SampleBoard.com has a whole new look, has been improved and rebranded

The sampleboard.com team is buzzing with excitement SampleBoard has a cool new website. All of the best original features have been retained. But it just got a whole lot easier, faster and it is still the greenest way of creating great professional looking design concept boards.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

The original SampleBoard.com site was launched in 2010. The aim of the creation; designed by designers for designers was to digitize the process of making sample boards. The traditional way of creating sample boards took a lot of running around, time and energy. I remember days of driving around for hours in and out of the car in the Queensland heat.  I love SampleBoard because it is eco-friendly and time efficient.

              Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Interior designers, decorators, landscape designers, fashion designers and wedding planners can create design concept boards using the extensive library of images and/or easily upload their own images. SampleBoard is also a great place to interact with other designers and share ideas.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

In this blog I have included examples of my first adventures on the new sampleboard.com site. The best way to really view the changes is to have ago. Please let us know what you think we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Inspirational SampleBoard | Use nature as inspiration for design projects

Sampleboard created by Eileen Reiner on sampleboard.com

‘Designers Block’ | Using nature to portray visual ideas

We all use design in our everyday life, we just don’t always realise its impact on us! We also know how important it is to get clients and colleagues on the same creative page quickly when working on a project.

Nothing does this better than an inspirational concept/mood or sampleboard. Whether designing interiors, capturing trends or creating colour schemes or themes – sampleboards capture visual ideas.

All of us sometimes suffer from ‘designers block’, on these days try using nature to stimulate your creative process, you’ll be amazed how fast a beautiful old tree trunk turns into the inspiration for your look and feel concept like the Inspirational SampleBoard created by Eileen.

SampleBoard.com allows you to save time, energy, money and the environment by creating digital sampleboards, from the comfort of your own creative space…

Wedding Planning | Inspirational Moodboard Design

SampleBoard created by Rosena MacFadzean on sampleboard.com

Wedding Planning on SampleBoard.com | Inspirational moodboard

Be inspired for your wedding day with many wedding theme images available on sampleboard.com to help you plan your perfect day.

With the easy to use drag-and-drop editor you can create inspirational moodboards in minutes!

Check out www.sampleboard.com for moodboards from others in the Creative Community, plus sign up for free to give it a go!

 

Interior Design client presentation | Use titleblocks and firm logo’s for more professional looking sampleboards

SampleBoard created by Simone van der Plas on sampleboard.com

Client presentation | Use Titleblocks and firm Logo’s for more professional looking sampleboards

When using a drafting program such as AutoCAD or ArchiCAD you typically have a page template that includes the following:

• Job title/project title ( in this case “Gelissimo Gelato”)
• Client name
• Address (site position)
• ‘Drawn by’ name (designers initials, so other people on the project has a reference if they need to query something)
• Note ( as the designer you need to notify if the page is not to scale, or any additional information that’s important when reading/viewing the drawing)
• Title of the page ( Sampleboard/Scheme design/Concept)
• Drawing number (this helps with filing the physical plans/sketches in a physical library or electronically in your project folder)
• Firm/company logo with name, address and contact details (usually sits either on the left or right-hand side of the template)

Titleblock detail

This type of template is standard practice in any architectural or interior design firm. It allows for order, referencing and can range from a complete project drawing package that includes architectural layouts, detail drawings, shop fitting details, elevations, sections, lighting layouts, plumbing layouts etc.to concept scheme ideas and sampleboards.

The reason for this brief introduction to titleblocks is that I wanted to demonstrate how it lifts the overall feel of your sampleboard to one that can easily be used in a client presentation along with your professional drawing sets. It can form a complete entity which in turn creates a more professional client pitch or presentation.

We are constantly improving and adding to the functionality and features at SampleBoard.com, as well as ensuring it’s an inspiring space from which you can create and interact. We are working on bringing you easy-to-use titleblock templates soon.

Happy creating!

