Present directions and run review rounds
Group references into two or three directions the client can choose from, present them as slides, a PDF or WhatsApp images, record their choice, then save each version you show them, pin their comments and turn their reply into a checklist.
Intermediate5 min readUpdated 26 September 2026Studio · Review
On this page
Clients choose better between two or three clear ideas than from one design. The Directions tab turns references into ideas the client can pick from, and the Review tab keeps a record of every version you showed them and everything they said about it. Use both and you always know what was agreed.
The directions board
The Directions tab is an open board. The first time you open it with references in the job, Studio lays your references out along the bottom and makes three empty frames, Direction A, Direction B and Direction C, to sort them into. Anything whose centre sits inside a frame belongs to that direction.
| Toolbar | What it adds or does |
|---|---|
| Direction | A new, empty direction frame to the right of the others |
| Note | A yellow sticky note. Double-click it to edit |
| Swatch | A colour card, from the colour picker |
| Type card… | A sample of a font, in bold |
| Fit everything (the expand icon) | Zooms to show the whole board |
| Present | Shows each direction full screen |
| One landscape page per direction | |
| WhatsApp images | One portrait image per direction, zipped |
- Drag on empty board
- Pan
- Ctrl + scroll
- Zoom (Cmd + scroll on a Mac, or pinch on a trackpad)
- Shift-click
- Pick several items
- Delete
- Remove the selected items
Drag a direction by its name to move it with everything inside. Drag the round handle on its corner to resize it. Selected items get a handle too; references keep their shape when resized. On wider screens the references also sit in a tray on the left, ready to drag onto the board.
Shape each direction
Select a direction (click its name, or its letter in the side panel) and fill in the side panel:
- Name, then The idea, in a line, such as "Night heat: warm neon on deep indigo, big condensed type, grain."
- Keywords, separated by commas.
- Palette: read from the board unless you set it. Click a colour to change it, or + to add one. See Collect references and pull palettes from them.
- Type: a headline font and a text font. Unless you choose, the first type card inside the direction is the headline font and the second is the text font. With no type cards, it uses Montserrat for headlines.
Present directions to the client
Each direction becomes a page: the job and "Direction A of 3", the name, the idea, keywords, the palette with hex values, the brief's headline set in the direction's headline font, the font names, your notes (landscape pages only), and a collage of up to six of its references.
- Present shows the pages full screen. Use the arrow keys or Space to move, Escape or a click to close.
- PDF downloads the pages at 1920 × 1080, one per direction, named after the client and job.
- WhatsApp images downloads a zip of 1080 × 1350 JPGs, a shape that fills a phone screen in a chat.
- Open as a board opens the selected direction's page in the Editor as editable layers, if you want to polish it before sending.
Record the client's choice
When the client picks, select that direction and press Client chose this one. It gets a Chosen badge on the board, the job moves to Design, and its palette and type go into the key visual when you start it.
Save a version for review
Save a version every time you show the client something. That gives you a numbered history (v1, v2, v3) to compare and point back to.
- New version from the design renders every format in the key visual design as an image, up to 1800 px on the long side, and saves them as the next version.
- New version from images saves images you choose instead, for work done elsewhere.
Each version has a status you set from the menu at the top: Draft, Sent, Changes asked or Approved. Setting any version to Approved ticks the Review tab. The list on the left shows each version's date, number of images and how many pins and to-dos are still open.
Pin comments and turn a reply into a checklist
In Feedback mode, click the image where the client pointed to drop a numbered pin, and type what they said. Press Done on a pin when it is fixed; it turns green and can be reopened.
- Paste the client's WhatsApp message or email into Client's reply.
- Press Turn into a checklist. Studio splits it into one to-do per line, bullet or sentence, and sets the version to Changes asked (unless it is already Approved).
- Tick each to-do as you make the change.
- Write What changed in the next version, so the client sees it on the review pack.
Compare versions
Compare puts the current version against any earlier one, matching formats by name. Slider stacks them with a divider you drag across; Side by side shows both. You need at least two versions.
Mockups
Mockups puts the current image into a real photo, so the client sees a poster on a wall rather than a flat file. Studio starts on the scene closest in shape to your design.
- Scenes: Poster on a street wall, 48-sheet billboard, Bus shelter lightbox, Shop window poster, Roll-up banner, A4 flyer on a desk, Magazine spread, Business cards, Phone in hand, Laptop, Tote bag and T-shirt.
- Auto, Fill and Fit set placement. Fill crops the design to the surface; Fit shows all of it with the surface around it. Auto fills when the shapes nearly match and fits when they do not.
- Your own photo: shoot a blank wall, frame, screen, sign or sheet. Studio finds the brightest plain surface; drag the corners if it picked the wrong one (or select a corner and nudge it with the arrow keys, Shift for bigger steps). Set Paper or print, Screen or lightbox or Fabric, and tick Keep hands and objects in front when something overlaps the surface.
- Download mockup saves it as a JPG.
The photo's own light, shadows, folds and paper colour are laid over your design, which is why the result looks printed rather than pasted.
Send the round
- Send a review link: a link your client opens in any browser, with no account and nothing to install. They pin comments on the images, reply, and approve or ask for changes; it all appears on this version. See Review and delivery links.
- Review pack PDF: a cover with the client, job, version, date and what changed, then one page per format with its pins numbered and the comments listed beside it.
- WhatsApp images: each image at 1080 px wide with a footer band naming the client, job, format, version, date and "for review". One image downloads on its own; several come as a zip.