| name | creative-moodboard |
| description | Build visual territories (mood boards) for team alignment before production. Groups references into 2-4 named territories, each with palette, texture, typography feel, and 4-6 generated sample tiles, so a team can agree on a direction. Use when the user says "moodboard", "visual territories", "align the team on a look", "reference board", or needs stakeholder sign-off on aesthetic before generating final assets. Part of the Creative Production set. |
Creative — Mood Board Explorer
Create shared visual language so a team can agree before anyone produces final creative. The output is a board to react to and sign off on — not finished assets. Bigger and more exploratory than creative-explore: each "territory" is a coherent world, shown with multiple tiles.
When to use
- Multiple stakeholders need to align on aesthetic before spend.
- Kicking off a brand or rebrand and the visual world is undefined.
- You want a durable reference artifact the whole team points back to.
When NOT to use
- Solo/fast project, just need to pick a look →
creative-explore (lighter).
- Direction already signed off → go straight to
creative-scene/creative-shot.
- You're connecting strategy to visuals specifically →
creative-positioning.
Inputs (ask only what's missing)
- Brand/product + the decision this board must unblock.
- Audience + emotional target.
- Existing assets / competitor refs to anchor or avoid.
Workflow
- Define 2-4 named territories (e.g. "Warm Analog", "Clinical Precision", "Street Energy"). Each is a mood, not a single image — distinct enough to force a real choice.
- For each, specify: palette swatches, texture/material language, typography feel, photography style, motion feel (if relevant).
- Generate 4-6 tiles per territory with your image tool, deliberately varied within the territory: one hero shot, one texture macro, one product-in-context, one type-in-situ, one color study. Keep prompt DNA consistent within each territory. Save to
./creative/moodboard/<territory>/tile-NN.png.
- Assemble a markdown board grouping tiles per territory, each with a "what this means for the brand" paragraph.
- Drive a decision: ask the team to pick one territory or explicitly fuse two. Pass the winner to
creative-explore/creative-scene.
Worked example
Brand: a fintech app for freelancers. Decision to unblock: "does the brand feel friendly or serious?"
## Territory 1 — "Calm Confidence"
palette: deep navy / soft sage / warm white texture: matte paper, subtle grain
type: humanist sans (geometric but warm) photo: clean desks, soft daylight
motion: slow, settled
tiles: [hero-dashboard][paper-macro][desk-context][type-sample][palette]
reads as: trustworthy without being cold — "your money is handled"
## Territory 2 — "Bold Operator"
palette: ink black / electric lime / concrete grey texture: hard edges, mono type
type: grotesk, tight, uppercase accents photo: high-contrast, urban
motion: snappy, decisive
tiles: [hero][texture][context][type][palette]
reads as: for freelancers who hustle — "move fast, get paid"
Recommendation: T1 if target skews established professionals; T2 if early-career creators. → user picks T1, pass to creative-explore to refine.
Quality bar
- Territories are distinct enough that picking one excludes the others (real tradeoff).
- Tiles within a territory feel like one world (shared prompt DNA), across territories clearly differ.
- Each territory has a plain-language "reads as" so non-designers can decide.
- The board ends with a clear ask, not just pretty images.
Common pitfalls
- Territories too similar — if the team can't tell them apart, you haven't given them a choice.
- Incoherent tiles within a territory — varied subject is good, varied style breaks the illusion.
- No decision forced — a moodboard that doesn't end in a pick is just inspiration, not a deliverable.
- Assuming brand intent — mark every assumption; ask when the emotional target is unclear.
Handoff
Chosen territory → creative-explore (refine to a single locked direction) or directly to creative-scene/creative-shot if the territory is concrete enough.
Tooling
Needs a text-to-image tool for the tiles. Without one, deliver the territory specs (palette/type/texture/mood) + tile prompts and let the user generate.
