How Mood Boards Can Ruin Your Client’s Mood
As a UX designer, I’ve seen first-hand how challenging it can be to convey my design ideas to clients. It’s not always easy to get them on board with my concepts, especially when they don’t have a deep understanding of UX design principles.
I once worked with a client who was hesitant to embrace my design ideas for their insurance website. I could tell that they were struggling to understand the reasoning behind my design decisions, and it was a challenge to get them on board. Since we had just begun interacting with clients and found it difficult to come to a conclusion, I decided to whip out my secret weapon — the mood board!
First, let’s understand how mood boards are used in UX design. Taking reference from NNG Article, a mood board is typically created at the beginning of a design project, during the ideation phase. It’s a visual representation of the designer’s vision for the project, and it serves as a reference for the rest of the design process. The mood board helps the designer to establish a cohesive visual style and a consistent tone for the project, which can be used as a basis for all design decisions.
Mood boards can also be used to communicate design ideas to clients, stakeholders, and team members. A well-crafted mood board can help to convey the designer’s vision and inspire confidence in the project. By using images, colors, and typography to create a visual representation of the design concept, a mood board can help to communicate complex ideas in a simple and effective way.
When I showed the client a mood board with different colors, they were all like “uhh, I don’t know about this.” They were worried that the new colors wouldn’t match the brand’s vibe and might make current customers feel left out. So, to put their minds at ease, I explained why I chose those colors and how they would still work to get the brand’s message across. I even showed them some other cool brands that had used similar color schemes. But even after all that, the client was still like “meh” and wanted more options. And let me tell you, after each call I was totally freaking out and we were falling behind on our deadlines.
The client I was working with had a strong attachment to their existing logo, and they were concerned that any changes to the color palette would not align with their brand identity. At this point, I knew that I needed to think outside the box and come up with a new approach that would still achieve the client’s goals. That’s when I decided to focus on the color of the client’s logo and build the design around that.
I spent a significant amount of time experimenting with different shades and hues, testing the design against the client’s logo, and creating a visual language that would align with the client’s brand while still maintaining a modern and engaging look. By doing so, I was able to create a cohesive design that aligned with the client’s brand identity while still pushing the boundaries of what was possible in terms of UX design.
And guess what, the resulting website was a hit with the client’s target audience, and the client was thrilled with the final product because their sales increased by 64% in 2 months .By focusing on color rather than a mood board, I was still able to create a powerful and effective design that achieved the client’s goals and resonated with their audience.
This experience taught me an important lesson about the power of color in UX design. While mood boards and other can be helpful for conveying design ideas to clients, in reality it all depends on your relation and trust with the client by empathizing with them and educating about design approach for building great apps.
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