What you’ll make
One promo graphic you can reopen and edit, with an export you can share.
Can you change the headline in five minutes?
A promo graphic for a travel icon pack in two sizes
Say you’re launching a pack of 48 travel icons. Make a square promo first, then turn it into a story. Leave the offer as editable text so you can add a launch price later.
Square master
48 travel icons
- Keep the sky-blue fill, the preview sheet, the offer, and the shop mark in separate groups.
- Use editable text for ‘48 travel icons.’ Keep the preview sheet and its crop mask together.
Story artboard
Put the offer above the icons
- Move the offer above the preview sheet. Keep the shop mark clear of the story controls.
- Save the native master, travel-icons-square.png, and travel-icons-story.png.
Before you start
- Find the approved headline, offer, logo, colors, fonts, and product photo or screenshot. Open the vector editor you’ll save the editable file in, such as Linearity Curve.
- Pick two places to share the graphic. Write down the dimensions and where each one might cover or crop the edges. Start with the size that needs the most room for text or artwork.
Pick the change you might make later
Bring the headline, logo, and product artwork into the vector editor you’ll use. Write down one likely edit, like adding a price, and pick one size to build first.
Put each piece on its own layer
Open a new artboard at that size. Keep the background, artwork, editable text, and logo separate. Give the layers names you can find when you reopen the file.
Save an editable master and an export
Save the native file, then export the graphic in the format you need. The native file is the one you’ll reopen to change the offer.
I build a square graphic for 48 travel icons with a separate preview sheet and wordmark.
I can open the Offer copy layer and add a price without moving the preview or changing the logo.
Prove you can change it yourself
Duplicate the master, make your likely edit, and reopen the copy. If the text came in as shapes, replace it with live text in the master before you export again.
- Change the headline in a duplicate of the master.
- Reopen it and check the artwork, logo, and font.
- Open the export and check the words and crop.
Optional: Make a second size from your master
Duplicate the editable file and recompose it for a different placement. Keep the offer and logo the same, then export both sizes and check the edges at actual size.
Plan a graphic I can edit next week
Start with the real copy, artwork, and placement sizes to get a layer plan for your editor.
I’m making a graphic for [product or campaign]. Here are the approved headline, offer, action, logo, colors, fonts, and artwork: [inputs]. It needs to fit [placement one and placement two, with dimensions and safe areas]. Next week I might need to change [realistic edit]. If a size or asset is missing, list what I should confirm and sketch only the parts that don’t depend on it. Give me a layer plan from back to front with group name, editable text or object type, source file or swatch, and expected edit. Include the exact words and font weight on each text layer. Keep the image and its mask together and the logo on its own layer. Show how the headline, artwork, and logo should reflow in the second size. End with two edits I can make in a duplicate to check that the file is actually editable.
Check whether I can make the next edit
After you have both exports, share them with your layer list and edit test to find what still needs adjusting.
Here’s my layer plan, editor layer list, screenshots from changing one line of copy and one fill, and both delivery exports: [files]. Compare them with [expected sizes, safe areas, and exact copy]. Point out where text, color, artwork, or crop might be tied together in a way that blocks an ordinary edit. Check where the words wrap and where the logo sits in each export. Return each issue with the layer or artboard, what you can see, and one correction I can make in the editor. If you only have flattened images, tell me what to click or reopen in the native file to verify the layers, fonts, and links myself.
Optional worksheet: Editable brand graphics worksheet
Fill this in as you go. Keep this page open while you work. Reloading it clears your answers.
Troubleshooting
Why did my SVG import turn the headline into shapes?
Check whether the text became shapes during export or import. Put the editable text back in the native file with the right font. If someone needs the version with outlines, save that as a separate delivery file.
The new crop cuts through the artwork. What should I move first?
Put the headline and logo inside the safe area first. Then move the image inside its mask until the part you want is visible. Try moving a little accent shape if you need more room for the words.