Templates are helpful for a number of reasons.
Firstly they are convenient. With templates you don’t need to worry about structure, you can slot in your information with ease.
Secondly they help you decide your taste. If you have no idea what you like, seeing templates can help you determine what you definitely don’t like.
Thirdly they can be used for mass implementation. By their very nature the purpose of a template is to be used multiple times. You can copy and paste, alter one dimension and you are done.
But that’s enough of the advantages of templates, now for a big flaw.
Namely, in opposition to the third benefit, it hinders original work.
I think if you want to do something new, interesting and original don’t use templates.
Because as soon as the boss/client/approver sees a template they can’t unsee it. They may say such things as:
‘Just repeat what you did with project Beetle but with yellow instead of red for this one’
So, in my opinion, you should use templates if you’re looking to do less work. But if you’re looking to create something for the first time, avoid templates and start from scratch.
Thomas Duggan 