When you work with larger, more in-depth Photoshop projects, the layers panel can get crowded – organizing is key! It can be stressful continuously burning seconds looking for the layer(s) you want. Those seconds add up to minutes, minutes add up to hours, and in due time they add up to days lost.
Don’t waste your time! These tips will help increase your efficiency and have your Photoshop layers panel well on its way to looking like a world-class designer’s:
Naming
When naming your layers in Photoshop, you want to be short and sweet. Using characters and words describe what you’re designing. Below is a red square at the top of the page, so to find it easily in the layers panel, you would name it “Top [location] Red [Color] Square [Shape/Design Element]”.
This is not a mandatory naming order, it’s whatever is most simple to you, the designer.
Ordering Your Layers
Having your layers properly laid out in a descending [top-to-bottom] order will save you on both time and a headache. My best tip? As soon as you create a new layer, name it, then re-order – it’s as simple as that.
Incorrect
Correct
Creating a New Group
Grouping layers into categories is always a great way to condense the screen space you have in the panel. If you’re working on a larger document (example: graphics for advertising) you can run out of space quick! All you will need to do is click the bottom right folder to create a group, select all of the layers you want to be organized together, drag them into the group folder, and then rename the folder accordingly.
Another benefit of creating groups is the ability it gives you to move multiple layers quickly so you can better align and organize your design.
Example: Instead of having nine individual layers, there are only three groups (with smaller line-height than a normal layer). In this situation, it makes rearranging the red with the green simple, so my design’s colors can now be ordered to read RGB, not GRB:
Sort by Color
This isn’t a necessary tip, but it sure does make organizing layers more fun and eye-appealing. All you have to do is right-click the layer or group folder you want to change the color of and a pop-up menu provides you with a color selection.
Give these layer panel organizing tips a try on your next project and watch as your designing efficiency rises.
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*Bonus Photoshop Tip: Drag guides from your ruler [command + r] to have the best alignment possible. Here’s a link to a tutorial on creating a new guide layout design.
Visit photoshopessentials.com for more Photoshop tutorials!
