Big corporations typically don’t introduce new products spontaneously. Instead, they spend months—if not years—refining their ideas through research, iteration, and feedback.
Mockups—high-quality, non-functioning visual representations—are essential to this product development process. Designers use mockups to solicit feedback, perform user testing, and run early marketing campaigns. Mockups also help development teams spot issues and prevent costly mistakes.
Here, learn how mockups facilitate product development and discover best practices and tools to create mockups for your business.
What is a mockup?
A mockup is a polished visual draft of a design concept. It’s typically a medium- or high-fidelity image that demonstrates how the final product design might look. Unlike prototypes and finished products, mockups are not functional.
Designers use mockups to translate product concepts, bringing them closer to their finished form. The mockup stage invites decisions about typography, color palette, general layout, iconography, and other defining visual details. It is often the final design phase before products move on to manufacturing or development.
Mockups span disciplines and industries from manufacturing to web design. Depending on project needs, they can be two-dimensional or 3D, digital or physical, scaled or full-sized.
What is the purpose of a mockup?
Mockups bring ideas to life, offering tangible visual blueprints to align design and development teams, and support low-risk, flexible iterations. Because they enable collaboration, iteration, and feedback, mockups are an indispensable part of the product development process.
Mockups bridge concept development and functional prototyping; in many cases, the final version of a mockup becomes the blueprint for production.
Since mockups aren’t functional, they risk setting unrealistic expectations. For that reason, stakeholders should include product developers in design conversations early and often.
What is the difference between a mockup and a wireframe?
Both wireframes and mockups are visual and non-functioning representations of product concepts, but they serve different purposes in the design process.
Wireframes are low-fidelity outlines that define a product’s basic structure and form. Think of them as sketches—they provide a basic layout with little attention to aesthetics. Because wireframes are simple, they’re easy to revise or discard when a team’s direction shifts. After all, no one wants to spend hours choosing fonts and colors just to have developers tell them to start over.
Once a team aligns on a wireframe, the next step is creating a mockup—a higher-fidelity visual draft that builds on the wireframe’s foundation. At this stage, you’re essentially coloring inside the lines: adding your brand’s typography, color palette, imagery, and other visual details.
While mockups aren’t functional, they represent the finished experience and are useful for refining design choices and gathering feedback on a product’s visual direction.
What is the difference between a mockup and a prototype?
A prototype is an early, unreleased version of a product. Both prototypes and mockups are high-fidelity, realistic renderings of a product. But while mockups showcase how a product will look, prototypes are interactive and functional.
The purpose of a prototype is to generate feedback about a product’s functionality, whereas mockups are used to generate conceptual feedback.
Types of mockups
Although they vary across industries, common types of mockups include:
Physical mockups
Physical mockups are low-risk tools for exploring final designs and aligning teams before the prototype phase. They can also help stakeholders imagine products in their intended contexts.
For example, a shoe designer might create a 3D rendering to visualize sneakers on their own and when worn. Meanwhile, a furniture designer might use foam core or 3D printing to mock up a chair. Neither designer is worrying about materials, durability, or structural engineering just yet; instead, they’re evaluating form. These mockups help teams decide on aesthetics, ergonomics, and spatial fit before investing in functional prototypes.
App and website mockups
App and website mockups serve as visual references for user interfaces so designers can preview general layout, branding, and visual hierarchy before handoff to the development team. They help designers understand the user experience and how design elements will appear across devices.
For instance, if you want to bring a web app idea to life, you’ll likely create a non-functional version first. This website mockup will help you test visual elements like button sizing, image placements, and readability across screen sizes beforeanything gets built.
Fergal Glynn, chief marketing officer of Mindgard, recalls a web app project where the team skipped the mockup stage entirely. “It created a lot of confusion,” he says. “Our developers misunderstood the design intent, which led to mismatched layouts and wasted considerable time fixing them in later stages.”
In contrast, Glynn says, mockups on a subsequent project helped relevant stakeholders quickly align on layout ideas and dramatically improved the team’s productivity.
Branding mockups
Branding mockups are realistic visual previews that showcase brand assets in context (i.e., as they’d appear on websites, packaging, or apparel) before anything goes to production. They prevent costly mistakes and ensure branding is consistent across touchpoints.
Professional calligrapher and brand designer Sherri Petterez-Marriott of Mon Sherri Ink believes a mockup is critical when working with clients. “It allows the client to visualize what the final piece will look like or at least provide a general idea,” she explains. “Requesting a proof signoff eliminates errors, such as misspelled words, a missing name, or an incorrect date.”
