Almost every designer's brief has a block of questions that don't seem to be about the website at all. What mood should it have. Which fonts do you like. Which sites do you like, and what exactly about them. Which colours are a definite no.
Company, services, contacts — those are clear, they'll be on the site. “Mood” isn't, and it's tempting to answer “up to you”.
But that block is the moodboard. It's just put together by you, not by the designer.
A moodboard is your answers
A moodboard is usually described as a board where the designer collects images, colours, fonts and textures to show how a future project should feel. True. But where does the designer get what goes on that board?
From talking to you. From the links you sent. From “I like this font, that one feels cold”. The designer asks, you answer — so in effect, you're the one building the moodboard. The designer then lays it out so the direction becomes visible.
- What mood should the brand have?
- Which fonts do you like?
- Sites you like
- What exactly do you like in them?
- What's a definite no?
Left — questions from the brief, right — what they turn into. A schematic, not a real board.
Why this section matters more than it seems
Information about the company answers what will be on the site. This section answers what it will feel like. And that is the choice of direction: strict or warm, airy or dense, a big bold typeface or a quiet one.
If the section is empty, the designer will still pick a direction — just on their own, from their experience and taste. Sometimes they'll get it right. If not, the first layout goes into a “that's not it” conversation that could have happened at the brief stage.
What it gives you
- The result depends on you, not on guesswork. The direction comes from your answers, not from whatever the designer happens to like this season.
- No professional vocabulary needed. You don't have to know a grotesque from a serif. A link and “I like this” say more than a paragraph of description.
- You get clearer on what you want. Collecting examples sometimes shows that you like very different things. Better to notice that before work starts than on the third layout.
- Changes are cheaper. Swapping a couple of links takes minutes. Redoing a site because “the mood is off” takes days of work and nerves on both sides.
- Something to come back to. If halfway through you feel like “maybe the other way after all?”, you can go back to your answers and check: did we really change our minds, or are we just tired of what we chose?
How to answer so it works
- What exactly you like
- A link without a note is half the job. Is it the colour? The type? The space? The photos? One site can appeal for one thing and another for something else entirely. That's why my brief asks “What exactly do you like in them?” right next to the links field.
- Outside your industry
- A coffee shop website can suggest the mood for a law firm. What matters is what resonates, not who made it.
- What you don't like
- Just as useful. Sometimes one link labelled “definitely not this” cuts half the options at once.
- Not only websites
- Packaging, a shop window, an interior, a book cover, a photo on your phone. Anything where you felt “that's it”.
- A few words
- Three to five words for how the brand should feel: calm, bold, warm, strict. They keep everything else in check.
- No need to polish
- A folder of screenshots, a Pinterest board, notes on your phone — anything works. Making it look good is the designer's job.
What happens next
From your answers the designer builds the board: selects, removes repeats, arranges it from the main idea down to the details. Sometimes it's one direction, sometimes two or three — so there's something to compare.
And this is where you come in again. Not “like or don't like”, but what resonates and what irritates. After that, layouts can start — with a clear idea of where we're going.
More on showing several options without confusing anyone — in “A choice that isn't”.
And if you'd rather answer the mood question with “I don't know” — that happens too. Then that's where we start the conversation.