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6d150c lisa 2026-05-25 21:14:47
SD C04: add Mood Boards student guide (with verified video + StudyStreak example); link from C04-home and checkpoint page Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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> **DRAFT** — under teacher review.
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# Mood Boards
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The Hamilton and Alexandra College · Year 12 · 2026
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A **mood board** is one of the four ideation tools in your [C4-1 design pack](/sd/C04/C4-1%20Checkpoint%20-%20Design%20Pack). If you've never made one, start here.
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---
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## What is a mood board?
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ffd23c lisa 2026-05-25 21:42:06
SD C04 Mood Boards: add StudyStreak example board (PNG) + editable .excalidraw starter Real CC0 photos (Openverse) + StudyStreak palette/fonts/keywords/UI panel, composed and rendered. Embedded under 'What is a mood board?'; .excalidraw provided as a Use-Modify-Create starter for Excalidraw in Obsidian. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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A mood board is a **visual collage** that captures the *look and feel* of your software — *before* you design any real screens.
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![StudyStreak mood board — a coherent example](Mood%20Boards/studystreak.png?width=720)
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*An example board for "StudyStreak" (a focus & wellbeing tracker). Notice how every colour, font and image points at **one feeling**: calm and focused.*
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📂 **Want to take it apart?** [Download the `.excalidraw` starter](Mood%20Boards/studystreak.excalidraw), open it in Excalidraw (Obsidian), and see how it's built — then adapt it for your own project.
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It gathers the things that set a creative direction:
6d150c lisa 2026-05-25 21:14:47
SD C04: add Mood Boards student guide (with verified video + StudyStreak example); link from C04-home and checkpoint page Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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- **Colours** — a small palette (3–5 colours)
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- **Typography** — 1–2 fonts you'd use
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- **Imagery & texture** — photos, icons, UI patterns, screenshots of apps that inspire you
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- **Keywords** — a few words for the feeling you want (e.g. *calm, playful, trustworthy*)
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It is **not** a layout or a wireframe — it doesn't show where buttons go. It answers a different question: *"What should this app **feel** like?"*
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## Why bother?
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- It **sets the direction early**, so your later sketches and detailed designs are consistent instead of random.
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- It's a fast way to **explore and compare** visual ideas before committing.
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- It gives you **reusable assets** — the colours and fonts you choose here carry straight into C5.
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---
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74f257 lisa 2026-05-25 21:27:44
SD C04 Mood Boards: turn video into guided pause-and-build; use Excalidraw in Obsidian Adds watch-and-build checkpoints anchored to the video's four boards, a Check Your Understanding (with corrected >| folded answers), and a class instruction to build in Excalidraw/Obsidian (see IT to install). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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## Watch and build alongside (10 min)
6d150c lisa 2026-05-25 21:14:47
SD C04: add Mood Boards student guide (with verified video + StudyStreak example); link from C04-home and checkpoint page Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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74f257 lisa 2026-05-25 21:27:44
SD C04 Mood Boards: turn video into guided pause-and-build; use Excalidraw in Obsidian Adds watch-and-build checkpoints anchored to the video's four boards, a Check Your Understanding (with corrected >| folded answers), and a class instruction to build in Excalidraw/Obsidian (see IT to install). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Don't just watch — **build your own board as you go.** Copy the designer's *thinking*, not his tool. Watch for the **four boards** he creates (you'll make the same four), and notice he starts each by naming the *mood* — exactly like the StudyStreak example below.
6d150c lisa 2026-05-25 21:14:47
SD C04: add Mood Boards student guide (with verified video + StudyStreak example); link from C04-home and checkpoint page Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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0e7b5c lisa 2026-05-25 21:19:35
SD wiki: embed YouTube videos with {{Video}} macro instead of plain links Plain markdown links render as dead links, not players. Convert all 7 (C4 video page x2, C2/C3 page x4, Mood Boards x1) to the wiki's working {{Video|src=...}} convention. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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{{Video|src=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsPKDV7ozfI}}
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*How To Create a Mood Board — Design Process for App UI (NAM Design)*
6d150c lisa 2026-05-25 21:14:47
SD C04: add Mood Boards student guide (with verified video + StudyStreak example); link from C04-home and checkpoint page Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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The video builds the board in Miro; you can use **Excalidraw, Canva, Obsidian, or even a Google Slide** instead — the thinking is the same.
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74f257 lisa 2026-05-25 21:27:44
SD C04 Mood Boards: turn video into guided pause-and-build; use Excalidraw in Obsidian Adds watch-and-build checkpoints anchored to the video's four boards, a Check Your Understanding (with corrected >| folded answers), and a class instruction to build in Excalidraw/Obsidian (see IT to install). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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> [!NOTE]
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> **In this class, build your board with Excalidraw in Obsidian.** If it isn't installed on your machine, see IT to install the app.