Mockup best practices
Whether you're working on a digital interface, physical product, or brand asset, these best practices will help you get the most out of your mockups.
Start with a solid foundation
It’s tempting to dive straight into mockups the second a new idea hits—after all, that’s where the fun begins. But mockups are detailed and time-consuming, so it’s important to start with a solid foundation. You don’t want to land on the perfect font or color palette only to realize your concept doesn’t align with what your team—or your customers—actually need.
Essentially, you must eat your vegetables before you have dessert. Do your research, sketch and get feedback on wireframes, and validate your idea with a proof of concept. Then, make sure everyone’s aligned on structure, scope, and functionality before you create a mockup.
Create reusable components
Don’t design from scratch every time—think templates, not one-offs. Reusable components foster speed, accuracy, and consistency. This approach could mean creating a standardized layout for product labels, a templated CTA button, or a repeatable format for featured highlights.
Mockup templates are consistent with good design. They help you maintain brand consistency—which reinforces recognition—and develop predictable user experiences. When customers see the same button styles, general layouts, or messaging blocks across touchpoints, they know what to expect. That familiarity builds trust.
Test frequently
Don’t wait until you’ve finished your mockup to seek feedback. Share it early and often to catch usability issues, identify blind spots, and uncover solutions.
Showing stakeholders early drafts can make you feel vulnerable, but the discomfort is worth it. Early input helps you stay aligned, avoid surprises, and make strategic design decisions.
Mockups are meant to evolve. Sharing them throughout the process helps you build something that works.
Balance polish with practicality
Perfectionism can stall momentum and lock in ideas prematurely. Early mockups should focus on structure, not style. That means resisting the urge to obsess over spacing, colors, or pixel-perfect placement. If the bones aren’t strong, no amount of polish will save them.
Use real content whenever possible
While mockups shouldn’t be polished too early, that doesn’t mean you should fill them with lorem ipsum or placeholder images. You need marketing or product copy that speaks to the intended finished product.
The content doesn’t have to be final, but it should be realistic. As much as possible, use brand-, industry-, or product-appropriate copy and images to help stakeholders imagine the product in context.
This approach helps relevant stakeholders better understand your designs and envision how your content can support it. You can catch layout issues, messaging misalignment, and flaws in user journeys before they become expensive problems to fix.
Work from smallest to largest format
The artistic side of product mockups is important—and fun—but you should prioritize hierarchy, clarity, and usability. Starting with a mockup’s most constrained form forces these priorities to the forefront.
This advice is especially relevant for website mockups, which must prioritize responsive design. Mobile-first design isn’t optional anymore—by the end of 2024, mobile users accounted for 62.5% of all global traffic, making it essential to design for limited screen space before scaling up to desktop.
The same logic applies beyond digital. In packaging, starting with the smallest unit—think snack packs before family-size bags—helps you zero in on the fundamentals. Once the small format works, scaling the system across sizes and formats is much easier.
Tools for creating mockups
From drag-and-drop templates to advanced design software, there’s a wide range of tools for creating mockups for various needs and skill levels.
Professional design software tools
Creating mockups with professional design tools is the industry standard. These platforms offer complete control over layout, styling, and resolution, making them ideal for high-impact projects and team collaboration.
That said, they do come with a steep learning curve and, more often than not, a significant price tag. But if you’re ready to take the plunge, the flexibility and precision are worth it.
Here are some of the most popular design software tools for creating mockups:
Figma
A go-to for digital product teams, Figma helps you create mockups for apps, websites, and software interfaces. With built-in tools for wireframing, mockups, and prototypes, you can manage your entire design process in one place.
Figma is especially powerful for collaborative workflows. “Tools like Figma have revolutionized the way designers collaborate,” says Glynn. “Now, team members can work together in real time and share feedback without interruptions. These advancements have made the process faster and more collaborative than ever before.”
Adobe Creative Cloud
Since the early days of digital publishing, Adobe has been a cornerstone of the design world. It’s still a go-to for all kinds of designers—animators, web designers, brand specialists, you name it. So it’s no surprise that its full suite of apps, bundled as Adobe Creative Cloud, continues to reign supreme.
Whether you want to design photorealistic mockups in Adobe Photoshop, vector-based packaging layouts in Adobe Illustrator, or 3D product mockups in Adobe Dimension, Adobe has you covered across every stage of the mockup process.
Blender
Skilled but broke? Pros across industries love Blender. It’s a free, open-source tool that delivers hyper-realistic rendering. Whether you need to create complex device mockups or just want control over lighting, material, and form, this tool can handle it.
