A client can say a design “looks good” and still leave you without a record of which file they accepted. The reply sits in a thread. The file on your desktop is already one export later.
Client approval is a decision by a named person about one design version: they accept that image, or they send it back with changes. The yes belongs to the file they opened. A later upload does not inherit it.
- One image
- The decision names a version
- A name
- Someone is on the record
- A time
- You can see when they decided
Two outcomes
Keep the outcomes separate. A mixed reply is how “looks good” and “also change the type” end up on the same file.
| Changes still needed | Approved | |
|---|---|---|
| What the client does | Pins notes and submits that round | Approves that exact image |
| What you do next | Revise inside the rounds, or price work that was not included | Treat this version as the accepted one |
| What the record says | Who commented, on which version | Who approved, which version, and when |
| What a new upload means | The next version is there to review | The new file is not approved until someone approves it |
“Approved” here means they accepted the image in front of them. It does not mean the contract is signed, the print is checked, or the invoice is paid.
How to ask
Ask for a decision
Step 1
Send the image, not a pile of files
One PNG, JPEG, or WebP per version. If you are showing options, each option is its own image so the yes cannot land on the wrong one.
Step 2
Say which decision you need
Ask them to comment where something must change, or to approve this version if it can stand. Do not ask for both in one vague “thoughts?”.
Step 3
Separate extra work
A new view or a late idea can be a priced change. They accept or decline that price before you redraw it.
Step 4
Record the answer on that version
The approval stays with the file they saw. If you export again, you ask again.
A logo with one yes
A graphic designer uploads a black wordmark on a cream field as version 3. The client pins one note: the space between the icon and the word is tight. That is a change inside the rounds, so the designer uploads version 4.
The client approves version 4. The record names them, that file, and the time. The next morning the designer exports the same lockup with a clearer edge, as version 5. Version 4 is still the approved one. Version 5 is not approved until the client approves that file too.
Where this fits
Client approval is the decision. Creative approval is the same job when a design image moves through comments and versions. Revision tracking is how you see which file changed after the notes.Collect the notes before you ask for the yes. How to collect useful feedback on images covers the comment itself. What is online proofing? covers the wider review: a link, comments, versions, and a decision.
What should a client approve?
One image version they have opened. Not a folder, not “the latest,” and not a file you export after they reply.
Is “looks good” in email an approval?
It is a reply. It does not name the version, and it often arrives next to a second change. Ask them to approve the image, or to leave notes on it, so the two outcomes stay apart.
What if they approve and then ask for something new?
The approval stays on the version they accepted. The new request is either a revision inside the agreed rounds or a priced change they accept before you redraw.
Do clients need an account?
No. They open a private link, comment or approve, and leave. They do not create an ApproveLoop account.
