Exploring the degree to which individual students share a common perception of specific mood boards: observations relating to teaching, learning and team-based design

Mood boards offer a visual and sensorial channel of communication and inspiration for design research and development, which could be considered to be more logical and empathic within a design context than traditional verbo-centric approaches. This paper explores individuals’ perceptions of images through a sample of mood boards. Gender was chosen as a bipolar attribute and was explored through the specific mood boards. A sample of 62 design students’ responses was captured via a rating scale and key words. The paper reflects on the results obtained and attempts to translate findings into suggestions for other academic staff involved in undergraduate industrial design education.