Creating Vision Boards for Your Life and Business

As interior designers, we are no strangers to composing material boards or mood boards. The unique combination of images and textures we create tells a story about our vision for the project ahead. As we progress, they can serve as a reference point to return to, helping us stay consistent with our concept and keep us on track to achieve it. So why not do the same with your business or personal life?

A vision board is an inspirational board created with photos, images, clippings, phrases and words that represent the ideal lifestyle you want to reach or the goals you want to achieve. There’s no perfect formula to making a vision board, because it’s completely personal to you.

The most hands-on approach is a physical vision board, which you can make with a classic cork board or wire wall grid, among many other options. But you can also create a digital board made with an app such as Canva, and make it your desktop and phone background. Attach photos you’ve taken yourself, cut out magazines, or find images or quotes online. You may already have an existing collection of aspirational images on Pinterest to get you started.

Life Vision Board

Creating a vision board is an excellent exercise in its own right. Think of places you want to go, inspirational people whose energy you would like to channel, phrases that encourage or resonate with you, milestones on the horizon, objects that have meaning to you, or even fashion photos that inspire you. You can include images that evoke your values in relation to family and friends, spirituality, hobbies, projects or health. Anything that represents the life you want to lead in the future: near or a little more distant.

Business Vision Board

As with your life vision board, ask yourself what values or keywords represent your company, as well as the kind of work environment you’d like to cultivate with your team. Is there a number that represents a goal you have for this year, like a number of projects you’d like to complete? What image would represent your expansion goals? You may also like to work in your corporate fonts and colors in a creative way. Creating a vision board can actually be a great opportunity for team-building, as well, as you put your heads together to add insights.

While it’s important to be grateful for what we have and give ourselves credit for how far we’ve already come, having a vision board will help you to focus on where you want to go and how you want to continue growing. So the most important thing is that your vision board is somewhere you’ll see it often, such as at home first thing in the morning, or in plain view from your office desk.

Just as with all goal-setting, it’s best to choose attainable targets for yourself. Aim high, but if you overload your board with impossible objectives, it will only serve to discourage you rather than fulfill its purpose. Looking at your vision board should make you feel good and contribute to a more positive outlook. So don’t wait till the New Year to reflect on your goals. It's just a matter of dedicating a little time and creativity; nothing you're not willing to do to achieve your dreams, right?

xx, Danae