One way to effectively present a logo design to a client is through logo mockups. A mockup is a template that you can use to showcase a logo design to your client more creatively or realistically.
You can use a mockup to illustrate to the client how your logo design would look like in the real world. For example, if you’re creating a logo for an e-commerce business, you may use a logo mockup with a website background design to show how the logo would look like when it’s displayed online.
In this article, we’re going to take you through why you should be using mockups and how you can utilize them to present your logo designs.
Why Use Product Mockups for Your Logo Designs?
- You can use mockups as a visual aide so you can easily explain what each component means and how they relate to the client’s company or product. It provides visual details and gives the client a more realistic impression of how the logo will look when put on specific items—business cards, clothes, bags, paper, and more.
- Mockups can help you uncover design elements that need revisions such as clashing colour schemes or proportions that need correcting. Design elements like the font type, colours, and shapes must be determined at the mockup phase of your logo designing process.
- A product mockup presentation can also be a good opportunity for your client to ask for revisions or make clarifications regarding your design.
Types of Product Mockups that You Can Use
Choosing the right type of product mockup is essential for portraying your logo design to your target audience or your client in the right way. Here are some basic types of mockups that you can use:
Lifestyle Mockups
Lifestyle mockups are ideal for day-to-day products that people use. Popular categories include t-shirt mockups, mug mockups, device mockups, and many more.
This type of mockup can display a logo in a real-life context. You can use lifestyle mockups with models for your logos so your client will be able to imagine their target buyers using their products.
Flat Lay Mockups
This type of mockup shows the product arranged on a flat surface. It is ideal if you want to imagine how the products and logo design go together with other elements. For example, you can use a photograph of a laptop with your logo design along with other objects like eyeglasses, coffee mug, notepads, plants, and more.
Product-Only Mockups
The focus of this type of mockup is the product itself, so you don’t need fancy elements or props. Using a white or a black background is enough.
If your client’s product is a notebook, then you can simply get a photograph of a pad of paper and feature your logo design on it.
You’ll often see this type of mockup in online marketplace product listings.
Animated or Video Mockups
If you want to showcase your logo design in a dynamic way, you can use animated or video mockups.
You don’t need to shoot a video yourself for this, you can use a tool like Placeit which allows you to create them online in a matter of seconds.
Where to Get Your Mockups?
To find quality mockups there are two main sources: PSD templates or online tools.
Best PSD Templates Sources
PSD templates can be edited using Adobe Photoshop. Here are some reliable sources of PSD mockup templates:
Best Online Sources
One of the useful tools for logo designers is an online mockup generator. They can make the process of creating mockups much quicker and easier:
Using Placeit to Make Amazing Logo Mockups
Placeit has the largest online mockup library out of all the mockup generators. If you’re looking to create quality mockups quickly then Placeit is the tool for you. Here’s how simple is it to create logo mockups on Placeit::
1. From the main navigation menu choose a mockup category that makes sense for your project (e.g. ‘Packaging Mockups”):
2. Browse the mockup templates and choose one you like:
3. Customise the mockup by adding your logo design and changing the other elements to fit with your design such as the product colours, and the background colour.
4. When you’re happy with your mockup, you click download and you have the option to either purchase the individual mockup or subscribe to Placeit and get unlimited downloads of everything on the website:
5. If you go back to one of the categories (e.g. “Packaging Mockups”) you can choose a subcategory from the menu (e.g. “Coffee Cups”) and upload your design to view it on the all the mockups in that subcategory instantly and download them from that page if you have an account:
Important Design Elements to Create Top-Notch Product Mockups for Your Logos
Here is a list of some important design elements that you may need to apply when creating product mockups to present your logo designs:
Colour – This element is important especially in digital representations of physical products. The goal of your product mockup is to make your presentation look as realistic as possible. For this reason, using colors in the same way they will be used in the final product is essential.
Contrast – Ensure that the mockup image’s background provides a clear color contrast so the product and logo designs will stand out. Having bad contrast may lessen the discernibility of your design. Good contrast shows the parts of your design that are most significant.
Typography – This element is not just about using beautiful font types. It’s about establishing a solid visual hierarchy, providing balance to the design, and setting the tone for the mockup.
Spacing – If you want the product and the logo design to stand out, you may want to use mockups with huge spaces. But this depends on the overall content layout that you’re trying to achieve. You can have many elements when using Flat Lay Mockups, but make sure the final presentation is not overly crowded.
Telling A Story Through Logo Mockups
Presenting your logo designs through mockups is your chance to show your target audience or your client how the designs are going to look in a real world environment.
Using lifestyle mockups from a website like Placeit allows you to easily tell a story with your designs and can help evoke the emotions and ideas you want your target audience to have when they see your designs.
They can also help enhance your portfolio or client presentation to make it more impactful and professional.
If you want to know more about logos and how you can maximise your potential as a designer, browse through LogoGeek and start becoming the logo designer you aspire to be.