Mockups are an essential tool for web designers and developers to visualize website and app interfaces before building them. High-quality mockups help you refine the user experience, layout, and functionality of a digital product. Professional mockups can be expensive to license. Luckily, there are places online to download free PSD mockups to prototype designs on a budget. This guide will explore where to find free mockups and how to use them effectively in your workflow.
What are PSD mockups?
PSD stands for Photoshop Document. PSDs are layered image files created with Adobe Photoshop. PSD mockups are graphical templates designed in Photoshop to showcase interface and product designs.
Mockups allow you to demonstrate the look, feel, and functionality of a website, app, or other product before engineering development. PSD mockups have several benefits:
- Visualize ideas and layouts
- Refine designs iteratively
- Test user flows
- Collect feedback from stakeholders
- Guide development teams
High-fidelity PSD mockups accurately represent the final product visually. They often contain:
- Branding colors, fonts, and styles
- Clickable buttons and links
- Realistic imagery and illustrations
- Responsive breakpoints
Why use free PSD mockups?
Here are some top reasons to use free PSD mockups:
Save money
Quality mockups from stock sites cost money to license. Subscription plans give you access to thousands of mockup templates, but cost upwards of $99/month. Free PSD mockups let you prototype on a budget.
Support projects
Free mockups are great for personal projects, early stage startups, student work, and non-profit initiatives. Before investing in premium assets, freebies allow you to experiment.
Find niche mockups
Premium mockup libraries have huge collections. But free mockup creators often offer specialized or unique PSDs difficult to find elsewhere.
Customize designs
Free mockups encourage you to customize designs to suit your brand. Premium mockups with branding removed can cost extra.
Practice skills
Customizing free PSD files helps sharpen your Photoshop skills. You can experiment worry-free before tackling client work.
Quickly iterate
Free mockups facilitate iterating quickly. You can grab multiple mockup files to test variations faster.
Where to find free PSD mockups
Many talented designers offer free PSD mockups to the community. Here are some of the top places to download free mockups:
Mockup World
Mockup World has a wide selection of free mockups to download. Browse categories like billboards, brochures, business cards, laptops, mobile devices, packaging, posters, resumes, signs, and more. Files are high-resolution and editable in Photoshop.
Mockup Cloud
Mockup Cloud is updated daily with new free PSD mockups for graphic, print, and web designs. They also share free mockup kits and bundles. Files are well-organized and compatible with Photoshop.
Free Mockup
Free Mockup offers an clean, searchable interface to find mockups. Browse by format like brochures, flyers, business cards, apps, books, banners, billboards, and more. New mockups are added regularly.
Freepik
Freepik has a large free mockup section with varied options. Download mockups for posters, packaging, resumes, clothing, electronics, logos, books, and other products.
Mediamodifier
Mediamodifier provides modern and stylish PSD mockups for free. Files include smart objects, making it easy to swap in your own designs.
Graphic Burger
Graphic Burger shares professionally crafted mockups in many categories. Download mockups for branding, print, UI, logos, apps, packaging, resumes, books, and more. New mockups added weekly.
Placeit
Placeit lets you customize mockup templates right inside your browser. While paid options are available, Placeit offers a handful of free mockups to download and edit offline in PSD format too.
How to customize free PSD mockups
Once you’ve downloaded free mockup files, customizing them to suit your brand is straightforward. Here are some tips for customizing PSD mockups:
Open the file in Photoshop
Launch Adobe Photoshop and open the PSD mockup file. Examine the distinct layers and groups. The key areas for customization will be on their own layers.
Edit the smart object
Most mockups use smart objects to make customization easy. Double click the smart object layer to edit the embedded design file. Replace it with your own artwork.
Swap colors
Use the color swatches panel to pick new colors for the mockup. Change brand colors by editing solid color layers.
Add graphics
Place logos, text, illustrations, or photos by adding new layers. Mask layers as needed for transparent backgrounds.
Tweak backgrounds
Easily change background colors, patterns, textures, or imagery by editing the background layers.
Adjust lighting
Enhance realism with highlights and shadows. Use layer styles to alter blending options, glows, and lighting angles.
Save edits
Save your customized PSD file. The layers will remain intact if you need to make changes later.
