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Portfolio Presentation Inspiration Board, Theme Board, Mood Board, Story Board, Color Board, Client Board, Swatch Board, Spec Sheet The terms mood board and inspiration board along with vision board, story board are being tossed around these days like petticoats in a costume drama. While they are similar, in terms of being a tool used by creative people as a reference for their work, there are some distinctions that are ignored when people use the terms interchangeably. Inspiration board An inspiration board is basically a collage of images, words, and objects (fabric, trims, paint chips, packaging, etc) that a designer has collected and wants to organize and keep at hand as a reference for a project they are working on. It can be in the form of a paper poster, a bulletin board, a digital graphic, or a video. Its a way to organize your references and research to create a framework for your design. Inspiration boards are used by fashion designers, stylists, architects, interior decorators, hair stylists, artists, writers, wedding and event planners, and many other designers including: web, graphic, car, jewelry, shoe, game, movie set, and costume, make upeven pop stars apparently. Difference between inspiration board and mood boardA mood board sets the mood a style, feeling, emotional scenario, ambience, presence, and contextfor whatever the final product will be. For example: Soft or hard? Grungy or clean? Dark or light? An inspiration board is more specific and visuala collection of visual references that are the starting point for elements that will eventually show up in the designed product. In this case, there is a more literal connection between what shows up on the inspiration board, and what ends up in the final piece. It would include things like photographs, illustrations, screenshots, color swatches, words, and shapes. So the mood board gathers all the research and images of how the product will make you feel, and an inspiration board gathers all the reference points for what the product will look like. Mood board: woo-woo conceptual, feeling, psychology. Inspiration board: details, colors, forms, texture, lines. The mood board should influence what goes onto the inspiration board, and the inspiration board should respond to the mood board.

Making the inspiration boardPhysical (The old fashioned way)Use repositionable glue to tack items onto poster board, or use a bulletin board or piece of foam board to pin items down, like magazine tear sheets, photocopies, fabric, etc. DigitalPicasa-Google's free photo editor and photo sharing site (like Flickr). It's got a feature to create image Collages, either using a template or your own layout (choose Picture Pile that's usually how I make mine). Photoshop- the industry-standard software for creating graphics and editing photos Web1. Image Spark free cloud-based (web-only) collage program. I like this as a tree-free option. Share with colleagues via a link to your board. 2. Tumblr- the new-new-hotness in blogging. Very simple blogging platform especially suited for photos and images. It's still new and very wonky, with lots of bugs and downtime. Start a private blog all of the blogging platforms have an option to keep your blog private. Use of inspiration boardRather than fighting the paralysis-inducing blank page or screen, an inspiration board is an intuitive way to brainstorm, organize, and play with your research. As a visual tool, an inspiration board can be much more specific. When youre working with other people everyone can get on the same page more easily. This is especially helpful in any kind of team environment, or if you have the idea, and are hiring people to carry out the work (home remodeling, etc.). You can make small changes, or completely change direction, without already having invested a lot of time and effort in starting the actual design work. And it serves as a reminder to keep you on track as you get into the project, rather than going out on a tangent and having to do a lot of revision to come back to the original concept. Mood boards and Theme Boards Many textile products are designed with a theme or mood as an important starting point. Mood or theme boards help the designer develop design ideas and also show the client the designers basic thinking in an extremely visual and easy to

understand way. In this task you are required to produce a mood board which communicates one of the following pairs of opposites: fiery/cool; wet/dry; masculine/feminine; handmade/mass-produced; natural/artificial; traditional/modern; hi-tech/low-tech. You cannot show any objects or people, just shapes; colours, patterns and textures. You can cut these from old magazines or scrap fabric. You may be able to use a colour photocopier to create repeat patterns or special effects. You should assemble your mood board so that it not only communicates the mood but does so in an eye-catching and provocative way. The illustration shows some possibilities. You will find that it helps to work in a group. A mood board is a tool used by designers to help them get a good idea of what their clients are looking for. Mood boards are basically collages of items such as photographs, sketches, clippings, fabric swatches and color samples. A mood board can be actual or virtual. A mood board is used by many different types of designers such as those in fashion. A fashion mood board usually has sketches of garments as the main focus of the board. Fashion mood boards may also have magazine clippings or other sketches of what inspired the designer such as pictures of ocean waves for the design of a dark blue silk gown. Trimming details and ribbon could also be on a fashion mood board.

