Fast Adobe Photoshop Workflow Tutorial

How using Artboards, Smart Objects and the Asset Generator plugin can help you deliver quick turnarounds

How many times have you created a set of graphics just to have the stakeholder reply back with the dreaded, “Can you make the logo bigger?” This can bring a feeling of melancholy to a designer, and as such you have to find ways to meet these inevitable requests without losing your marbles. One of the best things to do in Photoshop is learn about its productivity plugins, and explore what Photoshop can do beyond visual effects. The best Photoshop tutorials for advanced users are the one that help deliver faster results. In this tutorial I’ll continue where I previously left off in my Fast Adobe Illustrator Workflow Tutorial. Photoshop offers many powerful tools to achieve a faster workflow, as you’ll soon see.

If you’re familiar with Smart Objects, you know it’s one of the best features ever in Photoshop. When combined with Illustrator files, these can also be quite powerful, especially because you can create layered Illustrator files, that when flicked on or off, any changes are applied to the Smart Object and across the board, or artboards in this case. Combined with the Image Asset Generator plugin, artboards, folders and layers become indispensable tools in your workflow arsenal. Like most quick solutions applied to a number of assets of varying sizes, there’s always some pixel nudging and adjustments to be made. But the bulk of the work will be done in one pass, and you can save many hours of tedious work.

As a bonus, I’ll also demonstrate how you can showcase your work and apply any last minute requests dynamically, so you can impress your colleagues with amazing speed and hopefully save you a few hours of your life, and keep frown lines and crow’s feet out of your existence.

Use artboards, folders and layers to set a dynamic workflow

Using the Artboard Tool, draw and lay out the sizes you need in a grid. For this example I’m using 300x250, 160x600, 300x600, 728x90 and 970x250 pixels. These sizes are commonly used by the Google Display Network. You can resize them for your own needs.

Artboards organize and act as containers for your work, plus open up other advanced features like generating image assets.

The Measurements artboard is where I stage a collection of squares to measure and apply distances evenly throughout the file. The sizes are up to you, I use 10, 16, 20, 32, 52 px and color code them.

Measurement blocks come in handy for consistent spacing, here I use a 32px block to designate the margins.

Labeling folders and layers helps locating assets as projects grown in complexity.

Arrange and place your elements according to your own design aesthetics. I personally organize everything into labeled folders and name each layer from the start. It makes the contents easy to find and the next designer that handles your file will appreciate it.

I label each artboard in the Layers Panel, and include the dimensions to avoid confusion. You’ll notice that in this case I also add the file extension .png to the label. I will explain the labeling convention in a bit.

How to use Smart Objects with Illustrator files

I’m using a vector illustration for the main product graphic. You can place, drag or copy/paste it into your Photoshop document and choose Smart Object in the Paste Dialogue Box.

Placing a Smart Object from Illustrator is as easy as copy/paste.

Duplicate the Smart Object and resize it as needed for each ad. Now you can double click it, or select Layer > Smart Objects > Edit Contents. The file opens up in Illustrator, where you can edit it.

Keep alternate versions of your Illustrator (or Photoshop) graphics in separate layers for quick activation (turning on/off).

I added an alternate illustration an placed it in its own layer. This will allow me to click each layer on or off, and apply that change to all instances of the Smart Object. You can use the same technique for other graphics like logos, buttons, backgrounds, decorations etc.

When files are dynamically exported, each linked instance is updated automatically.

Generate Image Assets using the Asset Generator plugin

The Asset Generator plugin is Photoshop’s equivalent to Illustrator’s Export for Screens. You can generate JPEG, PNG or GIF images by labeling layers, groups or artboards using its labeling convention. You can even designate the quality of JPG files, PNG bits (8, 24 or 32) and even export to your desired sizes using px, in, cm and mm formats. This tool has saved me countless hours. You can read about it in Photoshop’s Help Pages. To take full advantage of this plugin I suggest you learn all its capabilities, which are many.

Select File > Generate > Image Assets. Photoshop creates an Asset Folder wherever your PSD file is stored with the suffix “assets.” All the exported files are named according to its artboard. This is why it’s a good idea to label your arboards ahead of time. Because I added the extension .png (e.g. 300x250.png) the arboard exports it as a PNG 24 bit, the default.

When you generate image assets, a folder is automatically created with the suffix “assets”.

So, let’s say that you want to change a graphic across all the ads. Simply double-click the Smart Object, hide or show the layers you want, save your file and the changes are applied across all instances in Photoshop. You’ll notice every time you make a change to your file, a new exported graphic is generated and refreshed with the changes in the assets folder. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

When files are updated in Photoshop, the files in the assets folders are also updated automatically.

Dynamic showcase for presentation

To show you how really cool the Generate Assets plugin is, let’s say that you want to present your work to your team — nice and neat, instead of rummaging through a bunch of files flinged into a folder.

• Create a separate document and lay out the exported files. You can drag and drop them into Photoshop from the Finder and again choose the Smart Object paste option from the Paste Dialogue Box.
• This automatically links each Smart Object to the files in the assets folder under that same name.
• Any changes you make to the file is reflected in the Assets Folder and immediately passed down to this new presentation file, all in one swoop. A new “assets” folder is created and your new presentation file is dynamically generated. Updates will continue to refresh as long as Image Assets has the checkmark displayed in the File Menu. Deselect it to prevent further changes while you work.

Always check your work before handoff

Check your files to make sure everything is in order. You can also export files in different sizes at the same time, but for this tutorial, the introduction should offer a glimpse to its usefulness. Refer to Photoshop’s Help Pages for the full rundown on this amazing plugin.

The finished presentation which can be updated in mere seconds.

That’s the process from start to finish. I welcome your feedback and in the next tutorial I’ll expand on this lesson and demonstrate how to add Data Sets and Variables to dynamically change copy and images via spreadsheets. Yes, spreadsheets. Stay tuned!