TUTORIAL

PACKAGING accessories: MINIMALIST edition
GETTING STARTED
When you download templates from the Design Aglow website you should save them
in an easy-to-find location somewhere on your hard drive.
First thing’s first – you must unzip the folder before using any of the templates.
This is very important as Photoshop will not be able to work with the files in zipped
format. Use your favorite extraction program for this, such as WinZip (www.winzip.
com) or StuffIt (www.stuffit.com).
After you have successfully unzipped your folder you should strongly consider
backing up everything just in case you ever accidentally over-write one of the original
templates. This is always a good idea as re-downloading these huge files can be quite
a bummer. Use a blank DVD or portable thumb drive to save a copy, and put it in a
safe place.

WHAT’S IN YOUR DOWNLOAD FOLDER
• PHOTOSHOP FILES - This folder contains the PSD files you will be using in
Photoshop.
• JPEG PREVIEWS - This folder contains a small preview of each template for easy
reference.
• read_me_pretty_please_template_copyright.pdf – This text file contains a quick
word on copyright.
• TUTORIAL.pdf – This file is the tutorial you’re reading now.
FONTS
The text in the templates is fully editable. If you would like to edit it or add text to
the template using the same font, we used Raleway. The fonts we use in our designs
are usually freeware or shareware fonts available for free on the internet. We cannot
include the fonts in your download because they are protected under copyright.
However you can download them directly from their creators. We find that if you
type in the name of the font into your favorite search engine you will come up with
several download sources.
SOFTWARE YOU WILL NEED
These templates are designed for Adobe Photoshop CS or newer. This is not to say
that they don’t work with previous versions – they very well may. The files are unflattened,
fully editable Photoshop PSDs that offer literally limitless opportunity for
customization and creativity.
In order to take full advantage of these templates, you should be relatively proficient
in Photoshop. Not an expert, mind you. But you should have a general knowledge
of layers, shapes, text and image manipulation such as using the transform tool, layer
masks, etc.
If you are less familiar with Photoshop, don’t fear. We will try to be as thorough as
possible with the tutorial – and hey, you might just learn something new!

INSERTING YOUR IMAGES
It’s very easy to place your images into the templates using the following steps:
1
2
3
4
5
Locate the layer of the position you would like to populate in your layers
palette, called “IMAGE LAYER 1”, “IMAGE LAYER 2”, etc.
Click once on the layer to highlight it.
Open the image you would like to insert into this position and drag it onto the
template by using the “Move Tool” ( Keyboard shortcut “V”).
Now, to get your image to fit within the square, we need to apply a “clipping
mask”. To do this, go to LAYER -> CREATE CLIPPING MASK in our top menu in
Photoshop. The image will now take on the shape of the opening.
The image will probably not fit correctly within the frame at first, so at this
time you can resize the image by using the “Free Transform Tool” (Keyboard
Shortcut Control+T, or Apple T on a Mac). Resize the image by dragging in the
corners of the transform frame and don’t forget to hold down the Shift Key to
maintain perspective. When you are happy with the size and position of your
image, simply press “Enter” to apply the transformation. Repeat this step for
subsequent images.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR TEXT
As we said before, your templates can be customized in any way imaginable. You can
change nearly everything about them including the fonts, colors, image placement,
borders, and so on. Here’s a little info on how to customize text:
To change the wording on your templates do the following:
1
2
3
4
Select the Text Tool from your tools palette (keyboard shortcut “T”)
Click on the line of text that you would like to change.
Highlight the text by dragging the tool across it.
Type to your heart’s content.

CUSTOMIZING THE COLORS
Changing the colors of your templates could not be easier. Here are a few tips on
how to change the text and graphic elements:
TEXT – Perform the same steps as if you were to change the verbiage – text tool,
click and highlight.
1
2
3
Double click on the top color box in your tools menu.
Choose the color for your text.
Click “OK”
GRAPHICS – You will see that all of the graphics are in the form of shapes. This
makes it very easy to change the color on the fly. Here’s how:
1
2
3
4
Choose the color block that you would like to change in the Layers palette. If
you cannot see the layers palette, click the “Window” dropdown menu at the
top of your screen and choose “Layers”.
Now, double-click the small box of color next to the name of the layer.
Choose the new color when the dialog box appears.
Click “OK”
PRINTING YOUR TEMPLATES
We have designed these templates to be used with ProDPI’s (www.prodpi.com)
products. If you currently use ProDPI the templates are 100% ready to go.
Don’t worry, however, if you use another lab as the templates can be printed
easily with your favorite printer. Remember that each lab is different, so be
absolutely sure that you contact them for their specs and color profiles prior
to submitting your files. When you have your lab’s sizing and submission
guidelines, you will need to transfer the designs to their templates before
printing them.

PRINTING YOUR TEMPLATES (CONTINUED)
These templates are fully customizable and can be printed in a many different
ways. Take a look at the following examples and be inspired!
jumbo bookmarks
gift tags
4x6 stickers
circle sticker
square sticker
If you have any questions that we did not cover in this tutorial, please get in
touch with us through our website.
All the best,
Design Aglow