Sophisticated, contemporary Interior Design | Inspirational Moodboard

SampleBoard created by Moira Mannen on sampleboard.com

Inspirational Moodboard | Using the drop-shadow, opacity and blur tools for better looking moodboards

In this SampleBoard, Moira has used a combination of easy-to-use tools to create an excellent look and feel to her board.

The main component used was the background image (which can be found under the drop-down menu: Interior Design_Dining Room_Lifestyle). If you look carefully you will note the image was cloned, cropped and flipped so that the entire page is filled.

This image allowed her to easily place her samples and product images around it, giving it a ‘room-like’ affect.

Lets look at the pendants – 3 tools were used to create this effect:

Clone, Opacity and Blur (You can use your toggle to play around with the size of the image). You have to use your eye and visual sense of proportion to create realistic depth, but with practice it should come more naturally each time you create a 3D effect.

She dropped in her samples (wooden veneers, wallpaper, paint colors) and furniture images but made sure to use the magic eraser to eliminate any backgrounds and then softened the edges with the drop shadow tool. This also allows it to make it pop out from the background.

Lastly a model was dropped in which gives the board a quirky and fun feel and even makes it more realistic so clients can relate to it more (This reminds me of my student days where we did hand-drawn perspectives and traced over models out of magazines to give it a lived-in look and feel…)

So there you have it in a nutshell. Hope this quick tutorial tips gave you some amazing ideas for your next fabulous SampleBoard creation!

Happy creating!

 

Fashion Design | Inspirational moodboard

SampleBoard created by Pixy Louise Smith on sampleboard.com

Do you wish to express your creative ideas visually?

SampleBoard offers a simple, powerful design tool for creatives from all fields that helps you produce better work more quickly and effectively.

Boasting an image library of over 30,000 images, as well as being able to import your own images, you can then export your moodboards into a variety of formats.

Plus it’s a social networking community exclusive to the creative industries that will enable you to feed off each other’s ideas and inspirations and get a feel for design in other countries!

SampleBoard.com serves many different mediums of creative expression!

Check out www.sampleboard.com for other inspirational moodboards in the Creative Community, plus sign up for free to give it a go!

Wedding Planning | Setting the scene for a Vintage 1930s Wedding

Inspiration board created by Emma Jones on sampleboard.com

Setting the scene for a Vintage 1930s Wedding Theme

During the mid 1930s tight fitting flowing bridal gowns in slippery high sheen fabrics were popular. Dresses were often made of satins in silk or rayon. The most used colors were ivory, cream, pinkish white or pale blue white. The gowns were imitations of the glamorous evening dresses worn by Hollywood movie star.

High sheen fabrics in ivory, cream pinkish white

Cowl necklines, curved trains with long medieval sleeves were the main features of the dresses. The Bridesmaids often wore similar styles with Juliet caps and large bouquets of roses completing the picture. The bride sometimes carried a small handbag instead of a bouquet. Although roses were popular at the time the most popular flowers were the Madonna lily. Silver fox was the favorite fur.

Medieval style sleeves, Madonna Lilies, silver fox fur

Royal and society weddings influenced wedding trends in the 30s just as they do today. Princess Marina of Greece married in 1934. Her dress was a sheath cut on the cross. She had wide hanging sleeves again creating the medieval look. The fabric was silver and white brocade.

SampleBoard created by Rosena MacFadzean on sampleboard.com

Royal weddings influenced wedding trends

Syrie Maugham’s famous white room style which ranged from, bright white, cream and beige would make an ideal setting a for 1930s themed wedding. Furniture lacquered or tubular steel, chrome or metal plating with textured wallpapers in off white decorated early 1930s rooms. Mirrors and mirrored screens add shimmer and shine.

White interiors with mirrors, lacquered, steel, chrome furniture

White vintage cars like the 1934 Auburn 851 would eco the glamorous era. The color schemes of the 1930s could also be repeated in the clothing or the decor. For example the usual colors cocoa brown with hyacinth blue, prune with turquoise or mustard yellow with grey.