Tips for using free PSD mockups
Here are some pro tips for leveraging free mockups successfully:
Review licensing rules
Free mockups often have specific rules for usage. Most prohibit reselling but allow personal and commercial projects. Check each site’s license terms.
Credit the creator
Free mockups request that you give credit to the designer. Include a link to the source page or readme file.
Pick the right file format
Download PSD files for full editing access in Photoshop. JPG/PNG files have locked layers.
Mind the details
Matching a mockup scene’s lighting, textures, and angles makes designs look cohesive.
Sell the big idea
Mockups should focus on selling the overall concept over nitty gritty details.
Focus mockups
Simple mockups that demonstrate a single task help stakeholders understand key user flows.
Try different options
Download multiple free mockups to test different layouts and styles quickly.
Show responsive behavior
Creating mobile, tablet, and desktop mockup versions shows how UIs adapt responsively.
Free mockup examples
Here are examples of effective uses of free PSD mockups:
Website homepage mockup
This homepage mockup allows you to customize the header, page sections, graphics, and footers to demonstrate website design and layout.
Mockup Preview | Customized Version |
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Mobile app interface mockup
This mobile UI mockup can showcase app screens, icons, menus, and branding. Use it to demonstrate interactions and user flows.
Mockup Preview | Customized Version |
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Billboard mockup
Billboard mockups like this are great for showing outdoor advertising and campaign creative in context.
Mockup Preview | Customized Version |
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Pro tips for mockup design
Here are some pro tips to take your mockups from good to great:
Choose quality assets
Use high resolution imagery and icons for a polished look. Create illustrations for a custom feel.
Focus on usability
Communicate how users would interact with buttons, menus, and components.
Showcase visual hierarchy
Use fonts, colors, and whitespace to establish clear visual hierarchy and guide the eye.
Align elements
Align interface elements and apply consistent spacing for clean organization.
Be intentional with type
Pair easy-to-read fonts that complement the design aesthetics.
Use subtle animation
Animate subtle microinteractions like button hovers to bring mockups to life.
Provide context
Show interfaces in real world context, like phones, laptops, or environments.
Add branding
Incorporate logos, colors, and fonts that align with the brand identity.
Create a narrative
Tell a story with a sequence of screens showing how users progress through workflows.
Mockup design tools
Here are some of the top tools for mocking up interfaces and product designs:
Photoshop
Photoshop remains the top choice for pixel-perfect interface mockups with its layers, masking, and image editing capabilities.
Sketch
Sketch is a popular app for mocking up responsive website and mobile designs with its grids, symbols, and prototyping features.
Figma
Figma facilitates collaboration on mockups and prototypes with multi-player editing, components, and design libraries.
Adobe XD
XD makes it easy to design interactive website and app mockups with auto-generate components and prototyping tools.
InVision Studio
InVision Studio focuses on animation-driven prototyping with its timeline, transitions, and interactions features.
Framer
Framer excels at creating realistic, interactive mockups with provisions for scrolling, navigation, and dynamic data.
Marvel
Marvel allows you to stitch screenshots and static mockups together into clickable prototypes and user flow documents.
Turning mockups into prototypes
To bring mockups to life, it helps to link them together into an interactive prototype. This allows you to:
- Demonstrate real world user flows
- Test interactions
- Gather feedback
Here are some ways to create clickable prototypes from PSD mockups:
Photoshop mocks-ups + InVision
Export PSD artboards to InVision to add hotspots and link screens together into a prototype.
Photoshop mockups + Marvel
Upload PSD mockup images to Marvel and connect them using hotspots to simulate a prototype.
Photoshop mockups + Adobe XD
Copy mockup layers into XD, then use auto-animate and transitions to create an interactive prototype.
Photoshop mockups + Framer
Import PSD mockups into Framer to add animations and interactions to prototype realistic interfaces.
Photoshop mockups + Principle
Bring static PSD mockups to life in Principle by adding motion and building interactive flows.
Conclusion
Using free PSD mockups allows designers to prototype digital product designs on a budget. Quality mockups effectively demonstrate ideas, refine workflows, and align stakeholders.
Customizing free mockups helps bring concepts to life. With planning and iteration, free mockups can result in impactful designs. Paired with prototyping tools, they become powerful assets for selling concepts, testing usability, and guiding development.