Common definitions of vision boards describe it as a “collage” of images and words that represent your goals and dreams. A collage, on the other hand, means a collection of visual images put together to create a single message or image.
When you’re making a vision board, you’re basically creating a collage of goals and dreams. But do you just put pictures and words together however you want?
While there are no rules to creating a vision board, there are some guidelines on creating collages that can make them cohesive, attractive, and most of all, effective in using them as a manifestation technique.
You’d want to create a vision board you’d want to look at, and not just some collection of jumbled-up images that don’t make sense.
In this article, we’ll discover a few tips on collage-making and how you can use these rules to help you manifest your dreams.
BUT FIRST, DO VISION BOARDS REALLY WORK?
Studies have been conducted on whether or not vision boards work to manifest goals. Some studies, like the 2016 TD Bank research, revealed positive results. However, further research needs to be done to come up with inconclusive data.
Neuroscientists like Dr. Tara Swart believe there’s science behind vision boards. She’s a neuroscientist, author, and executive adviser who uses vision boards as part of her programs. In what she calls, “Value Tagging,” she states that vision boards work because it acts like a filter in our brain.
We are bombarded with so much information every day that it can be hard to focus on our goals. Having a vision board, doing visualization techniques, and frequently looking at our boards can help us imprint important things in our subconscious minds. It also helps filter out unnecessary information that would otherwise distract us.
Visuals are also better than words, which means vision boards are better than merely having a “to-do” or goals list because the brain naturally assigns a higher value to images rather than written words.
Some of the most popular personalities who advocate the use of vision boards include Oprah Winfrey, Jim Carrey, Beyonce, Jay-Z, hip-hop artist Cordae, Steve Harvey, Katy Perry, and many professional athletes.
Though scientific data is still lacking, real-life success stories of vision board goals coming true can provide you with the belief and confidence they do work in manifesting your dreams.
HOW TO MAKE A VISION BOARD COLLAGE
In this section, we’ll give you a few guidelines on making your vision board collage, and how you can use these rules to help you manifest your dreams.
-
PICK A THEME
Setting limits on your collage can help you create a more cohesive idea. Once you have a theme, you can filter out images that do not resonate with you, making it easier and faster to make your collage.
Picking a theme can also help you make your board specific, which is one of the rules of manifestation.
Examples of themes could be a job promotion, traveling to Thailand, finishing a Law degree, and earning $1 Million in a year.
-
COLLECT IMAGES
Proponents of vision boards believe they work better when you make them with your hands. However, we have to accept that technology is now part of our daily lives, and making a digital collage will also work just as fine.
If you want to make a digital vision board, simply collect images online that resonate with your goals. If you want to make a physical vision board, collect magazines with pictures you can cut out.
We’ve written a great blog about how to make a digital vision board as well as a blog about the best magazines to use for a board.
If you don’t have the time to collect pictures online or cut out from magazines, you can also make use of a vision board just like The Vision Cloud’s Vision Board Magazine Kit, which features 500 images of 9 different categories, a well as monthly goal-setting worksheets, and everything you need to make a vision board from scratch.
The Kit comes with a foldable board, mounting putty, and Velcro adhesives for mounting on a wall. With over 500 images, there’s no need to download a digital collage-maker or collect magazines. Everything you need to make a collage of your dreams is included in the Kit.
We’ve also made a great article on the Kit, which you can find here.
-
USE THE RULE OF THIRDS
This rule in collage-making is a compositional technique often used in landscape paintings and overall design. It involves dividing a paper or board into three columns and rows. When you make your collage, you should place the major images on the lines that intersect.
This is based on the idea that asymmetry is better than symmetry because the eye naturally looks at things that are off-center. Placing an image in the middle of the board confuses your eye on where to look: do you look to the left? Or maybe the right side?
When you place an image on any of the intersecting lines, it creates a focal point by which the eye focuses and naturally flows to the other images.
One example of using the rule of thirds is placing smaller images on the bottom and placing mid-size images in the middle, then the large pictures on the top, or also vice versa. Or, placing a big picture on the upper right side of the board, then placing the smaller pictures on the bottom left.
The symmetrical placement of images can be boring but the Rule of Thirds helps you create asymmetry that makes your collage more interesting and powerful.
Try it and you’ll discover you’ll have a greater desire to look at your vision board, which can help you visualize better and more often.
-
USE CONTRAST
When choosing a theme, such as traveling, for example, you’re naturally inclined to choose images that reflect the beach. So what colors represent the beach? Mostly, it’s blue. If your college is a big blob of blue seas and skies, do you think you’ll be able to see the individual pictures? Most likely not.
This is where contrast comes in. Having contrast in terms of the color of the images, size, and shape creates emphasis. This makes your collage more interesting, and attractive, and it helps to highlight the images in each picture.
You can use a picture of a blue ocean while placing a picture of a sunset with red and orange hues. They’re of the same theme, but they have different colors, so each image is highlighted. Or, you can use a black-and-white picture of a yacht sailing in the Caribbean, and a full-color picture of another tropical setting, which makes your collage so much more interesting.
-
INCLUDE WORDS
A collage mostly consists of pictures but to make it for a vision board means you can add words, quotes, affirmations, and famous words spoken by motivational speakers, successful CEOs, and famous personalities.
Words can turn simple images into profound messages, and when it comes to vision boards, words can be powerful.
We’ve also written amazing collections of affirmations and visualization quotes we believe you can use on your collage. Use them to add words to your vision board.
OTHER IMPORTANT TIPS FOR MAKING A COLLAGE
- Do not paste pictures on your board right away. Collect the images and try creating a collage on the board without pasting them yet. Take a picture and try to filter out images that you don’t like or do not resonate with your theme or goals.
- Repeat images on your collage. If you want to buy a red Ferrari, place more than one picture of the car. Choose different kinds of pictures of a Ferrari for repetition. The more images you see of the object you want, the more profound it becomes. Repetition creates a strong visual statement.
- Use free collage makers online if you want to create a digital collage. Sites like Canva, Fotojet, Fotor, PhotoJoiner, Adobe Spark, and so many others feature collage-makers in the app or website which makes it so easy to make a collage for your digital vision board.
There’s a popular saying that goes “Pictures speak a thousand words.” And it’s true. Vision boards are an effective manifestation technique because it primes your brain to seek out opportunities that can help you achieve your goals.
In “Value Tagging,” collages can help you identify which objects, people, and opportunities can contribute to making your dreams come true.
However, making a collage without much thought may hinder your ability to manifest your dreams. To make your vision board effective, you need to constantly look at it, imprint it in your brain, and practice visualization techniques. But how can you do that with a poorly-made vision board collage?
That is why we decided to make this article to help you create the most beautiful and functional collage for your vision board. We hope that by making your collage attractive and organized, you will have a desire to actually use it, and not just mount it on a wall and then forget all about it.
Vision boards won’t work if you don’t. The first step to making it work is to make the collage attractive.
Now go start your collage of dreams and make your dreams come true.
