How to Avoid Rejection in PSD files: Quality Standards
For those Freepik contributors working with PSD files, here are some tips to avoid rejection due to Quality standards.
Creating PSD files requires technique, versatility, and professionalism. But, at the same time, they allow you to create original and unique compositions in high demand among users. That’s why offering them quality content is essential.
PSD files combine design and photography to provide users with an original and customizable resource. This means that many vectors and photos requirements also apply to PSD. That’s why we suggest you have a look at the tips to prevent vectors and photo rejection due to quality standards:
- How to Avoid Rejection in Vectors: Quality Standards
- How to Avoid Rejection in Photos: Quality Standards
Quality standards in PSD
We talk about this reason to refer to aesthetic and technical issues in the design that make the resource lose quality and usability.
Some PSD files share features with vectors in terms of composition and elements arrangement, however, they have a unique characteristic: they combine vector elements and photos. This means that all elements must be properly composed individually and make sense together.
Below we break down some of the most common mistakes in PSD files when it comes to quality standards.
Composition issues
The way you compose your design determines the aesthetic quality of the resource. Thus, designs presenting composition issues will be rejected. Make sure to properly arrange the elements, organize them coherently, and use adequate proportions.
Here are some aspects of the composition:
- Composition must be appealing and clean
All elements must work together to create a compelling resource. A user that visits your content online will spend only a few seconds deciding if they will download your resource or not.
- Composition in templates
Each element within a template must be easy to identify. Use different text sizes, arrange elements clearly, and avoid placing elements randomly. Your resource should tell a story, whatever it is. So, try to avoid complex structures.
- Photo and design elements
First things first. Here are some things you need to bear in mind regarding photos:
- The photos have a mere aesthetic purpose and serve as a guide to the user, but they can’t be included in the resource (PSD file).
- Photos can only be used in the preview file (JPEG).
- In case you include a photo in the preview to make your file more appealing, make sure it’s of your own or free for commercial use.
(Remember: these three points are essential to avoid rejection. In case you have doubts, you can always ask our team )
Photos and design should work as a whole and make sense together. Both elements should have the same weight within the composition, so avoid using too much text or a too big photo. Apart from it, the photo and the design should be related to the topic of your resource.
Let’s say you’re creating a template for a business website and use a preview a photo of children playing in the playground. Unless the website sells school supplies, it wouldn’t make sense, right?
Old-fashioned
Trends matter. Using an old-fashioned aesthetic can indicate that the design was created a long time ago, or that you’re not into new trends. In both cases, the user will automatically lose any interest in your resource and move to the next one.
How can you avoid that? Do some research and stay up-to-date on popular design and photo trends. The Internet is the perfect place to keep you trendy. Have a look at platforms like Pinterest or Instagram, and read trend reports.
You can also have a look at the evolution of design throughout the last decade to identify which is already a thing of the past.
Typography
Fonts must be legible, visually appealing, and aligned to the column’s width and the font’s weight.
The design works as a whole, so the typography must be related to the concept of the resource. If the font doesn’t complement the design, it will lose quality. Try to use a neutral, simple, and clean typeface. Remember that fonts are the main element of a PSD, especially in templates.
Particularly in the case of mockups, texts like “your photo here” should have a subtle font. The goal of this text is to guide the user, not to attract their attention. All fonts must be free for commercial use, so we recommend you include a link to the site where you downloaded it.
Be trendy, but carefully. There is a new trend that consists of working with typography effects. These are useful and easy to use, but they may also affect the quality of the resource. An example of this is a typography effect that uses a photo as fill of the font. Photos must only appear in the preview, so this would be a case of rejection.
We also recommend you include lorem ipsum or, alternatively, don’t insert a lot of text. If your design includes text, it should be in proper English. Remember that we’ll reject your design if it presents misspellings or grammatical errors.
Technical aspects
Technical aspects are related to the way you create your design and how you use the tools and the software to deliver a clean result.
In the case of PSD files, layers organization is a must. So, make sure the layers are organized correctly, and that you name each layer properly in English and without misspellings nor grammatical errors.
In contrast to vector files or photos, PSD files are customizable, so if you don’t clearly indicate the steps to take, users won’t download your content again.
Poor user experience
Your final goal is to make users happy so they come back to your profile and download your content again. That’s why providing them with good user experience is essential.
How can you do that? Offer the user exactly what you promise: the preview file must be as similar as possible to the PSD file they download. The only exception is the photos. In this case, you must include the “image not included” label, so they know it’s not included.
° ° °
We would love to say there’s a magic formula to succeed within the stock world. But there isn’t. The secret is to be constant and upload quality and useful content.
We hope you find these tips useful. If this is your first time here, and you would like to become a Freepik contributor, click on the button below and discover the advantages of submitting content to our platform.
