When you have a digital product that you want clients to support, it is imperative that you create a professional presentation in order to tell a story and to convey the message that you mean business. You can just present your creation verbally. No matter how great you are at prose, you simply can’t try to attract clients verbally. They should have something to grasp on; they should be able to see something.

A mockup is a form of prototype that will allow designers to present their digital products to almost its truest form. It is, therefore, the best way to put forth your creativity in the most professional way possible. Don’t worry, a mockup is not something you have to put too much effort on. There are so many of them on the internet. You only need to choose the best one that could carry your message across. User exchange website UX Planet alone has a collection of free mockups—any of these could fit the narrative you want to pursue.

Creating an iMac mockup

There are a lot of mockup PSD templates out there and one can do a lot of good to your digital product especially if you are trying to seduce clients to going on board with your design. The iMac mockup, for one, is absolutely perfect for professional presentation. Let’s be clear though, a mockup PSD will not showcase your talent. The digital product design will showcase your talent. But the mockup will enrich your creativity. It will make your product look better.

Why focus on the iMac though? While it is hardly the most popular device from Apple, it is considered the most professional. Obviously the iPhones and the MacBooks would be more popular considering their convenience. But when it comes to professional work, the iMac is still the most reliable. Offices still prefer the desktop especially since the Retina display of the iMac screen is top-notch. It just makes web designs look way better than in any other desktop from other brands, or from any other device in general. For those looking for great Apple iMac deals, check out this report from Forbes.

Now let’s talk about the actual creation of the mockup. It’s not really difficult; it’s more or less dragging and dropping your design on the iMac screen on the mockup template. Check out mockups in PSD file or Sketch. Make sure to work with Smart Objects so you won’t have problems with pixelization. When you work with smart layers, edits are made on layers. This means that the original content will not be distorted. This also means that edits are not done directly on the pixels. So when you make an adjustment, whether you want to increase or decrease the size, the quality will remain the same. The pixels will not be stretched too much or contorted.

Choosing the right template

With so many templates available especially when it comes to the iMac mockup, the worst mistake a designer can do is to rely on the endless alternatives. There should actually be a lot of thought involved when it comes to choosing the right template for your digital product. Take a breather and really think about your product. Think about the message you want to convey. Think about a story.

The workspace mockup is the best kind of digital prototype you can work with especially if you really want to tell a story. There is also so much versatility when it comes to this kind of mockup. It is no longer just about presenting a product, it is about showcasing a complete package. So obviously the workspace mockup entails digital products that you can use at work.

There is this mockup that showcases the iMac in the middle of the template and it stands on wooden worktable. There is no clutter on the table, just a lamp, the mouse and keyboard, and some books. Directly behind the iMac are hanging shelves with more books on them. The accessories provide context clues about what your product could be. It definitely is not something for a corporate office considering bookshelves are not typically placed in front of one work station. That kind of detail will tell you that the target market for your product is someone who works at home. Judging by the books, it seems like the target market comprises of people who are into books.

Basically, this kind of mockup targets people who work from home and who are involved in book-related tasks like authors, editors and fact checkers. But you really should not be involving your client into some guessing games. We are just laying down the context clues on how this kind of mockup will enrich your digital product—of course, that is if your product actually targets people who use a lot of books in their work and don’t use other accessories.

Doing away with accessories

But you don’t always have to rely on setups in order to get your message across. If your message is that your product is as strong as it gets and needs no accessories, then the iMac Pro mockup is a pretty great canvas to work with. Most of the templates for this kind of mockup just have the iMac as the centerpiece. More often, the background is just black as well. The template will seem bland, but once you put in your design on the screen, that description is furthest from the truth. This is easily the best way to make your digital design pop—not gimmicks, just design.

If you want to showcase videos, images and artwork, the photorealistic iMac mockup is the most efficient way to go. The photorealistic iMac provides many designs and some also have accessories to enrich the story. But the main thing about this type of mockup is that the screen is vibrant and is in high resolution because you want to present the product in the most realistic way possible.