Words often fail miserably when trying to translate design concepts and ideas.
The key to good communication is a clear language, a sharp listener, and a proficient speaker. This is where the concept and mood board comes in.
Being a designer, our drawings are the language of the design; it should be comprehensible for the clients to understand. The sharp listener is the client who is capable of grasping the ideas, design, and development of the project. And the speakers are the concept board, a graphical presentation of ideas and inspirations. It is the bridge that links our own language to our client’s mind. Without this, the connection between the language and the listener will be vague.
As a student intern under the mentorship of Ar. Eric Baño of Concipio Tektura, we were tasked to create an interior concept board and a mood board with regards to our proposed toilet designs for the UCCP Ellinwood Malate Church in Malate, Manila.
Using my preferred layout, pictures of modern and economical toilets were arranged in a collage on the concept board. After the consultation, we were asked to revise our boards. This time, it should follow the company's standards.
"You should always remember that concept boards are abstract ideas," Ar. Eric said on our second consultation.
He tackled about how Interior Architecture was comprised of the following; Interior Design, Industrial Design, and Architecture. He made it clear that concept boards are graphical representations of our inspiration for the project which often include samples of materials that are similar to the envisioned design. On the other hand, mood boards include sample swatches and finishes.