Thousands of free icons and illustrations
Creately isn‘t purpose-built for mood boards but provides a flexible canvas. The diagramming tools help visualize creative concepts.
They offer a free tier sufficient for individuals and paid plans that scale for teams.
Best For: Those who want to combine mood boards with brainstorming diagrams and wireframes.
8. Whimsical
Whimsical provides a more fun, illustrated twist on mood boards. It focuses on diagrams and wireframes but also can be used for inspirational boards.
Key Whimsical features:
- Large library of whimsical illustrations, icons, shapes
- Drag-and-drop with easy resizing and alignment
- Real-time collaboration built-in
- Light and dark mode options
- Insert images, sticky notes and frames
- Link diagrams together across boards
- Export as PNGs, PDFs, SVGs or download
The playful illustrations make Whimsical great for more casual and fun mood boards. Stakeholder presentations can also benefit from the friendly visual style.
They offer 4 free boards then paid plans with more space.
Best For: Teams that want an informal but visual way to collect inspiration and ideas.
9. Conceptboard
Conceptboard provides virtual whiteboards for ideation, collaboration and mood boards. The infinite canvases keep everything in one workspace.
Notable Conceptboard features:
- Real-time co-editing for remote collaboration
- Customizable templates for mood boards
- Upload images, videos, PDFs and other files
- Sticky notes, freehand drawing, basic shapes
- Built-in tasks, voting, comments and chat
- Integrates with Slack, Teams, Jira and others
- Export boards as images or Live Pages
The focus is on collaboration. Conceptboard lets teams collect inspiration and align on direction effectively together.
They offer a free tier then paid subscriptions with more features.
Best For: Distributed teams that want seamless virtual workshops and co-creation of mood boards.
Key Factors When Comparing Tools
Beyond the core features we evaluated above, here are some other factors to consider when choosing a mood board platform:
Individual vs. Team Use – Some tools like Milanote and InVisionexcel at real-time collaboration for teams. Others like Canva and Pinterest are better suited for individuals. Assess your needs.
Design Experience Required – Options like Adobe Express require some graphic design proficiency. Others like Canva are designed for complete beginners.
Offline Access – Web-based tools like Creately allow offline functionality through mobile apps. Other desktop-based tools may be limited.
Device Compatibility – Make sure tools support creation on the devices you use – desktop, mobile, tablet etc. Some may be browser-based.
Security – With sensitive client materials, evaluate permission controls, user management and encryption.
Learning Curve – All tools here are designed to be intuitive, but some have steeper onboarding than others. Factor in ramp-up time.
Pricing – Many offer free tiers that may suffice for basic use. Compare subscription plans for pro features.
Best Practices for Effective Mood Boards
To make the most of your chosen mood board software, here are some best practices to follow:
Curate Selectively – Don‘t just toss every idea onto the board. Be selective and strategic to keep aligned with the goal.
Use Themes – Group similar imagery and ideas into themes and use titles or colored backgrounds.
Consistency – Stick to 1 or 2 color palettes and complementary fonts for consistency.
Multimedia – Use video clips, GIFs and audio clips for multimedia – not just static images.
Negative Space – Don‘t overcrowd every inch. Leave some blank space for breathing room.
Strategic Text – Minimize text. But use it strategically to label, describe or highlight.
Varied Visuals – Vary shapes, orientations, illustration styles. Don‘t rely solely on stock photos.
Collaborate – Take advantage of co-editing. Get early feedback to align on direction.
Iterate – Mood boards are not a one-time thing. Continuously iterate as ideas evolve.
Conclusion
Mood boards are an invaluable tool for bringing creative concepts and direction to life visually. Digital mood board software provides advantages over physical boards of the past.
Online solutions make it easy to collaborate, customize, rearrange, store and share inspiration. There are excellent options for both individuals and teams.
Focus on aligning the features and strengths of mood board tools with your specific use case. Building out boards thoughtfully using strategic practices will ensure they effectively communicate emotions and ideas.
With endless libraries of assets and intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, the creative possibilities are endless!
