Why design approval matters so much
Every change after cutting starts costs material and labour. A misspelt phone number, a blue that is not the one the customer imagined, letters smaller than expected: when this shows up after the job is done, the maker usually pays. To say “you approved this” you need to show which file, at which size, was approved and when.
Getting design approval has two parts: what you show the customer and how you record their answer. If either is missing, the approval is no help when there is a dispute.
What an approval should contain
A nice picture is not enough. The approval sheet or page should show the job exactly as it will be made. A good customer approval form includes:
- The final artwork and, where possible, a mock-up on the facade
- Dimensions: overall width and height, letter height, depth for channel letters
- Colours: codes (RAL, Pantone or vinyl code), with a note that screen colours can differ from print and paint
- Material: acrylic, aluminium, composite, stainless; illuminated or not, and how
- Mounting: directly on the wall, on standoffs, on a backing panel; mounting height
- Quantity, and a list if items go to several branches
- A note asking the customer to check text, phone number, address and web address
- The version or date of the approved file, so it is clear which revision was approved
Proofs and revision rounds
- 1
First proof
Show the draft at real size, ideally on a photo of the facade. Seeing the sign in place settles the size discussion early.
- 2
Collect revisions in one list
Ask for all changes at once and in writing rather than going five rounds on scattered messages. Stating in the quote how many revisions the price includes makes this conversation easier.
- 3
Version every round
Name files v1, v2, v3 or by date. The version that was approved is the one that goes to production, not the “final_final” file on someone's desktop.
- 4
Ask for the final approval explicitly
Ask plainly: “We will produce it exactly like this; do you approve?” A “looks great” or a thumbs-up is not an approval.
Link, chat or phone: which approval holds up?
Whatever the channel, keep the approval with the order. If you got it on the phone, send the customer the approved file in writing right afterwards with a note such as “we are producing this file as you approved on the phone”.
| Channel | Upside | Downside |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | Fast and effortless for the customer | No record; you cannot show later which file was discussed |
| Chat app | Customers are used to it; file and answer in one place | Gets lost in the thread, lives on personal phones, versions get mixed up |
| Written and dated, attachments kept | In long threads it is unclear which attachment was approved; not everyone on the team sees it | |
| Approval link | A clear approve / request changes decision on specific files, saved on the order with its date | The customer has to open the link; it needs a system that creates links |
Handling change requests
- Before approval: prepare a new version and ask for approval again; an old approval does not cover a new file.
- After approval, before production: stop the job, tell the customer in writing how the change affects time and price, and get the new version approved.
- After production has started: agree the cost of parts already cut or painted and the new due date; have any extra charge approved too.
- In every case: tell the team which version is no longer valid so nobody cuts from the old file.
How to keep the approval record
Being able to find an approval months later matters as much as getting it. Complaints about signs often arrive weeks or a year after handover: when a light fails, at a branch opening, or when the customer orders again and says “the colour was different last time”. If the approval sits on an employee's phone, in a former designer's mailbox or in a deleted chat, it is as good as no record.
Keep the approved file, the approval date, the name of the person who approved and the channel it came through with the order, somewhere everyone involved can reach. With a shared folder, name it by order number and keep the approved version in its own subfolder. Giving the person who cuts in the workshop access only to the approved version lowers the risk of producing from an old file.
A record is not a weapon; most of the time it makes the conversation easier. Opening the approved file together is quicker than arguing about who said what, and the same file is ready the next time the job is repeated.
Design approval in SignFlow
In SignFlow the designer picks which of the order's checked files the customer sees and sends an approval link. It goes to the customer email and phone on the order, is valid for seven days and needs no account. The customer sees only those files; approving moves the order to its next stage, and a change request requires a comment that reaches the designer as a notification. While the customer decides, the stage timer and due countdown pause. If the customer approved in person or on the phone, an authorised member approves the design on the order; either way the order's history shows who approved and when.