How to Create an Inspiration Library for Your Brand

With your brand strategy in hand, it’s time to show the world who you are. Learn how to create an inspiration library to guide your brand design work in this straight forward resource for non-creatives.

Summary: Learn how to build an “Inspiration Library”—a critical, but often overlooked, first step in the design process for any creative project triggered by your brand strategy. Get alignment on visual concepts, build confidence, and set designers up for success before you even begin.

What’s an inspiration library?

An inspiration library is a curated collection of visual and conceptual references that spark creativity and guide design decisions.

It's more than just a mood board; it's a dynamic resource that evolves throughout a project.

This library includes just about anything you can imagine that paints the picture of the project’s look and feel.

• photography

• typography

• color palettes

• textures

• user interface examples or architectural details

• even abstract concepts

Why you need one for your creative project:

There are plenty of reasons why an inspiration library is essential for any creative project. These are the top three:

Have you ever sat, staring at a blank screen not sure where to start? Haven’t we all! An inspiration library is a starting point. It gets the creative juices flowing. A well-organized library helps us overcome creative blocks, explore new ideas, and maintain consistency in our designs.

Sometimes words aren’t enough. An inspiration library helps everyone align with a project’s visual goals. It’s a way for everyone to look at something and say, “Yep, I see what you’re talking about.” Think of it as a testing ground for ideas and a tool to stimulate conversation with very little effort and risk.

A designer can’t see what’s in your imagination unless you show them. An inspiration library gives designers the information they need to be effective and efficient. It gives a designer a visual framework to start from, producing a result that is more “on brand”, more creative, and better quality.

4 Straight-forward steps to create an inspiration library:

1. Define Project Goals: Clarify the project's objectives, target audience, and desired look. This provides a focused direction for your search.

2. Gather Diverse Sources: Explore a variety of platforms like design blogs, social media (Pinterest, Instagram), art galleries, and physical sources. Don't limit yourself to direct competitors; look for unexpected connections. Explore outside of your industry or niche.

3. Categorize and Organize: Create folders or tags based on themes, styles, or elements (e.g., "typography," "color," "layout"). This makes for easy navigation and retrieval.

4. Annotate and Reflect: Add notes to each item, explaining why it resonates with the project. This helps solidify your understanding and makes it easier to share your thinking with the team.

Helpful tools.

You don’t need fancy software to create an inspiration library. It can be as simple as screenshots organized in a folder… or it can be more!

Here are my favorite tools and strategies for creating a visual design library of your own.

• Screenshots: Using your computer’s screenshot function, simply grab a snapshot of any visual item you want to catalogue. Name it with a standard format so it’s easy to organize and reference. For example: Category_Name of Business_Team Member Name. Here are the instructions to capture a screenshot for Windows and for Mac.

• Stock Photo Galleries: Searchable photography galleries can make it easier to find just what you’re looking for. Try Unsplash or Pexels as a resources for inspiration imagery. With free account options, the ability to save favorites, build collections, and even download images, it’s an easy way to curate photography within a theme.

• Webpage Capture Tools: Sometimes, you want to capture an entire webpage that scrolls well beyond your screen view. Tools like Go Full Page allow you to “grab” the entire webpage with one click and save it as a PDF to your library.

• Pinterest: The stand-by favorite for mood boards and it’s free, but businesses often over look it as a solution. It’s capabilities go way beyond DIY home projects and weekend outfits. Pinterest board organization and search capabilities are perfect for building visual libraries FOR ANYTHING. Plus, they link to IRL examples that are easy to share. A real bonus for collaborative teams.

• Visual Platforms: For teams that want to deep dive into the process of creating an inspiration library, visual platforms like Miro and are.na offer digital whiteboards, organization tools, and tools to collaborate in real time. Though they operate on a subscription model, the price tag comes with tools for collaboration that are hard to find anywhere else—especially for remote teams.

Let inspiration guide you as you build a strong foundation for your design process: the inspiration library.