A mood board is a collage of images chosen to express ideas, sentiment, or emotion related to concepts or ideas. Mood boards can be created by researchers or by research participants by using art, photos, descriptive words, or other graphical elements from sources such as magazines, newspapers, or websites. The boards themselves can be physical or digital.

The underlying theory behind the mood board is that of stimulus and response. The researcher or research participant may select images that induce a complex emotional response to a certain stimulus such as a design, idea, or issue. The response to the mood board is then communicated to the researcher via rich discussion. Creating or responding to mood boards can be especially helpful for individuals who have difficulty with ...