Mockup Trends: Top Mockup Design Tips & Templates

Mockups are a great way to give you and your clients an idea of what your work will look like in a real-world or digital context. A mockup is a full rendering of your design as it will appear on various mediums – such as smartphones, stationery, flyers, or signage. They offer a quick and easy way to make your designs look more professional and put together.

Mockups are great for professionalizing your portfolio, to help your client visualize the finished product, or even to sell or promote a product without having to photograph it.

There are hundreds of mockup templates and resources out there to choose from, so how do you decide which one is right for you? As with every area of design, there are always a ton of mockup trends coming and going, so it never hurts to check out what’s trending to get a little inspiration!

Ready to level up your mockups? Here are the top mockup trends to try this year.

Inspired by the iconic Instagram ‘flatlay’, shadow overlay mockups are perfect for presenting a product or design in a tangible, realistic way.

Increasing in popularity due to the rise of Instagram influencers and authentic advertising, this style mimics a more modern, authentic style of product photography, particularly associated with the beauty and lifestyle industries.

“Shadow overlays create a natural, authentic look, and can instantly add depth to flatlay compositions to make them look more realistic,” explains Envato designer Camilla Anderson.

Check out this great collection of shadow overlay mockups including Nude Branding Mockup by Genetic96, as well as more mockups like Art & Branding Scene Generator by h3-design over on Graphic River.

Popularised by the suspended, rotating movement used in tech commercials to show off new physical features, floating objects mockups blend surreal motion with more realistic looking objects.

This style is perfect for telling a story and adding an extra layer of dimension to your design.

“Floating objects give the mockup a sense of movement, as if captured mid-motion, bringing your design to life. This style of mockup can be used to bring out the playful or exciting aspects of the product being shown,” says Camilla.

There’s more where that came from! Here’s a range of floating objects mockups to choose from including Portrait Business Card Mockup by docqueen.

While isometric angles mockups aren’t necessarily new on the scene, this trend isn’t going anywhere fast. The style is used in a recent Pixel 4 outdoor campaign, as well as in the Galaxy Note 10 TVC. It emanates a modern, futuristic feel perfect for displaying tech products and designs.

Camilla reveals, “Isometric mockups are a classic way to add depth to otherwise flat devices or paper products. This can create a more realistic scene and the angles draw the viewer in.”

Find more isometric angles mockups over at Envato Elements, including Phone XR Mockup by visconbiz, as well as mockups like UI/UX App Presentation Mockup – Phone 11 by leon_dsgn over on GraphicRiver.

Playful, whimsical and fun, abstract 3D objects mockups are perfect for telling a story or adding an extra level of excitement or intrigue to your design.

This style is ideal for drawing out shapes, colors or textures used in any design, and there’s no doubt that it will continue to evolve in alignment with technological advancements.

“Using abstract 3D objects in your mockup can be a fun way to highlight the shapes, colors or textures used in the design that you’re showcasing. They can help tell the story of your designs in a playful way,” says Camilla.

Check out this great collection of abstract 3D objects mockups, including Abstract Macbook Pro Mockup vol.01 by TIT0 and Business Card Still Life Mockup by amritpaldesign, which we used as the feature image for this post.

The graphic design trend that keeps repeating itself: the design world has made it repeatedly clear that repetition isn’t going anywhere! Repetition is a popular way to display smaller pieces of design, like business cards or postcards, to give them a stronger visual impact.

It’s a tried and tested technique that is sure to increase the affect of any mockup. 

“Repetition in mockups is a really popular way to display smaller or simpler pieces of design. It allows the design to make a stronger visual impact, especially when coupled with isometric angles or stacking at varying heights,” says Camilla.

Find more great mockups featuring repetition here including Business Cards Mockups Pack by bulbfish and Porcelain Bottle Mockup by RetroBox.

Color blocking backgrounds are a fantastic way not only to emphasise your color palette, but also to highlight the lines and contrasting elements of your design. They offer a creative way of interweaving your design’s color story throughout your mockup.

The most popular way of following this trend is to use one color for the floor and one for the wall, instantly giving your scene more dimension.

“Color blocking your background is a great way to incorporate the colors of your design throughout the rest of the mockup scene. It creates a sharp line between the different colors, which can be angled to highlight the lines within your design,” advises Camilla.

Check out this awesome collection of color blocking mockups, including Branding Mockup Essentials Vol. 3 by Genetic96 and iPhone 11 Pro Mockup – Vol 05 by dhrubok.

Often used in the design of posters, stickers, merch and records, distressed and textured mockups are the anti-luxe, gritty, grungy new kid on the block. Related to other design trends like ‘anti-design’ and ‘breaking the rules’, this trend is authentic with distressed details such as rips, crinkles, folds, wear and tear, plastic shrink wrap. This style is perfect for giving your design a raw and rebellious edge.

“While most other trending mockup styles add a sense of realism to your design, this new style goes even further. Distressed and textured mockups aim to be realistic to the point of exposing and celebrating the flaws of real life. They show off rips, creases, rough edges and gritty textures, and package your designs in plastic wrap, messy tape and lo-fi delivery satchels,” explains Camilla.

Check out this collection featuring more distressed & textured mockups, including Vinyl Record Mockup by bulbfish, as well as mockups like Graffiti Mockups by dearli over on GraphicRiver.

Whether you want to promote an app, a portfolio or piece of UI, it can be difficult to do your designs justice with static mockups alone. Video mockups are 3D scenes that can feature everything – from picture frames to mobile devices to billboards.

Built to highlight every element and feature of your design, this style is perfect for presenting products in a fluid, flexible and eye-catching way.

If you’re looking for an alternative to video editing software, head straight to Placeit! From smart devices to hoodies, flyers to billboards, you’ll find a video mockup perfect for your design.

Ready to roll? Check out this great collection of video mockups including App Promo by millionframes and Mobile App Promo Mockup by MotionMediaGroup.

Head over to Envato Elements for more mockups, or check out more trends features including Instagram Trends, Video Trends and Design Trends!