If you've ever worked with a client and had them attempt to verbally explain the visual style they want for their product, you are likely to know how difficult that can be to understand. I once had a client explain the style they were looking for with the following sentence: "I want it to be like Van Gogh meets Andy Warhol, but you know, like modern and fresh." Clearly this client had a specific idea in their mind's eye, but their attempt to translate that into words did not help explain it to me in the slightest. If anything, I was more confused than edified by their explanation.

For many years, interior and graphic designers have used mood boards, or "inspiration boards", to aid their attempts to quickly capture and...