First things first–what is an inspiration board? It’s a collection of thoughts, ideas, desires, and images to help spark new ideas for brainstorming. It’s a visual and functional piece of workspace that can be used in a practical sense, or as a decoration for any office space. It’s easy to get started making your own DIY inspiration board.

1. Figure out the purpose of your board. Are you making an inspiration board that will be used by you only, or by a group of coworkers? Areyou using the board to be a personal board of decoration inspiration, or is it a funcating board that needs to be ready to work? After you figure out what you’ll be using your board for, then you can figure out what materials will serve best to create your board.
2. Think about how you organize your thoughts. Are you someone who likes creative clutter? Or do you need a crisp, clean workspace to keep your thoughts flowing? There are several different materials that you can choose to make your board. You can cover a piece of cork in a favorite fabric, and use push pins, or you can cut a piece of metal mesh and use magnets to hang things. You can even forego the physical board all together and tape or pin things directly to the wall.
3. Choose something that gets your excited. You want to find materials, images, and quotes that you are drawn to. Write in your favorite color, and use fun patterned papers to pin to your board. It should be something that catches your eye and makes you want to go towards it. If it becomes background noise, then it won’t serve its purpose of being a source of inspiration.
4. Cover it. Cover your new board with quotes, images, lists, and memories to spark your brain. You can choose to make your board organized in a linear fashion with every though clearly displayed, or you can jumble them all together for a collage effect. Find photos that serve as a source of inspiration for you. Put up images of people who you admire, places you want to go, or a goal that you want to achieve. Combine these with facts that you know, schedules, and progressive steps to help you visualize how to accomplish your goals.
5. Have a reason to refer back to it to keep it fresh. Have a running list on your board so you have to reach for it every time you need it. Make it a place where you keep adding to your thoughts. You don’t want the board to become stagnant. Take things down as you complete them, and add new thoughts as they come to you. String photos together to discover new connections that will lead you down new paths.

Inspiration boards can serve a useful purpose to your workspace. No matter what job you have, there is always a level of creativity involved. By using an inspiration board, you’ll have an easier time sparking new ideas. Having a visual reminder of your goals makes you more likely to achieve the things you never thought possible.