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Design & Proof

The Design section is where artwork gets created and approved — from the moment a quote is won through to the customer signing off on a proof.

The Design Board

Click Design in the top nav. Jobs move across three columns:

Column What it means
Design Artwork is being created
Proof Design is done and sent to the customer for approval
Approved Customer has signed off — job is ready to move to production

Drag a card between columns, or open the work order and click the steps along the top to move it.

Each card shows the design version number (e.g. "Ver 2") once files have been uploaded, the due date, and a pulsing dot on a chat icon when there are unread comments on the job — a quick signal that someone has left feedback without you needing to open the work order. Admins also see the total value at the top of each column.

Flagging a Job as Pending

Sometimes artwork is blocked — you're waiting on customer-supplied files, clarification on a detail, or a revision. Use the Pending button in the work order header to flag a job as waiting.

A Pending badge appears on the card so your whole team can see it's on hold. Click it again to clear the flag when you're ready to proceed.

The Pending tab on the Design page lists every job in Design or Proof stage that has been flagged this way — a single place to see everything that's blocked. Click the return arrow on any row to move it back to In Design.

Starting Design on a Won Quote

When a quote is marked Won, the job moves directly to the Design column on the Design board. No extra steps needed — it's already there and ready to go.

Uploading Artwork

Open a work order in the Design stage:

  1. Click Upload Design.
  2. Drag your files in or click to browse.
  3. Wait for the progress bar to finish — don't close the page mid-upload.
  4. You can upload up to 10 files per job (640 MB total).

To remove a file, click the delete icon next to it.

Viewing Artwork

Uploaded files display as thumbnails on the work order page. Click any file to open a full preview — handy for a quick check without downloading.

Moving to Proof

When the artwork is ready for the customer to review:

  1. Open the work order.
  2. Click the Proof step at the top of the work order to move it to the Proof column.
  3. Send the customer their approval link (see below).

Getting Customer Approval

Substrate creates a unique approval page for every job. Your customer can open it on any device — no login needed.

  1. Open the work order.
  2. Click Copy Design Link — the link is copied to your clipboard.
  3. Paste it into an email, text, or wherever you normally send files to customers.

You can share the same link as many times as you need to.

What Your Customer Sees

The page shows:

  • All the uploaded artwork for the job (clickable to view full size)
  • An Approve button on each item
  • A comments section where they can leave feedback or ask for changes
  • Version history if you've uploaded revised artwork — so they can see what changed

Approving Item by Item

Customers approve each piece individually — useful when a job has multiple items and they're happy with some but want changes on others.

As soon as a customer clicks Approve on an item, it's recorded in Substrate.

Handling Revision Requests

If the customer leaves a comment asking for changes:

  1. Their comment appears in the Comments section on the work order (staff side too).
  2. Upload the revised artwork with Upload Design — the previous version is saved automatically.
  3. Send the same link to the customer — it always shows the latest files.

Tip

You never need to generate a new link after uploading revisions. The customer's existing link always loads the most current version.

Approving on Behalf of a Customer

If approval happens over the phone or in person, you can approve items directly from inside Substrate.

  1. Open the work order.
  2. Click Approve on each item.
  3. Once all items are approved, the job moves to the Approved column automatically.

Items can be approved one at a time as confirmations come in — you don't need to do them all at once.

Moving to Production

Once a job reaches the Approved column, click the → Setup button on the card, or use the stage arrow in the work order header to advance it to Production. The job becomes a Work Order and appears on the Production board.