A mockup is a model of the object where the intended design will be placed. Typically, it is a PSD file containing layers and smart objects. This object model is used to “try on” a visual solution to understand how a logo, typography, or illustration will appear on various media in real life. Mockups are used by manufacturers, advertising agencies, online retailers, and social media platforms. This article will provide you with a brief overview of mockups and how YOU can use them to promote yourself or your business.
Time is the Most Valuable Resource
A mockup allows you to see how the design would look before production or how the company logo would appear on a t-shirt. Experienced social media companies use mockups to maximize their time. When working on the look and feel of sections of their website or app, they don’t have to recreate every element of the site each time they test new functionality. Completed versions of entire pages created in advance by designers and programmers are tested on a small group of users or beta testers.
If any issues arise with the user experience, the interface elements can be simply moved to a different location without having to start over or rewrite the code. This greatly reduces development time and cost. In programming, this approach is known as an architectural template or design template. Interacting with a template is essentially the same as working with mockups.
Mockups for Social Networks Users
Do you run your own company, a private business, or simply sell handmade items? Then you just need to know how to take your business to the next level cheaply and effectively! Perhaps you were unaware that there are entire collections of mockup sets that allow you to design posts that match the style of your brand, showcase products, and promote services. Simply customize the scenes for your project and use them as intended. There is, for example, a set for promotion on Facebook and Instagram. You can use it to show your audience how your product will appear on social media. You can also incorporate it into your SEO and social media marketing strategy. Simply open the mockup on the website or in Adobe Photoshop, then add photos of your product or service.
For example, if you are in the business of drawing artwork on various items and want to show how it looks on them, you do not need to re-photograph those items each time and go through the time-consuming and laborious process of putting your artwork on them. Instead, you could use a pre-made apparel mockup and simply overlay photos of your artwork on it. The customized mockup will automatically transform your image into the shape of a t-shirt or sweatshirt, adding highlights and shading. Consider how much more time you’ll have for creativity. And good news is there are free mockups available for download, such as https://www.ls.graphics/mockups/apparel-mockups.
How to Choose the Right Mockup
When looking for a mockup, consider several factors:
- Not all stock mockups, particularly free ones, resemble a real t-shirt, MacBook, or glossy magazine. When selecting a template, consider both the object and the environment. The more realistic the image, the more natural the design will appear on it;
- Good mockups “adjust” to the object: after overlaying the design, highlights, folds, shadows, reflections, and other effects are added to make the image more realistic;
- When the design is placed in the mockup of smartphones, tablets, or laptops, often forget about the relevance of the models, for example, put a mobile application in the mockup of iPhone 5, which is no longer used by anyone. Keep this in mind when choosing a mockup to promote your business on social media.
Conclusion
Save time and energy. In an age when every minute counts, you should not overlook a low-cost and effective method of optimizing your work and time such as pre-made mockups.