Designers can have too many overlap jobs in the company. Therefore, they need ideal design models to save time. Mockups are the top option for them. In other words, if you are a designer, you can save your time by using Mockups. It will be a disaster if the mockups cannot convey the message business want to show. Additionally, you can make clients’ expectations about the design product fall with an inaccurate mockup.

So, what are mockups? How to use mockup designs to present effectively to customers? It is necessary to create a mockup accurately conveying ideas you planned already in your mind because the first impression of customers to your design products plays a super important role to project success.

This article includes all things you need to know when building a mockup. They will help you understand aspects when designing a complete mockup. Let’s discover mockup right now with CMSmart!

What are mockups?

Mockups are a kind of design model having a real or miniature size to simulate design ideas to businesses. The more detailed and complicated the mockup is, the more your clients understand about the ideas and messages you want to convey. Mockups can be a version of photoshop, PDF file, or a real model.

Building mockups from the first phases in the design process

You can totally save your time by using Mockups. Specifically, you can save much time to create a complete design product by considering your design as a real product. Besides, mockups can increase sales. From the first days you participate in designing products, you should begin designing mockups.

When designing product packaging, just think of the materials you will use for packaging. Moreover, ask yourself the following questions: “Who buys products?”, “Why they choose you instead of your competitors?”, etc. Also, the hobby, buying behavior, or loyalty of customers are some of the important information you should understand.

To know the information above, it is essential to understand the business you want to convey to. This will help you have a realistic and specific viewpoint about your design product in the real environment. It is useful in generating an effective design, too. 

You will generate the most appropriate mockup with the desire of clients and the spirit of the business if you put yourself in customers’ place. The reason is that after all, your product will come to customers’ hands.

Creating mockups by choosing appropriate tools

You can establish mockups in tools with levels from basic to enhancement and complication. From a tool as specialized software, there are many ways to create a mockup. One of the most popular software which can help you generate an emulator image describing your design product is Photoshop.

Ways to design mockup in Photoshop: 

A simple instruction to insert images into mockups:

Additionally, you can use the Woocommerce product designer plugin or Magento online design plugin to create mockups. Generating design product mockups depends much on the kind of your clients. However, basically, there are three steps for all designs: Transform tool, blend modes, and smart object. In testing different mockups efficiently and fast, selecting suitable tools is very helpful. You can not only have exact manipulations but also save your time by using Mockups. 

Using mockup model emulator websites is the simplest way to create a mockup. With those websites, you only need to upload your design and select the type of your clients. When you are constrained by time, this is a beneficial solution. The result will be quite positive although you have fewer choices when creating mockups in this way.

You need to ensure the copyright affair for your creative products as your mockup versions are used for commercial purposes. Please remember this!

If you have not imagined about mockup templates yet, you can refer here.

Showing your mockups

Don’t make your mockups become too common!

It is necessary for you to design mockup versions so that businesses have to yell “Wow this design is only for my business! Unbelievable! It is suitable for the realistic context and not too common!” when seeing the product. Of course, establishing a mockup version is for the purpose of designing a 3D emulator version for the design product but that is not too meaningful. 

Summarily, you can only save your time by using Mockups when your mockups are related to the practicality and not too general. This is the one you need to keep in mind when presenting the mockups to businesses. Just design a specific mockup version that is appropriate to the real environment, connects with the spirit of the business, and can be used for various purposes.

Conveying what you want to say by using mockups

You have to show your design project in many diverse tendencies. In design, this is significant. Nevertheless, the one any designers should do is beginning with an image showing a flat model. You can totally continue to generate mockup versions in the 3-dimensional space after finishing.  

Obviously, conveying your design idea to clients is the goal of implementing mockups before the final step of the design product. Therefore, you should try to convey all that you want to say and show the connection between the business brand and the design version.

How to use mockups efficiently?

An effective mockup must be both realistic and a good 3D design. Please note the tips below:

• Letting your mockup be the brightest star: Don’t let other elements occupy its “stage light”! Your mockup must be the central point of every attention in the presentation.
• Appreciate the mockup practicality: Just think that your mockup is a real product in the real environment.
• Setting appropriate backgrounds and using a lot of arrangements for mockup: This can help to express the message and idea you want to convey from the mockup. Mockups can make your design become more vivid and interesting than it actually is. So, you should consider the design under the flat design carefully in order not to be disappointed too much. In this way, the real design will lead you in the design process instead of the virtual mockup. 
• Avoiding using illustration images found from search engines: To express the product practicality, your mockup sometimes needs to be presented with some image. You should not use illustration images from hurriedly searching on Google or any search engines. They will decrease the authenticity and linkage with business. Please imagine what customers will think when seeing images in the design publication actually from free images on Google! Just consider whether your design needs to adjust other settings such as whether it needs to be design under transparent or black and white forms, etc.

You can show your design idea under a 3D design version with an effective mockup tool. We hope that now you have more useful knowledge to build an efficient design product and save time with mockups! Moreover, if you want to have complete solutions integrated with the product designer plugin, you can refer to other solutions from CMSmart such as Wordpress T-shirt solution, Wordpress Printstore, or Printmart. If you need any helps, please contact our support team. Thank you for reading!

Best regards!