Create a Mockup for Your Business in these Simple Steps, by Erica Sunarjo
Everyone’s great at something, and while you may be a rock star coder or the top accountant in your city, it’s not a given that you should also know how to design stuff. However, doing things by yourself and producing something from nothing can be quite fulfilling.
So, if you want to take a crack at it and create a mockup for your business, follow these steps:
1. Brainstorm Ideas
Do you have a general idea of what you want your mockup to look like? Or do you have the exact vision in your head, without the tools to create it or describe it in words?
In both cases, you will need to do some brainstorming, basic brand guide creation and associations. If you don’t know how to start, the easiest way is to set up a central theme of your mockup in the middle (a good place to start is the name of your business).
Then, start spreading association words from the central concept and branch out as wide as possible. For example, you might end up with some precise and useful guidelines in your brainstorm that can be used in a mockup, such as colors, style, tone, attitude, etc.
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2. Define the End Purpose
Are you creating your mockup for a single purpose, such as a business card; or are you planning on applying your business mockup everywhere? Based on your answer, you need to develop different mock-ups for different purposes, which can be versatile in size, color, background, etc.
As you’re designing, keep this purpose in mind and don’t start going off-topic, which can often happen to someone who’s semi-improvising.
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3. Get Inspired
Now, at the beginning of this guide, we’ve mentioned two possibilities: you either have an exact vision for your mockup or you have little to nothing. If you belong to the second group, it can be pretty hard to find somewhere to start from. The best thing to do is to start by researching what similar businesses are doing.
“Nowadays, it’s so easy to get tons of awesome ideas online. Just google your industry or niche and you’ll find thousands of different logos and design mock-ups just waiting to inspire fellow colleagues and competitors. But make sure you stay original and avoid copying someone else’s stuff”, says Jenna Phillips, a designer at TopEssayWriting.
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4. Turn to Experts
You don’t have to do the entire mockup totally alone! Sure, most of the work will be done from your side, but you can use many online tools and services that can help you create a mockup for your business. Here are some of our recommendations:
- Canva – a designer tool for non-designers which can help you follow all structural and formal rules even with no experience
- ClassyEssay– a writing service website where you can find writers who can help you with your corporate identity
- Studyker – find writers on-demand for any mockup tasks you might have
- Fiverr – connect with freelance services for your business
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5. Find the Right Tool
There are hundreds, if not thousands of tools available nowadays for business owners who want to create their own mockup. Some are great, some not so much, but it’s almost impossible to tell you which one is perfect for you and your business because it depends on your needs and style.
Many designers use Adobe tools like Photoshop or Illustrator to create their mockups. Adobe is considered to be the program for designers, with seemingly unlimited options and features that enable designers to achieve exactly what they are envisioning. For beginners and non-designers, on the other hand, Adobe is not so great. Thousands of different tools for details and tiny things can be super-overwhelming for people who are used to MS Paint-level digital design. So, if you’re a beginner, you might not be so happy with Adobe, even though it’s considered the best.
For non-designers, Canva, the tool we mentioned in the previous talking point, is really perfect. This online tool has swept the online design community of their feet and truly enabled everyone to design incredible stuff.
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6. Tweak, Perfect and Conquer!
Believe it or not, like all other things in life, practice makes perfect. The chances of getting a perfect mockup for your business on the first try are close to zero, but that shouldn’t discourage you. After you have something that at least looks like something you wanted to achieve, you can go from there.
Don’t like how the font and the icon clash together? Change either the font, size or the icons. Like the colors, but not much from anything else? Add these colors to your must-have list and start fresh!
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An important thing to remember is that design can be incredibly frustrating for non-designers (and even for experts, too!) Whenever you feel like quitting, just take a little break and get back to your design when you feel more relaxed and inspired.
7. Ask for Feedback
It’s finally done: after months – or minutes – of work (depending on your level of dedication), your mockup is now ready to be launched into the world! Wait just a second. Before you expose your mockup to your colleagues, partners and clients, make sure you’re 100% happy with it and try to ask for feedback from people whose opinions you trust.
The ideal option would be to ask a professional designer about some things that could be improved or changed. Unlike us, designers have a special eye professionally used to spotting tiny irregularities and non-consistencies that regular mortals don’t have. If your mockup passes the hot or not test with a graphic designer, it’s definitely ready to go out there!
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Conclusion
Doing things yourself can be very rewarding, especially when it comes to your business. Creating your own mockup is just one on a lengthy list of things businesses usually outsource to other people! However, if you’re not sure about it, there’s no shame in hiring someone professional to do it for you. But promise us that you will at least try first!
Bio
Erica Sunarjo is a content creator with more than five years of experience. Currently, Erica is an editor and writer at WriteScout and Subjecto. She is proud of her an uncanny ability to explain the most complex subject in simple terms.
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