The Art of Moodboarding (AI Proof!)
Out: Mindless Doom Scrolling; In: Intentional Moodboarding
I remember creating my Tumblr account when I was 13 years old. All my friends were on it, and I heard it was the “cooler” version of WeHeartIt (the IT girl social network in 2014, Pinterest’s predecessor). The handle I chose was @/fabxulous, and little did I know that it would be the start of my love for gathering and collecting pretty, aesthetically pleasing pictures and curating a vibe (also taught me how to code HTML and CSS). I was intentional with every reblog and made sure my music player always played the perfect song when someone visited my page. This later progressed into me creating digital boards on Pinterest, physically collaging, and scrapbooking.
Moodboarding is quickly overlooked, but it is an important step in exercising creativity, Lottie Bisou, an art director for Koibird, explained that moodboarding is essentially creating a visual language in her Substack article, Pinterest To Portfolio #2: Moodboards. It is much more than just curating a vibe (as 25-year-old me has learned since my Tumblr days), but the pictures selected are purposeful, it propels and communicates the intended message of your project. Bisou says, “Think of your moodboard as the bridge between the concept and execution. The blueprint.”
Here are examples of moodboards I created for Club Rambutan’s upcoming fashion show in San Francisco, The Pyres of Desire. The concept of the show is inspired by the 7 deadly sins:
Creating moodboards is not only reserved for passion projects; it’s just as important to curate moodboards for fun. To me, leisurely moodboarding feels like allowing myself to wander. It encourages creative exploration without the pressure of a specific outcome or deadline. It’s cathartic and helps me better understand my evolving tastes and interests. Over time, these visual collections can even become a reflection of your creative growth. Whether you're scrolling through Tumblr archives, pinning on Pinterest, or saving images to a folder, collecting inspiration just for yourself can be both grounding and creatively fulfilling.
For most people, Pinterest is the go-to website when looking for pictures to create moodboards (myself included until recently). But once Pinterest enters the conversation, we also need to talk about the AI epidemic in creative spaces, and Pinterest has fallen victim. The shift to AI goes beyond the tailored algorithm -- the platform is overrun with AI-generated content. Most users go on Pinterest to look at pretty pictures, seeking visual curation. Pinterest has repositioned itself as an AI-first platform, driven by the significant revenue growth attributed to AI. Pinterest makes money off of promoted pins (paid advertisements), which is why its interface is flooded with advertisements. There is even a “buy it” button that allows users to easily purchase products directly from the platform.
A screenshot of a board from Cosmos, “my favorite artists”.
The oversaturation of AI-generated content and the overwhelming amount of advertisements on Pinterest is off-putting. In my search for an alternative, I came across Cosmos—designed for finding and saving inspiration, curating “clusters” (digital boards), and sharing them with others. The site’s user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing interface immediately stood out. Its minimalist design, featuring a neutral black background and modern typography, allows the images to be the focus. I’ve found myself more drawn to the content and photos on Cosmos than those on Pinterest. I also appreciate how it automatically populates a variety of images and still tailors the experience to my interests.
In addition to using the Internet, I like to gain inspiration by flipping through physical media such as old magazines, coffee table books, art books, etc. I have collected a couple of cool magazines and art books I love to flip through for creative inspiration. Over the years, I have realized how important it is to have tangible media and art as we have reached the peak of the digital age. The convenience of technology has diminished the appreciation for collecting physical forms of media; music and movies are all on streaming platforms, and pretty pictures are stuck behind a screen. For fashion inspiration, I love looking through my Vogue Italia March 2000 Issue (fun fact: this is also from my birth month and year), issues of Mildew Magazine (a fashion magazine focused on second-hand fashion) and Wonderful Things by British fashion photographer Tim Walker. For design and visual curation, I love flipping through JAM: Tokyo-London which is a collection of fashion, graphics, photography, music and digital media during the early 2000s from Tokyo and London. In addition to being a fashion girly, I am equally a Sanrio girly and love flipping through Sanrio Design: The 90’s~2010’s for fun.
I love to scan the images that catch my eye or resonate with me and incorporate them into a moodboard. When I want to put together a moodboard, rather than just collecting images and creating “clusters” leisurely, I like to use Canva or Adobe Illustrator. Below are two boards I created using scanned images from one of my favorite magazines:
A board of vintage fashion ads I scanned from Vogue Italia, March 2000 Issue.
A collection of vintage ads I scanned from Vogue Italia, March 2000 Issue.
In 2025, mindlessly doom scrolling on Instagram is out, and intentionally moodboarding is in. Discovering and collecting cool pictures leisurely fulfills the creative void, deepens your appreciation for art, and allows you to learn more about yourself. Creating mood boards can even segue into physical mediums such as collaging and scrapbooking. It fosters self-expression and the ability to communicate concepts, thoughts, and feelings visually.
