When templates become a Sisyphean task

A graphic designer who creates catalogs or flyers automatically customarily uses templates. A template can define the contents of an entire page (page template) or the contents of a single product display. In both scenarios, templates typically work with placeholders whose contents are dynamically replaced with content, e.g. from a PIM system.

Which templates are used depends on the publication. Particularly in the case of publications that are often created by retailers, the page dimensions are fixed from the beginning, and a variety of page templates are created. However, existing templates are changed or updated and new templates are created over time, resulting in a substantial collection of templates for the organization.

At first glance, the thought of many differently designed templates may sound enticing, as they cover all possible scenarios and aesthetic requirements. But what happens when the basic design is overhauled or the corporate design needs to be adapted? What happens when the same changes need to be made to a large number of existing templates? At this point, creativity gives way to monotony. The graphic designer begins to feel like Sisyphus.

• A growing collection of obsolete and rarely used templates
  Templates are created, changed, saved again. This results in a constantly growing number of obsolete and rarely used templates.

• High costs for adaptations
  In order to design up-to-date publications, templates must be continuously updated and modernized. This is not only incredibly time-consuming but also cost-intensive.

• Inconsistencies in the template collection
  Despite possible filtering and organizational aids in the search for templates in the collection, questions often remain about which templates need to be changed, often resulting in confusion and inconsistencies.

• Lack of overview of current templates
  Despite all the tools, there is still the danger of selecting and using the wrong or outdated template from the overloaded template collection.

Customer projects repeatedly show that individuals involved in the project are often caught between the conflicting priorities of "standardization versus creativity". They want automated and database-supported publishing, but also desire maximum flexibility in design to react quickly to market conditions or implement new plans. With Adaptive Templates, we offer a solution for reconciling both aspects in the best possible way.

The concept of Adaptive Templates is based on a grid-oriented layout, where a page is divided into grid spaces or grids (a grid defines the smallest unit). How the individual elements are displayed on an area is defined by the rules set in the Adaptive Templates. Content does not need to be positioned using fixed placeholders, but can be adapted using rules and algorithms. The sizes and the resulting placements, e.g. where which individual information modules are displayed, are also executed using rules. This also implies that templates and processes will continue to become much more intelligent in the long term.

Adaptive Templates create only a design proposal to meet the requirements of the designer. It is always possible to manually change the design proposal as desired.

The full webinar on Adaptive Templates can be found here:

• ... a large collection of templates?
• ... high costs for template customization?
• ... a high expenditure of time due to a template jungle?
• ... a high design demand?

Are you interested in learning more how Adaptive Templates can work for you and your organization to develop creatively demanding layouts 100% automatically? If so, we look forward to hearing from you!