Classic white car, cocoa brown, hyacinth blue, turquoise, mustard yellow and grey  

Eyebrows were plucked and penciled. Elizabeth Arden launched arrange of seven lipstick shades. Mascara and eye shadow came in four shades and eight shades of rouge became available. Suntans became fashionable to enhance the fashions particularly white swim suits and the satin dresses.

More make up choices available, suntans came into vogue 

Towards the end of the 1930s the movie Gone with the Wind helped speed up a Victorian revival in fashion. Dresses with high necklines, standup collars and padded shoulders with full skirts imitating fashions from the 1860s were becoming popular. But the movie released in 1939 saw lavish ball gowns the full skirts with crinolines panniers worn by Scarlet skyrocket in popularity. In wedding dresses bustles emphasized the hips and backs and long trains were attached from the center back. This style did not remain in fashion very long due to the world war of the 1940s.

Inspiration board created by Emma Jones on sampleboard.com

Creating mood boards can clarify your wedding plans

You can play around with your wedding theme ideas by creating mood boards. The wonderful thing is you can do it easily and quickly online at www.sampleboard.com . There are hundreds of images of dress, cakes, flowers and a host of other things to help you create your dream vintage wedding. This great website also has loads of inspiration in blogs, articles and wedding mood boards posted by the creative community.

Late 1930s saw revival of 1860s Victorian fashion lavish ball gowns with full skirts  

The glamorous 1930s gave way to the drab 1940s. Even through the lavish ball gown wedding dress was for a limited time popular in the 30s the era is more known for the glamorous white satin and glitter of movie star style. Therefore a 1930s wedding theme with white figure hugging gowns, white cars, white Madonna lilies with lots of glitter and shine would be more authentic.

SampleBoard created by Linda Smith on sampleboard.com

Jump start your creativity by combining images quickly and easily into digital moodboards on www.sampleboard.com!

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com

Inspirational moodboards | Manila, Philippines interior designers collaborate

Moodboard created by Rae de Leon on sampleboard.com

Inspirational Moodboards | Manila, Philippines Interior Designers

We have noticed a growing number of aspirational designers from Manila, Philippines creating wonderful moodboards, interacting with each other, connecting and collaborating.

Here’s a couple of beautifully designed moodboards, created with the SampleBoard web editor.

Moodboard created by Maria Karla Zapatero on sampleboard.com

SampleBoard enables you to share visual ideas with clients earlier to ensure you’re on the right track, making designing moodboards faster, more effective and more professional looking, from the comfort of your own creative space.

Moodboard created by jb perez on sampleboard.com

Check out www.sampleboard.com for moodboards from others in the Creative Community, plus sign up for free to give it a go!

The digital moodboard vs The traditional method

Moodboard created by Fiona Boutcher (nee Kwan) on sampleboard.com

Creating moodboards and sample boards offline, using the traditional method, and computer-based using photo editing software like Photoshop and Coral Draw, is useful. SampleBoard.com developed a faster, simpler, easier platform to help you create a digital moodboard – combined with the benefits of the digital age of speed, efficiency, quick turn-around and global availability.

SampleBoard.com allows you to quickly and efficiently tweak and edit your moodboard presentation digitally without having to use the old tools needed to make a traditional board including the board, tape, adhesive, Stanley knife and labels.  Being online, SampleBoard knows no boundaries as your moodboard can be viewed, saved and emailed anywhere for you and your client’s convenience.

No more time wasting driving the town dead for a scrap of cloth – a digital ‘picture’ can do it all for you now, from the comfort of your own creative space! (preferably while wearing your slippers and/or pajamas ♥ )

Create digital moodboards in minutes, saving the planet, your time and energy!

Give it go! sign up for free and express your visual ideas in one place online.

Visual inspiration | Create moodboards for conceptual portrayal or for bold visual statements

Moodboard created by Pixy Louise Smith on sampleboard.com

A moodboard is a mixed media collage of visually appealing images that are meant to invoke your creative juices.

We all use design in our every-day life,  jump start your creativity by combining images quickly and easily into digital moodboards using the SampleBoard web editor, organizing all the things that inspire you.

Recommended soundtrack: Bjork – All is Full of Love