Mock up templates: what are they and why you should be using them

Mock up templates – some background

Whether you are a business owner or just a consumer, we all recognise the importance of branding and marketing. I’m sure when we think of the world’s biggest companies, we are able to instantly picture their logos: Coca Cola’s swirly text, Apple’s apple, Nike’s tick and the golden arches of McDonald’s. I am the owner of a small Etsy store, and despite the humble nature of my business, I have spent a lot of time and effort on my brand imagery. One of the ways I have chosen to showcase the products that I have to offer (I mainly focus on printable digital downloads) is through the use of mock up templates.

Why would someone want to use a mock up template?

There are many items and products that a brand would want to add their logo to: flyers, notebooks, merchandise (such as hats, mug, t-shirts, badges, stickers, phone covers to name a few). As well as, of course, products that they are selling and signage on storefronts.

It used to be the case that if you wanted to see a good representation of what a product would look like with your logo on it, you’d have to go through a long and expensive process. First you would get an artist to draw a prototype which would then be sent to the manufacturer to produce a sample product. You would then inspect the sample product and either approve it for mass production or request more changes. It could be months between the initial concept stage and the final manufacturing stage. Whats more, you would have to then take photographs of the final physical item for marketing purposes. So months later, with a much depleted bank account, you finally had a visual representation of your product to show off to customers or investors.

Luckily, these days there is now an amazing way to create an accurate image of your product much more quickly and easily in a way that showcases it to potential buyers (or even to investors) in a very stylish and impressive way – through mock up templates.

What exactly is a mock up template?

A mock up template is a way to quickly create a stylist and professional image of a product and is perhaps best explained through an example. Let’s say you had a logo and you wanted to produce a calendar with your logo on it. All you would need to do is simply visit a site that hosts mock up templates, find a suitable mock up template for a calendar and upload your logo. The mock up template would automatically insert your logo into the digital file, giving you a professional looking imitation of the final result. At this stage you can of course make adjustments, such as changing the size, colour or placement of your logo. Amendments are just one click away. It’s really simple and you don’t need to be a graphic design guru to get awesome results.

The below image is a great illustration of how a mockup logo in a mock up template works. In this particular example a beer company owner can very quickly visualise how the label design would look on a beer bottle through the use of mock up templates:

Image source: Design Bundles

Before the invention of mock up templates the beer manufacturer would have had to go through a vigorous process of designing and printing labels – the ones that weren’t ‘right’ would have to be discarded and the process started again – as well as expensive professional photography for the finalised product. Whereas now a fantastic representation of the finished product can be instantly seen, scrutinised and amended where needed. What a fantastic innovation mock up templates have been for all kinds of industries. The low price of mock up templates mean that they are accessible to all.

Another product area where mock up templates work really, really well is wall art/prints. I know this particularly well because, as I mentioned before, I have used mock up templates to market my very own range of digital download printables. Before I discovered mock up templates I had been printing out my own products and taking photographs of them. I tried my best but I am definitely not a professional photography or a stylist. As much as I tried to make my photos as stylish and professional-looking as possible, they didn’t come out as great as I would have liked. But once I stumbled across mock up templates it was a revelation. Now that all of my products are showcased using these templates, I have genuinely noticed an uplift in sales as they now look so much more appealing to the prospective buyer. I look at my listings and I am so proud of them.

Here’s an example of the kind of mock up template that could be used by someone in the wall art/prints industry – it gives the potential buyer a way to visualise how the art could look in their own home. Imagine how hard it would be to recreate this image without the use of mock up templates, at a minimum you would need to supply props and lighting:

Image source: Design Bundles

Where to find mock up templates?

There are several resources on the web where you can find mock up templates. One of the sites that does a wide variety of these is the site Design Bundles. Not only are they a source of many high quality mock up templates, they also have thousands upon thousands of affordable options to help you with whatever kind of graphic design project you are working on: templates, graphics, patterns, craft files and illustrations. With over 1 million users they are a trusted player in the graphics industry. I am a particular fan of the bundles they offer, which sell for up for 96% off the regular retail price – such a great deal and a fantastic way to support independent artists. I check their homepage regularly for their latest deals.