Using Symbols in Sketch to Create Reusable Templates

When I started my internship at a local tech company, one of my very first tasks was learning how to create the content that was published in the app store. The different images of how the app was supposed to be used, and how it might look on a clients phone.

I have to admit, the process at the beginning was more user “unfriendly”. We were using photoshop to try and emulate the different devices. It was a heavy, and time consuming process.

I had to take individual screenshots on each device (for iOS and Android) for each section of the app, for each client. Import each screenshot individually into the document, and make the necessary edits and changes before exporting it and sending it off to the Client Success Department where it would then be uploaded into the app store.

I realized I could utilize the symbols in sketch to create a reusable template to make the process go a lot more smoothly and save a lot of time.

I created some symbols in a page in my sketch document for each device that was to be used in the app store, this was solely for the screenshot itself. So they could all be uploaded in one page and I wasn’t have to jump around to each section to find all the devices.

The symbols page only contained artboards for the screenshots, the other pages included a frame with the device, and a background color that matched the clients branding, along with text at the top.

I was able to change the background color of each artboard with one click which saved me a lot of time. I was also able to use the same stock photo so it would all be consistent and look great inside the app store.

I spent months creating this template. I loved being able to improve the process, after everything was complete, I did a test run. I was able to go cut the time down from 5 hours per client to about 1.5 hours per client. Granted nothing ever runs 100% smoothly every single and there were still bumps in the road, but overall I would say my template was a success. I also wanted to make it easy enough to be able to be passed on to someone else and they could clearly understand the process and be able to take on that role after me.