The short version
- Design feedback works best when each note is pinned to the exact spot or element it is about, rather than described in an email.
- In Gradiently, comments are part of Pro: open Comments in the Studio, choose Add a comment and click the place the note refers to.
- Anyone in the workspace who can see a design, viewers included, can comment and reply, and the thread's author or anyone who can edit the design can resolve it.
- Useful feedback names what should change, why it matters and, where possible, a direction, without redesigning the piece in words.
- Resolving a thread moves it to its own tab, so the open list always shows exactly what is left to do.
On this page
The fastest way to get design feedback that actually gets acted on is to put it on the design: a note pinned to the headline that needs changing, the photo that feels off, the price that is wrong. In Gradiently, comments do exactly that. Open Comments in the Studio, choose Add a comment, click the spot or element the note is about and say what should change. Your team sees the pin on the page and the thread in the list, replies underneath it, and resolves it when the change is made. Comments are part of Pro.
Why email chains are bad at design feedback
An email has to describe a place before it can say anything about it: "the second line on the third slide, under the logo, the bit in grey". By the time three people have replied, there are two versions of the copy in the thread, one screenshot with a red circle and nobody is sure which note still applies. The designer ends up rebuilding the feedback before acting on it.
Feedback in an email chain
- Notes describe a location in words
- Replies split into separate threads
- Screenshots go stale after the next edit
- Nobody knows which points are done
- The final decision lives in someone's inbox
Feedback pinned to the design
- The pin is the location
- Each point keeps its own thread
- Notes stay on the live design
- Resolved threads move out of the way
- The decision sits next to the work it changed
How to comment on a design in Gradiently
- 1
Open Comments
In the Studio, open Comments. The panel lists open threads for the design, with a separate tab for resolved ones and a count of what is still open.
- 2
Pin the note where it applies
Choose Add a comment, then click the spot on the page your note is about, or tap it on a phone. Click an element and the note attaches to that element; click an empty area and it marks that spot. Press Esc to cancel.
- 3
Say what should change
Write the note in the box. Type
@to mention someone in the workspace, so it reaches the right person. Notes on other pages show which page they belong to. - 4
Reply in the thread
Keep the conversation under the pin. Replying to a resolved thread reopens it, so a point that comes back is never lost.
- 5
Resolve when it's done
Choose Resolve once the change is made. The thread moves to the Resolved tab and the open count drops by one.
Who can do what follows the workspace roles. Anyone who can see the design, a viewer included, can comment and reply, which makes a viewer seat a good fit for a client or a manager who reviews but doesn't edit. The person who started a thread, or anyone who can edit the design, can resolve it. You can edit the words of a comment you wrote.
How to give design feedback people can act on
A pin solves the where. The words still have to solve the what. Good feedback has three parts: what you noticed, why it matters to the goal of the piece, and a direction if you have one. It describes the problem and leaves the designer room to solve it.
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- One point per comment. Separate threads can be resolved separately; a note with five points stays open until all five are done.
- Pin it to the element, not the page. A note on the headline needs half the words of a note that has to describe where the headline is.
- Mark facts as facts. A wrong price or date is a correction, not an opinion. Say so, and it can be fixed without debate.
- Say what is working. "Keep this layout" is feedback too, and it stops a good idea being changed by accident.
- Review against the brief. Ask whether the design does its job for its audience, not whether it matches your personal taste.
A design approval workflow that stays short
Most review rounds drag because nobody agrees when a round starts or ends. Comments and version history together give each round a clear edge: save a version when you send the design for review, collect every note as a pinned thread, make the changes, resolve the threads and save again.
What the designer does
What reviewers do
What the designer does
What reviewers do
What the designer does
What reviewers do
What reviewers do
Round one: the price is wrong and the offer gets lost under the headline.
After two pinned comments: the corrected offer leads, the menu name becomes the eyebrow.
Reviewing with clients and people outside the team
For an ongoing client, invite them into the workspace as a viewer: they see every design for their brand and can pin their own notes, without being able to move anything. For someone who only needs to see the finished piece once, Share gives a view-only link instead, covered in teams and workspaces. Agencies running several clients will find the rest of the setup in Gradiently for agencies.
Feedback about colour and fonts often turns out to be feedback about consistency. If the same notes come back on every design ("wrong blue", "not our font"), fix the source: set the brand kit once and every new design starts right. Brand consistency explains why that saves more time than any review process.
The single habit that makes design reviews shorter: every point gets its own pinned thread.
Questions people ask
How do I give good design feedback?
Pin each note to the element it is about, keep to one point per note, say what should change and why it matters to the goal, and suggest a direction rather than redesigning in words.
Can I comment on a design in Gradiently for free?
Writing comments and replies is part of Pro. Reading and resolving comments on a design you can see does not need it.
Can a viewer leave comments on a design?
Yes. Anyone in the workspace who can see the design, a viewer included, can comment and reply, but a viewer can't edit the design itself.
How do I mention someone in a design comment?
Type @ in the comment box and choose a person from your workspace. They are notified by email if they have that notification turned on.
What happens when I resolve a comment?
The thread moves to the Resolved tab, so the open list shows only what is left. Replying to a resolved thread reopens it.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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