Have you ever looked at other crafters Insta feeds or Etsy shops wonder how they manage to get so many perfectly curated images of their products? How has anyone got the time (or money!) to make up 20 different t-shirt or mug designs and get the photos looking so good for each product?
Well, I’ll let you in on a secret…they are quite likely using product mock-ups!
What is a mock-up?
A Mock-up is a photo of a blank product, usually in a flat lay set up, that you use to superimpose your design on top of.
They are a great tool for all kinds of crafters but if you run a personalisation business they are invaluable!
Why should you use mock-ups?
Mock ups mean you can get a product from the idea stage to advertising in literal minutes. Product mock-ups can make your creative business look super professional (it also saves time worrying about taking good product photos) and save you a ton of money in held stock
We’ve used mock ups in our Etsy business since day one and it’s been so beneficial, it’s meant our images always look cohesive and it’s saved so much money in not having to write off stock or offer it at a reduced price as a sample.
My go-to site for things like mock-up images is always Design Bundles because they just have such a vast array of options. I’ve used them for everything from a sweatshirt mockup to displaying rebranding ideas on business and car decal card mock-ups! We also use them to find new commercial licence fonts and SVG files because it helps our business to stand out from others.
Who can use mock-ups?
ANYONE! That’s why they are such a good tool, all you need is access to the internet (to download the mock-up images) and something to edit the photos on such as a tablet, your phone or computer.
Not sure when would be a good time to use them? Let me give you some examples!
T-shirt mock up
If you own a business that deals with personalized clothing items then you know how expensive it can get to test out new products and product line ideas. A t-shirt mockup is perfect for you to use because it means you can make a new idea and show it off to customers without having to waste any stock, money or time. You can import mock up images directly into your design software such as Cricut Design Space and lay your idea directly over the image – nice and simple!
Homeware Mock-ups
I’m not sure if its the effect of lockdown and everyone spending more time at home and wanting to spruce up their surroundings but homewares and in particular bedding seems to be selling really well! Obviously, making custom bedding is not a cheap task so to make sure you’re customer is really happy with the design and colourways you could use a bedding mock-up.
Branding Mock-ups
I’m currently in the middle of a big rebranding job for a company where we have changed their whole colour palette, font families and basically given it a massive overhaul. I was able to quickly give them a few different options to look through before we settled on a choice because I used a branding mock-up like the one above. It saved me hours of work and they were impressed with the number of options I could give them.
The possibilities are literally endless when it comes to product mock ups and I believe it is the biggest thing you can do when you start out to not only get your business off on the right foot branding and look wise but also it saves so much time and money!
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