A Mood Board Inspired by Birds

Mood boards are a great way for designers to present their take on a theme to clients. For example, if a client tells a designer that he or she wants something cozy or airy those feelings could be created in many different ways. By putting the ideas on a mood board first, the designer can make sure the client likes the ideas. You don't have to be a professional designer to create a mood board. It's possible to make your own mood board and get in touch with your own moods and tastes in the process. You could start your personal mood board with a stack of magazines. Just tear and cut out anything that touches you in some way. Don't rationalize your choices, but pick colors, shapes, words and pictures that you feel drawn to. You can do theme boards such as "What I want my life to be like" or "Career ideas for me" or "How I want to decorate the baby's room." Anything goes and creating your own mood board can help your learn more about yourself and your style. Mood board also known as theme or concept board is page that tells the designers story. Fashion designers mainly use a variety of photographic images to get inspired to work on every line of new collection. Anything that sparks the designers creativity process. These can vary according and imagination is a appropriate inspirational material. Research photos, both historical and current , may be used to show the designers creativity how literally the designer wishes to express the mood Fabric/colour swatches are often included with research and tied into the overall colour story of the photos, indication both colour sensitivity and coordination ability. An image of the customer is also frequently included to show the customer type and targeted market. Making a Mood Board-

Every Designer works on a collection. A collection can consist of minimum 6 dresses to maximum 20 or more dresses. All the dresses belong to a similar theme . The dresses can different but should look like as if they belong to the same theme or family.

1. Select a season: In fashion industry there are basically 3 seasons spring summer, Autumn Winter, Fall winter 2. Select a theme: A theme board is kind of like a collage, which has inspiration. Inspiration could come from anywhere whether it is the internet or on holiday or just at home. On theme boards there are sometimes thoughts and feelings. U can put any thing on these boards like something that is special to you, drawings, photos, jeweler absolutely anything that is inspirational. Theme can be of different types. There are unlimited themes a Designer can work upon. Whatever topic inspires a designer can be a theme the designer work up on. E.g. Nature, Retro Fashion, Floral, Dimension, Disco etc, 3. Select photographs related to your theme. Be careful in selecting the best photos with good aesthetic since these pictures will the base and inspire the designer to design the collection. Silhouettes, prints, surface ornamentation of fabric of the collection will be inspired from the photographs. 4. Now paste all the photographs on a board. You can also stick colour stickers or pantone chips or fabric swatches that inspire you on the mood board if you are not separately making a colour board. A mood board can also be digital and can be made on computers using Photoshop.

Story Board A typical fashion storyboard consists of: A fully rendered fashion figure (can be stylized to work for your theme) Technical drawings also known as flats, these are essentially blueprints for the design depicted on the figure. Fabric samples you would use in constructing the design, these can include embellishments like buttons, rhinestones etc. A background suited to your theme to host all of the afore mentioned elements. If you're printing it out, make sure its sized right so it is not printed pixelated. Headings and labels. The heading should be in a font that parallels your theme so for example, an oriental font for something Asian inspired. Layout is important, fashion figures can be stuck on the left or right of an A3/A4 page, then a composite layout for the flats can be made. Here is an example, this storyboard was supposed to invoke an easy, airy, fresh, clean, whimsical theme. My fabric samples are huge though to fill up more space, I usually do much smaller squares because I usually use more fabric and have more than two technical drawings. A Mood Board, unlike a Story Board, does not indicate a progression of images that will actually be shot, nor the actual setting. What it does do is describe a flavour or nuance of what the ambience of the image will be. It gives one an idea of your intention. It is akin to an interior designer showing colour and texture codes to their clients. It is not a specific chronological plan or set design as would be established in a story board, which is more akin to a visual script. It is a visual and sensory direction. It uses metaphors and analogies rather than concrete specific and pragmatic details.

