A client portal for graphic designers and design agencies: get designs approved without endless revisions

Why do design approvals drag on in endless revisions?

Because feedback is scattered and nothing is written down. A branding or visual identity project rests on taste, so it rests on dialogue. If the dialogue isn’t framed, it loops: “let’s try another color”, “can we revisit the logo?”, three weeks after an approval.

The causes are almost always the same: feedback scattered across emails, messages and calls, no record of what was approved, and steps the client can’t see. They don’t realize they’re approving the direction, not the final detail.

The solution: named design steps, an announced number of rounds, and a written approval at each step.

Branding agency, graphic designer or freelance designer, the mechanics are the same: logo, brand guidelines, business cards, flyers, social media kit. Only the volume changes. XTablo doesn’t create designs: it organizes the client relationship around your files.

What is a good design approval process with clients?

Run one project per engagement, with approval steps that follow your real creative process. Example for a visual identity:

• Brief and audit: brief form, references, competitors, brand goals.
• Moodboard: the proposed visual universe, approved before you draw anything.
• Concepts: two or three directions presented, and the client picks one.
• Development: logo, colors, typefaces, built out on the chosen concept, with an announced number of revision rounds.
• Rollout: print (business cards, flyers, posters, packaging) and digital (social media, presentation, headers, banners). For print, get the print proof approved before it goes to the printer.
• Brand guide and delivery: brand guidelines as a PDF, source files, export formats, font license reminders and the rights transferred.
• Follow-up: support after delivery, tweaks.

What should a design agency client portal include, and what does the client see?

XTablo is the client portal where you turn on only the apps you need and choose, project by project, what your client sees.

• Steps: the client sees where they are in the process (moodboard, concepts, development) and understands what you need from them at each step. See steps.
• Deliverable approval: each concept is uploaded as a file. The client opens it, comments, and approves or requests a revision in one click. See approval.
• Files: folders per step (01 Moodboard, 02 Concepts, 03 Logo, 04 Rollout) so every version is easy to find. See files.
• Forms: creative brief, brand questionnaire, collection of existing logos and images. See forms.
• Discussion: one thread per project, instead of feedback by direct message. See discussion.
• Quotes and invoices: the client approves or signs your quote in their portal, you mark the invoice paid and send reminders by email. See quotes and invoices.
• Tasks and schedule: “Pick a concept” or “Send the vector logo” assigned to the client with a due date, and delivery dates on the calendar. See tasks and the schedule.
• Branded portal: the client receives your concepts in a space with your logo and colors, no account to create, installable as an app on their phone. See the portal.
• Content calendar: for a social media kit, schedule the visuals and have them commented on. XTablo schedules and gets approval, it doesn’t publish. See the calendar.
• Embedded tools: a preview of Figma, Canva or Miro inside the project. See below.

Which tools can a design agency connect to XTablo?

Your creative tools stay yours. XTablo makes them visible to the client, with this exact status:

• Figma: paste the link to a file or prototype, the preview shows in the project and the client sees it without a Figma account. Link only, no sync. Figma.
• Canva: paste a Canva design link to show rollout pieces or posts. Canva.
• Miro: paste a moodboard or workshop board and the client sees the big picture. Miro, Airtable, Typeform.
• Loom, YouTube, Vimeo: present a concept in a two-minute video instead of a meeting. Loom, YouTube, Vimeo.
• Google Drive: for large source files, keep them in Drive if you like and share the link. Google Drive.
• WhatsApp: many clients write there. It’s a beta, from the Agency plan up: you link the conversation to the project by QR code and your team replies from XTablo. Otherwise, replace the group chat with the project discussion. WhatsApp.
• Calendly and Cal.com: add your booking link to the client portal for the brief call or the concept presentation. Calendly and Cal.com.
• Claude and ChatGPT: create a branding project with its steps from your AI assistant. Claude and ChatGPT.

Do you still need Figma, Canva and Adobe with a client portal?

Yes, keep them: XTablo doesn’t replace Figma, Canva, Miro, Adobe or your creative tools. It doesn’t edit mockups and it doesn’t do prototyping. You keep creating where you’re fastest, and you use XTablo to present, collect comments and get approval.

The simple combination: you design in Figma, export the concepts as PDF or PNG, drop them in the step’s folder, and also paste the Figma link into Embedded tools so the client can view it full size. The moodboard lives in Miro, viewed inside the project. Final source files (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) go in the delivery folder, with a PDF or PNG the client can open directly.

How do you handle usage rights and source file delivery?

What the client receives at the end is decided at the start: source files or not, export formats, rights transferred, uses covered. Put it in the quote, not at handoff.

• Quote: include the scope, the number of rounds and the license terms (extent, duration, territory). The client approves or signs it in their portal. Quotes and invoices.
• Limit to know: the signature is a simple one (name, email, fingerprint), not a qualified eIDAS electronic signature. XTablo doesn’t issue invoices and doesn’t take online payments: it tracks. For a custom rights agreement, have a lawyer review it.
• Payment: you mark the invoice paid when the payment arrives. If your license takes effect on payment, you see it in the project.
• Delivery: upload the final package (PDF, exports, source files) at the delivery step. Very large files stay on Drive.

Which resources help you manage design projects better?

• Client portal preview: see what your client’s portal looks like before you open it.
• Client onboarding email: the kickoff message that frames the process and the number of revisions.
• Client status report: to sum up each check-in and the decisions made.
• Project templates: an “Identity design” template with its steps and tasks, reused on every new engagement.
• Blog: compare project management software for agencies.

What does a typical week look like on a branding project?

A clear ritual limits back-and-forth. Example for the concepts phase:

• Monday: you drop the three concepts in the “02 Concepts” folder with a Loom video explaining them. You assign the client “Pick a concept” for Thursday.
• Tuesday to Wednesday: the client reviews and comments on each file. Feedback is attached to the relevant concept.
• Thursday: they approve a concept or request a revision. The decision is in writing.
• Friday: you mark the “Concepts” step as done, open “Development” and send the status report.

Which mistakes should you avoid on a design project?

• Showing too many concepts: three directions at most, or the client can’t decide.
• Not announcing the number of rounds: put it in the brief and in the steps (two revision rounds included).
• Receiving feedback by direct message: feedback that isn’t in the project doesn’t exist.
• Approving a detail before the direction: get the moodboard approved first, then the concept, then the rollout.
• Sending files without context: every drop should say what to look at and what you expect (approve, choose, comment).