Workflow Template
Design Approval Workflow
Manages submission, internal review, and approval of creative designs prior to publication. Designers submit designs with a brief reference and version; a reviewer checks against brief and brand guidelines and records approved, changes requested, or rejected. Approved designs are locked and handed off for publication, changes-requested designs return to the designer for revision and resubmission, and rejections close the request with a reason. The designer is notified of the decision at every review cycle.
Design approvals often get lost in email chains, with no clear record of who approved what version or why a design was sent back. This workflow gives designers a structured way to submit work against a brief, lets reviewers check it against brand guidelines, and routes the decision automatically — approved designs get locked and handed off for publication, changes-requested designs return to the designer, and rejections close out with a reason. Reviewers and designers both stay informed at every step without manual follow-up.
Business Outcomes
- Fewer approval cycles lost to unclear feedback or missing version history
- Faster handoff from approval to publication with locked, final assets
- Clear audit trail of who reviewed, decided, and why
- Less time spent chasing status updates via email or chat
- More consistent brand and brief compliance across design submissions
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create Design Requestcreate record
Registers the submitted design as a design request record.
- 2Set Status: Submittedupdate record
Marks the request as submitted upon intake.
- 3Set Status: Under Reviewupdate record
Marks the request as under review before the reviewer task is created.
- 4Review Design Against Brief & Brand Guidelinescreate task
Internal reviewer checks the design against the brief reference and brand guidelines and records a decision.
- 5Persist Review Decisionupdate record
Writes the reviewer's decision and feedback onto the record.
- 6Route on Review Decision
Branches based on whether the design was approved, needs changes, or was rejected.
review_decision: "Approved"→Lock Asset & Set Status: Approvedreview_decision: "Changes Requested"→Notify Designer: Changes Requestedreview_decision: "Rejected"→Close Request: RejectedDefault→End - 7Lock Asset & Set Status: Approvedupdate record
Locks the approved asset and marks the request as approved, ready for publication handoff.
- 8Notify Designer: Approvedsend email
Emails the designer that the design was approved and handed off for publication.
- 9Hand Off for Publicationcreate task
Creates a task for the publication team to publish the locked, approved asset.
- 10Notify Designer: Changes Requestedsend email
Emails the designer with the reviewer's requested changes so they can revise and resubmit.
- 11Set Status: Changes Requestedupdate record
Marks the request as awaiting designer revision.
- 12Restart for Revised Submissionrestart from step
Closes this iteration and restarts from the review task once the designer resubmits a revised version.
- 13Close Request: Rejectedupdate record
Sets the final rejected status on the record with the reviewer's reason.
- 14Notify Designer: Rejectedsend email
Emails the designer that the request was rejected and closed, including the reason.
- 15Set Status: Publishedupdate record
Marks the request as published now that the publication handoff task has been created, finalising the record.
Fields
- Designer Name*
- Designer Email*
- Design File*
- Brief Reference*
- Version*
- Notes for Reviewer
- +3 more fields
Forms
Design Submission
6 fields
Data Views
All Design Requests
design_request_ref, designer_name, brief_reference, version +2 more
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
AWS SES
Similar Categories
FAQs
How do I set up this design approval workflow?
Publish the template in assess.one and it's live right away — no setup project needed. You can then adjust step names, reviewer roles, and notification rules to match how your team already works.
How long does implementation take?
Publishing the template takes minutes. Once it's live, your team can start submitting and reviewing designs immediately — there's no waiting period or rollout phase.
Who needs access to this workflow?
At minimum, designers who submit work and reviewers who approve or reject it. You can add publication or marketing stakeholders as viewers if they need visibility into final approved assets.
Can I customise the review criteria or approval steps?
Yes. You can edit the review step to reflect your own brand guideline checklist, add extra approval stages, or change who is notified at each decision point directly inside assess.one.
What happens when a reviewer requests changes?
The design status moves to Changes Requested, the designer is notified automatically, and the request routes back to them for revision and resubmission. The cycle repeats until the design is approved or rejected.
What happens to a rejected design request?
The request is closed with a recorded reason, and the designer is notified so they understand why. This keeps a clear record for future reference without leaving the request open indefinitely.
Can approved designs be edited after sign-off?
Approved designs are locked as part of the workflow, which helps prevent unapproved changes after sign-off. If revisions are needed later, a new design request can be submitted through the same process.
Does this workflow support version tracking?
Yes. Designers submit each design with a version reference tied to the original brief, so reviewers and stakeholders can see exactly what was reviewed and when.
Can this workflow integrate with our existing notification tools?
Notifications like Slack or email alerts are configured directly inside assess.one, so designers and reviewers get updates in the tools they already use without extra setup work.
Ready to use this workflow?
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