Stock Layouts' customizable design templates
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Fully customizable designs

StockLayouts' templates function as if you created them from scratch — everything is editable. While royalty-free photos (see figure 3), original artwork including vector graphics from Illustrator, accurate CMYK color builds — and even suggested advertising copy and messaging — are provided, you can customize or radically change any aspect of the design. You can easily change system fonts to your preferred typefaces, for example. (In fact, a PDF is included with each template, and if you choose file > document properties > fonts (pane), you'll see the recommend fonts for the project.)

Figure 3 StockLayouts' templates come with stock photos from Getty Images and other high-resolution illustration files.

StockLayouts creates templates for both Mac® OS and Windows®, with all templates incorporating platform-specific system fonts. All StockLayouts' templates are forward-compatible. Having the same look available in Microsoft® Word as Adobe® products and QuarkXPress means that you can establish an identity for clients and then have them move forward with it using software they are much more likely to have. For example, you might produce all the print pieces for a restaurant in QuarkXPress, but then give the chef a Microsoft Word menu template to update daily.

Cost-effective 24/7 access

Creative inspiration in the form of StockLayouts' templates is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Simply visit the StockLayouts' web site and click advanced search. Specify the product (type of document), industry, page size, fold type, and/or keyword for which you are looking (see figure 4).

Figure 4 A quick search for business cards in the pets and animals industry with the keyword "vet" yielded two business card, letterhead, and envelope template sets — both $39 for all three pieces. You'll also find templates for brochures, fliers, ads, and postcards for a vet clinic.

You'll pay from $29 to $99 for each template or template set (business cards, letterhead, and envelopes often come together for one price). With graphic design charges hovering around $75 per hour depending on your market — not to mention the inclusion of stock photos — you'll make the money back in document set-up time alone.

StockLayouts' discounts templates sold in sets by 30% and sells prepaid template pack subscriptions for $249 for 10, $349 for 25, and $499 for 50. In addition, you can buy design collections ($399 to $499) and The Design Kit ($1,599) that bring the cost-per-template down to around $4 per template. The design kit even includes a printed display catalog for easy browsing or sharing with clients.

"For about the cost of three photo CDs, that are around $499 for 100 images, we're offering hundreds of layouts and thousands of images," says Cooper.

Design boxes

If you're dealing with those infamous know-it-when-they-see-it clients, StockLayouts has a solution for you. StockLayouts' Design Box Cards showcase 50 different letterhead or brochure samples. Rather than creating various concepts for clients to reject, "Let the customer review the cards to figure out what they like," says Cooper. "You can extract a lot of information with these. Find out what their design style is — likes and dislikes, colors, fonts, layout. The better you are at understanding what the client needs and wants up front, the more successful you will be."

Presented in a slide-out box, the heavy-duty cards enhance communication with clients and design inspiration. Shown in figure 5, the Design Box is available for letterhead, envelope, and business card combos or for brochures. At $24.95, the box costs far less than going back and forth on designs while trying to read a client's mind.

Figure 5 The Design Box, $24.95, includes 50 cards showcasing letterhead or brochure designs.

Fresh looks for the future

Hundreds of users visit StockLayouts' site each day and 10,000 to 12,000 visitors register with the site each month. By tracking every keyword the visitors enter, StockLayouts is able to track what customers are looking for, identify trends, and expand offerings based on needs.

In addition to adding industries and themes, "As we create new designs and grow the template library, we stay current with trends and color palettes, so all new designs are current and fresh," says Cooper.

Ready to give it a try? Click free samples at the top of the StockLayouts home page and take a look at these expert template yourself.

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