The best storyboards create vivid visual images that are interesting and appealing to viewers. The storyboard tells the story of the designers idea. The storyboard includes original illustrations and flats, as well as, additional materials (such as photos from the internet or magazines, paper, fabric swatches, patterns, etc.) that have influenced the unique design. Creating a fashion storyboard is a great way to hone your inspiration and can serve as the first step to creating the "story" behind a collection. Remember not to limit your storyboard images to clothing, as you're looking for inspiration, not the chance to copy other's work. Colour Board Colour Board will contain the colour samples of all the colours that is going to be used in the collection that is to be designed- both for clothing and accessories. Client Board Client Board should contain information about the client/Customer for whom the collection is going to be designed. The client board contains the customer profile. The customer can be an individual or a particular group. Like for example, the collection can be designed for a celebrity, or for a person for a particular occasion (like for her/his wedding), street wear for teenagers, office wear for middle aged women etc.

Story Board

Colour Board

Flats

Size Specs - Size Specification Technical design is also a very important profession in the design field. The designer will do well to pay close attention to the technical aspect of their designs. Designing clothing from a technical aspect saves more time and money than not doing so. Otherwise you run the risk of not getting a quality product early. You may end up spending a lot of time remaking samples, thus eating up sample yards of fabric and delaying production time. Technical design is the process of getting the right information across to your team, as well as the initial measurements of a style, detail drawings, construction information and fit requirements. If a garment going into fitting started with the latter information, it is easier to track and correct. A good designer will know the ins and outs of both the pattern making trade and the technical design trade. If you are not doing it yourself, make sure your professionals you hire are tried and true. The term "size spec" is short for "size specifications". The size spec document is occasionally referenced to as a spec sheet or spec sheets. This document or file is basically a guide for clothing factories to follow for garment measurements and sewing techniques. The file contains garment manufacturing specifications that help the factory produce the garment as per the buyers requirement. The specifications are intended as a list of instructions for a garment factory to following in order to maintain consistency during the bulk production of clothing and fashion accessories. The size spec files may also contain information regarding the garments trim requirements. The spec sheet will indicate the button sizes, twill tape lengths, zippers, waistband widths, draw cord length etc. Size specs, may also contain a design sketch to help the factory view a complete rendering of the intended garment. The file may also include brand label and care label requirements for the product. Size specs are typically provided to factories as an instructional tool to follow when manufacturing clothing or fashion accessories. The size spec document includes points of measure as well as detailed sewing instructions. For example, the spec file may include a hem measurement as well as indicate the stitching to utilize on the hem. For example, 1" hem, 1/4" cover stitch. This instructs the factory how to create the hem of the pant. The spec sheets help assure a consistent garment fit. A well developed spec package may include a how to measure guide. If it is not included on the spec file, the factory should at least be provided with a separate manual providing them with clear indication of how you wish for them to manage the point of measure. The

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"how to measure" guide is intended to ensure that all manufacturers are using the same methods of measurement. Here are a few examples of a point of measurement method: Bust / Chest - Lay the garment flat and measure the garment straight across one inch below the armhole. (note: it is important to indicate location below the armhole or from another point so that the person taking the measurement has a specific starting point). Waist - Relax or extended measure from side to side along the center of the waistband or waist seam. For extended measurements - measure as above with elastic or knit fully extended. Inseam - Lay one entire leg flat measure from the top of the garment to the bottom of the leg following the side seam. All measurements should be taken with a plastic or fabric tape measure. Generally all measurements are to be taken with the garment laid on a flat surface with all wrinkles gently smoothed out. Measurements should be taken with zippers or buttons fully closed unless otherwise stated. Spec Sheets- Specification sheets, also known as spec sheets, are among the most important documents when it comes to the technical aspect of designing and producing. Once the initial design is completed (this could be a drawing or quick sketch), a technical flat sketch has to be created. This can be done manually (by hand), on the computer using Adobe Illustrator or any other design program, or using a CAD (Computer Aided-Design) System. Once you know exactly how you want the garment to look and fit, you have to draw up measurements for the piece. This includes lengths of sleeves, armhole openings, neck openings, back drops, front drops, bottom hems, stitching length, pocket size, label placement, leg openings, etc. There should be a set of measurements for one size/style. If you have a T-shirt that comes in three different colors and prints, but are all the same size and have all the same specifications, then all you need is one set of measurements on the sheet. The reason that there should be one set of measurements for each size is because a Small is going to have different measurements from a Large. There are various forms of specification sheets that are used and they all depend on the company. The basic information that MUST be on a spec sheet, besides the measurements, would include: - Garment name:

