Choosing a Theme & Story, and Creating a Moodboard
Now that the purpose of the collection is clear, the next step is choosing a theme and shaping a story. This is where direction emerges. Instead of sketching immediately, this stage is about guiding our creativity when decisions must be made — motifs, shapes, lines, colors, and style.
Choosing a Theme: Giving Yourself a Clear Starting Point
I’ve learned that choosing a theme becomes much easier when I am specific. Vague themes such as “flowers” or “forest” can feel overwhelming because they don’t give enough direction. Specific themes, on the other hand, immediately narrow the possibilities and inspire clearer ideas.
For example:
- instead of “flowers,” → “Australian native florals”
- instead of “forest,” → “tropical forest plants and birds”, or even “Amazonian tropical plants and birds”
- instead of “coast,” → “Normandy’s coastal fauna and flora”
A good theme is always:
- specific enough to guide you,
- flexible enough to create several patterns,
- emotionally meaningful,
- and visually coherent.
A strong theme helps you decide what belongs in your collection — and what doesn’t.
From Theme to Story: Giving the Collection Emotion
If the theme answers what, then the story answers why and how it feels.
A story creates emotional cohesion across all the patterns. It helps you imagine the world your collection belongs to.
When I write a story, I ask myself:
- What world am I creating?
- What feelings do I want the collection to evoke?
- Is this world calm? nostalgic? modern?
- What moments, memories, or atmospheres inspire it?
The story doesn’t need to be long. It just needs to be evocative — the thread that connects every pattern in the collection.
For my Coastal Normandy collection, the story grew from my adoptive home, Normandy.
I thought about the places I love here: beaches at low tide, coastal houses with gardens where hydrangeas and agapanthus flowers are growing, old beach cabins, small everyday moments like sharing summer afternoons with friends, and the gentle details of seaside life.
I imagined the activities we do here, the plants and animals we find along the coast, and the memories I wanted to highlight.
This story gave the collection its emotional direction: calm, breezy, nostalgic, gentle, coastal, and softly elegant.
Gathering Inspiration With Intention
Once the theme and story take shape, I begin collecting visual inspiration.
This step is not about gathering random images — it’s about learning, observing, and documenting the world I want to create.
I look at:
- my own photos and camera roll
- natural elements I find (like seaweed or shells)
- textures from the beach: sand ripples, ropes, driftwood, linen
- books and magazines
- Pinterest boards
- architecture, interiors, and coastal houses
- films or series where I notice color palettes and wall textures
- color combinations found in nature
At this stage, I may also collect physical objects if they inspire me — shells, branches, dried flowers, textured materials.
For example, last summer each time I went to swim, I came back with different seaweed species floating around me. I photographed them immediately so I could later use them as references while sketching.
Creating a Moodboard: Crafting the Atmosphere
When I’ve gathered enough references, I start creating a moodboard. This is not a reference board — its purpose is different.
A moodboard is a visual statement of the atmosphere I want the collection to express.
It sets the tone, the mood, and the emotional direction.
It also provides the first hints of:
- potential colors
- texture ideas
- line qualities
- motif styles
- pattern types (trailing florals, structured geometric patterns, toile de Jouy, chinoiserie…)
A good moodboard is curated. I keep only the images that reflect the feeling I want. Everything else goes into a separate reference folder.
I usually include:
- 10–12 images from my own life or from external sources
- textures (linen, waves, sand, watercolor washes…)
- visual motifs (florals, seaweed, scallops…)
- lifestyle images that evoke atmosphere
- first color ideas
- short words or notes
Anything that does not reflect the mood or aesthetic direction doesn’t stay on the board.
My Moodboard for the Coastal Normandy Collection
I wanted to capture:
- calm coastal moments
- hydrangea flowers
- natural shapes and textures
- soft blues and muted neutrals
The images together create a quiet, calm, and cosy atmosphere.
How Theme + Story + Moodboard Work Together
Once you have all three, your creative direction becomes clear.
The theme, the story, and the moodboard help to:
- eliminate decision fatigue
- ensure the collection stays cohesive
- simplify the sketching and drawing stages
- strengthen your design voice
- and lead to more intentional, professional results
For my Coastal Normandy collection, the progression looked like this:
- Theme: Coastal Normandy
- Story: the beauty of Normandy’s coast, its landscapes, shared activities across generations, and the fauna and flora of the area
- Moodboard: hydrangeas, seaweed, beach textures, quiet coastal lifestyle images, soft muted blues and neutrals
- Color direction: muted blues and sandy neutrals
- Motifs: seaside activities, localities, florals, seaweed, textures
- Patterns: a mix of florals and coastal elements in a cohesive, interior-friendly palette
There is one more step before sketching and drawing.
Before picking up a pencil or stylus, I plan my collection — the number of patterns, their roles, their scales, and how they will all work together.
This will be the subject of the next blog post.