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### ⏸ Pause and build
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Pause at each point and do the step for *your own* project before you resume:
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| Pause at | Do this for your project |
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|---|---|
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| **0:58** | Answer the two prep questions: *what* app are you making, and on *what device*? Write them at the top of your canvas. |
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| **1:00–4:00** | *Skip — this part is just a tour of Miro's buttons. Open Excalidraw in Obsidian instead.* |
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| **5:00** | **Board 1 — Design Style:** collect 6–8 inspiration images and write 3–4 **mood adjectives**. (Gathering more than a couple lets you see the *differences* and choose deliberately.) |
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| **5:58** | **Board 2 — Type:** pick **two fonts that pair** ([Google Fonts](https://fonts.google.com) is free). |
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| **7:15** | **Colour palette:** build a primary + secondary + accent palette ([coolors.co](https://coolors.co) helps). |
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| **8:10** | **Board 3 — Imagery:** add 3–4 images that fit your feeling (try [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com)). |
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| **9:05** | **Board 4 — Interface patterns:** find 2–3 *real* UI examples of parts you'll need (e.g. a card, a button). |
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### Check Your Understanding
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1. The designer builds **four boards** — what are they?
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>| ### Answer
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>| Design Style · UI Style Guide (type + colour + icons) · Imagery & Graphics · Interface Patterns.
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2. Why gather 6–8 styles *before* choosing one?
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>| ### Answer
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>| So you can see the differences and choose deliberately, instead of locking onto your first idea.
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3. He insists on finding **real examples** of interface patterns. Why?
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>| ### Answer
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>| Real examples are proven — they show patterns that already work, which beats inventing one from scratch.
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6d150c lisa 2026-05-25 21:14:47
SD C04: add Mood Boards student guide (with verified video + StudyStreak example); link from C04-home and checkpoint page Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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---
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## Worked example — "StudyStreak"
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> **The project:** a focus-and-wellbeing tracker that helps VCE students log study sessions and protect their downtime.
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> **The audience:** stressed senior students.
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> **The one feeling:** *calm, focused, encouraging* — **not** hyped-up or gamified.
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Everything on the board ladders up to that one feeling:
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| Element | Choice | Why it supports *calm & focused* |
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|---|---|---|
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| 🟦 Deep teal | `#1F6F78` | Focus and trust; reads as grown-up, not childish |
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| 🟩 Soft sage | `#A8C3A0` | Calm and growth — used to show progress |
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| ⬜ Warm sand | `#F4EDE4` | A light background = breathing space, low stress |
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| 🟧 Muted coral | `#E8845E` | A *single* warm accent for streak highlights — used sparingly |
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| **Type — headings** | Nunito (rounded sans) | Friendly and approachable, not corporate |
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| **Type — body** | Inter (clean sans) | Easy to read for tired eyes |
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| **Imagery** | tidy desks, morning light, plants, journaling | Quiet, hopeful, real — not stocky or busy |
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| **UI patterns** | rounded cards, lots of whitespace, a *growing plant* for streaks | Gentle encouragement instead of aggressive scores |
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| **Keywords** | calm · focus · steady · encouraging · uncluttered | The feeling in words |
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### What we deliberately *avoided* — and why
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This is what lifts a mood board from "nice pictures" to a real design decision:
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- ❌ **Neon, high-saturation "gamer" colours** — senior students read these as childish and over-stimulating.
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- ❌ **Leaderboards and confetti badges** — competition raises stress; StudyStreak is about *your own* steady progress.
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- ❌ **Dense, data-heavy dashboards** — clutter is the opposite of calm.
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> [!TIP]
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> **The coherence test:** pick **one** feeling, then check every colour, font and image against it. If something doesn't support that feeling, it doesn't belong on the board. A mood board that "feels like five different apps" hasn't done its job.
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## Your turn
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1. Open **Excalidraw, Canva, or Obsidian**.
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2. Write your project's **one feeling** at the top (the hardest and most important step).
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3. Add at least **5 images**, **3 colours** (with their feeling), and **2 fonts**.
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4. Add a few **keywords**.
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5. Check every element against your one feeling — cut anything that doesn't fit.
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6. Be ready to **explain your choices** — *why* this colour, this font, this image. That explanation is exactly what your C4-1 annotations need.
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Commit it to GitHub and add it to your printed design pack.
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## See also
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- [C4-1 Checkpoint — Your Design Pack](/sd/C04/C4-1%20Checkpoint%20-%20Design%20Pack) — where the mood board fits among the four ideation tools
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- [C4 Design Ideas and Evaluation Explained](/sd/C4%20Design%20Ideas%20and%20Evaluation%20Explained) — the C4 walkthrough videos
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