How to Make a Storyboard (or Mood Board) Using Word

Hi everyone! So I'm back at ya today with the 411 on how to make a storyboard. You've seen these all over DIY style blogs, I'm sure. I think they're a pretty useful tool myself, and had been utilizing the process for awhile before I knew they were called storyboards or mood boards. In fact, they're really just a digital collection of clippings. So instead of keeping a ton of ripped-out magazine and catalog pages, you could do this. I actually do both.

As I mentioned earlier, I just use good 'ol Microsoft Word to create my storyboards. Here's my process...

1. Open a blank Word document.


2. Select the View tab, then Print Layout. This will allow you to view the storyboard as a whole and eliminate the need to keep scrolling down and over.


3. Choose the Insert tab and select Shapes.


4. Choose the rectangle shape, then click and drag a rectangle to fill the page.


5. Choose Shape Fill and select the color that most closely resembles the color you want for your walls. If you don't see the color you want at first, make sure to click More Fill Colors and then click the Custom tab for a wide range of shades and tones.


6. Begin browsing the Internet for images. I find it best to choose individual shots of merchandise like the ones found on shopping sites, rather than shots of the merchandise in a room. By sticking to clean photos of the items you want, you'll get a better sense of how the things all fit together for YOUR room.


7. Right click the image you like and select Copy.


8. Open your Word document, right click anywhere on it and select Paste.


9. Right click the image again and select Text Wrapping, then In Front of Text. This will allow you to click and drag the image anywhere you want.


10. If necessary, resize your image by selecting it, then clicking and dragging one of the corner toggles or handles.


11. Keep copying images into your Word document until you've created a "mood" for the room.

I know you could eliminate the white boxes around images by doing this in Photoshop, but I don't want to spend the money on pricey software when this works just as well. Plus, there's a learning curve with Photoshop...not so much with Word. The other thing I like about doing it this way, is that you can view a couple of storyboards side by side. Just open them both, click View on one of them, then click Side by Side. This is nice if you're working on two adjacent spaces because it allows you to see if the two rooms coordinate or clash.

Finally, if you're a blogger like me and want to post your storyboard online, no problem! I use free sites such as Neevia or Zamzar to convert my .doc to a .jpg so I can post it as a static image.

So there you have it! It may not be as sophisticated as those created by professionals, but it does the trick for me. I hope this helps you, too.

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