That said, its power comes with a learning curve. Blender is a highly technical tool, and beginners may find it overwhelming. But for experienced designers who want maximum flexibility at a decent price, it’s a standout choice.
Online tools and templates
You don’t need to be a design expert to create effective mockups. These days, there are plenty of inexpensive and easy-to-use online tools that simplify mockup creation.
Many platforms offer customizable templates with thoughtfully structured containers for design elements like logos, graphics, and copy. Others let you upload your sketches and instantly apply them to product photos, packaging, or digital interfaces, saving hours of manual work.
And if your drawing skills max out at stick figures, generative AI can help you visualize whatever you imagine. “The mockup process has evolved a lot in recent years,” says Glynn. “AI tools, such as Uizard, convert sketches into digital mockups instantly.”
Here are a few standout online tools that offer templates, AI design capabilities, or both:
Uizard
Uizard is an AI-driven design tool built for speed, collaboration, and accessibility. It’s especially helpful for founders, product managers, and non-designers who want to turn ideas into polished UI mockups quickly. With Uizard, you can upload hand-drawn sketches or write simple prompts, and the platform will generate editable wireframes and a high-fidelity mockup in seconds.
What distinguishes Uizard is its ability to reduce friction in early stage design. Instead of getting stuck in blank-canvas mode or relying on professional designers to visualize every iteration, you can quickly test concepts, align other stakeholders, and move forward with confidence.
Placeit
Placeit is a robust online tool for creating apparel, merch, and promotional product mockups. It offers thousands of templates—including tote bags, packaging, signage, hoodie mockup templates, and more—all placed in realistic lifestyle settings. This feature helps brand stakeholders visualize their designs in the world and beyond white backgrounds.
One of Placeit’s standout features is its video mockups, offering a dynamic look at how products move, fold, and drape in real-world scenarios and helping your mockups feel polished and alive.
Placeit is especially popular with ecommerce merchants, print-on-demand sellers, and social media marketers for creating scroll-stopping content without photoshoots.
Procreate Folio
Procreate Folio is a versatile and affordable design app built for iPad that’s well-suited for creating mockups thanks to its layering features, realistic brushes, and 3D-model painting capabilities.
Although Petterez-Marriott uses professional tools like Photoshop or Illustrator for technical projects, she appreciates that Procreate allows her to sketch high-fidelity previews onto photos of real objects, like perfume bottles or fabric, to show exactly how her hand-lettered designs will look in context.
The role of mockups in user testing
Mockups are great for soliciting target users’ perspectives on first impressions, layout, and visual appeal. “Mockups support iteration in a very strategic way,” says Glynn. “Collecting feedback from users helps identify pain points earlier.” That feedback will help refine the product to better meet expectations.
Mockup FAQ
Why do businesses use mockups?
Companies, creatives, and designers use mockups to develop and collaborate on a product’s appearance before committing to production. At this stage, they’re turning a defined concept into something polished enough for feedback, presentation, or handoff to development.
Because mockups are faster and cheaper to create than prototypes, they make it easy to experiment, spot potential issues early, and avoid costly surprises later on. The result is a smoother path from concept to finished product.
What is the difference between a sample and a mockup?
While a mockup is a visual draft of what a product will look like, a sample is a physical version of the actual product—built with real materials and final specifications. It’s a more developed version of a prototype used to test quality, fit, and feasibility before committing to mass production.
Samples are what you send to manufacturers for production approval or to buyers for review. They represent the finished product, making them critical for confirming everything from materials to sizing.
In short, mockups help you finalize design, while samples help you finalize production.
Where do mockups come into the design process?
Mockups come after wireframing (when the product’s structure is mapped out) and before prototyping (when functional elements are introduced for testing and validation).
The mockup stage focuses on finalizing the product’s aesthetic, giving other team members a chance to provide feedback and refine visual elements like color, typography, branding, and other visual details.
What is a mockup example?
A t-shirt mockup is a useful example. It’s a digital rendering that shows how a design will appear once printed on an actual shirt. It gives stakeholders an idea of how it will look in real life and facilitates decision-making about key elements of branding.
Where can I use or post mockups?
You can use mockups in internal meetings, investor presentations, marketing listings, and crowdfunding campaigns. Posting mockups in these places gives you a chance to pitch, present, or promote your product before it exists.
Just make sure it’s clear to your audience that what they’re seeing is a mockup, not the final product. Setting expectations early helps you build trust and momentum.
Why are mockups important?
Mockups are an important tool for gathering feedback before a product is moved to prototyping or production. Professional-looking mockups can align non-designers, stakeholders, and collaborators around a shared visual direction, minimizing confusion and costly late-stage changes.