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- Style #/Style Code: - Date: - Season: - Revisions: (if any) - Fabric details: - Trimmings: - Accessories: - Description: - Label: - Flat sketch, front and back: - Fabric swatch: - Colorways: Measurements and other specifications depend on the garment and style. For example, a pant spec sheet would have measurements for leg openings, hip width, crotch width, knee circumference, waistband height, etc., whereas a spec sheet for a shirt would have measurements for neck drop, shoulder length, chest width, collar width, sleeve opening, sleeve length, elbow placement, etc. Each spec sheet will vary on the details included because not every style is the same. Also, if doing off-shore production, it is even more important to make your spec sheets easily understandable, since there is the language barrier that is to be dealt with. So it is extremely important to make sure that every little detail is included and the measurements are as close as possible to what the finished garment should be, up to 1/16 or even 1/32 of an inch. Yes, it matters. Wrong measurements, wrong fit, delayed production, no sale. Details, details, details. As the saying goes, "The devil is in the detail." A techpack is an informative sheet (or file) which encompasses all of the garment specifications. The techpack for the garments is created before embarking on the garment manufacturing process. The file contains all the details of any specific style and aspect of the garment. This document is usually prepared by the designer and finalized in consultation with the merchandisers, and then forwarded to bulk sampling department or to the production department for the reference and guide for bulk manufacturing. Once a techpack for any style is developed, the production department should be able to proceed with the manufacturing process without having to refer back to the designer for any aspect of production. All the details of the clothing being produced will be in the techpack. The techpacks will include fabric requirements, trim requirements, grading, thread colors, etc. The merchandisers are thus able to

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go ahead and ensure that the required material as per the techpack is made available to the production department, in the right quantities at the right time. The complexity involved in bulk manufacturing of the apparel also helps determine the contents of the techpack. The more complex the clothing item, the more detailed the techpack should become. Regardless if the garment being manufactured is as simple as a basic pair of men's underwear, or as complex as a women's suit involving two or more garments (top & bottom), each garment needs a techpack. However, the size of the techpack will differ based on the complexity of the garment. Note: tops and bottoms can be combined into one techpack. When dealing with complex fashion, with each garment involving multiple fabrics and trims, topped with additional production process such as embroidery, printing, patch work etc. The production flow, care and control needed while production will differ, and so will the form and content of the techpack for such styles. When developing a techpack, do not hesitate to list as much detail as you believe to be necessary. The more the information in the techpack the better. The proper preparation of a techpack will be used to manage and co-ordinate various activities in production which brings in efficiency within the company as various departments refer to this one common document. The company can use the techpack for the basis of discussions or carrying out any activity. Almost all garment manufacturing companies prepare a techpack. In many cases, the cutting instructions or job card issued to production acts as the techpack. However, the details given in the techpack are likely to vary with the sizes of the

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company. Large manufacturing companies generally have a detailed techpack for each of the styles under production, for the simple reason that any manufacturing that is not in line with what was desired results in a huge production loss. For exporters, preparation of a techpack is almost mandatory, as the buyers prefer to sign on the techpack before placing the order or would send in a techpack themselves.