Stampin' Up!
2024-2026
Cutting product-image production time by 95% with Adobe automation.
I built a collection of category-specific InDesign tools that automated repetitive production tasks while accommodating the different layouts and requirements of each product type.
01 — THE PROBLEM
Same production process. Different rules for every product.
Creating product images for Stampin' Up!'s online store involved a lot of repetitive work. Each product needed images placed into an InDesign template, organized into pages, named correctly, and prepared for export.
But not every product followed the same rules. Stamps, dies, bundles, paper, and suites all had different image requirements and layouts. Even though the overall process was similar, each category required its own set of manual steps.
I saw an opportunity to automate the repetitive work without losing the flexibility each product category needed.
03 — FROM INPUT TO OUTPUT
A few inputs replaced hours of repetitive production work.
Each script started with a small set of inputs, like the publication month and source image folder. From there, it identified products, created documents from the appropriate templates, built pages, placed images, and prepared the files for export.
Before building, the tools could show designers what they'd detected and how many pages they planned to create. Once confirmed, the scripts handled the repetitive production work.
The designer stayed in control without having to build every file by hand.
A few inputs kicked off the workflow. The script identified products, confirmed image assignments, and built the InDesign pages automatically.
04 — AUTOMATING WITHOUT GUESSING
When the script wasn't sure, it asked.
Not every product followed predictable naming conventions. Sticker Sheets were especially tricky because their source images sometimes needed to be matched with differently named coordinating paper products.
Instead of making assumptions, I built confirmation steps into the workflow. The script could suggest a match, but the designer made the final call before anything was placed.
Automation should reduce mistakes, not introduce new ones.
When product names didn't match their source folders, the script suggested assignments and asked for confirmation before building the documents.
05 — THE RESULTS
From 31 hours to under two.
Across a test batch of 82 products in nine categories, the automated workflows reduced estimated production time from 31 hours and 14 minutes to just 1 hour and 36 minutes—including exports.
