# Design feedback with comments: reviewing work without email chains

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/comments-and-feedback)

Feedback scattered across email, chat and screenshots is how a headline gets changed twice and a price never gets fixed. Put every note on the design itself, in the place it refers to, and close it when it is done.

## 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.

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](https://gradiently.design/guide/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.

> **Notifications without the noise** Gradiently can email you when someone starts a comment on a design you work on, replies in a thread you're in, mentions you or resolves a comment you started. Each one is a row in Settings › Notifications, and you can ask for a single daily summary instead of an email each time.

## 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.

| Instead of | Write |
| --- | --- |
| "Make it pop." | "The offer is the reason people stop. Can it be the biggest thing on the page?" |
| "I don't like the colour." | "This reads cold for a bakery. Can we try the warmer palette from the brand kit?" |
| "Too busy." | "Three things compete for attention here. The date matters most; the rest could go smaller." |
| "Fix the text." | "The price should be £8, not £9. Same wording otherwise." |
| "Can you try something else?" | "This works for the feed. For the story version, could the headline sit higher?" |

The left column tells the designer you are unhappy. The right column tells them what to do next.

- **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](https://gradiently.design/guide/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.

| Moment | What the designer does | What reviewers do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sent for review | Save a version, then @mention the reviewers in one comment | Open the design and pin every note in one sitting |
| Round of changes | Work through open threads, reply where something is unclear | Answer replies in the thread, not by email |
| Changes done | Resolve each thread and save a version | Check the Resolved tab; reopen anything that isn't right |
| Approved | Save a version labelled as approved, then export | Nothing; the approval is on the record |

Two rounds is a healthy target. If a third starts, the brief probably needs another look, not the design.

A portrait post announcing a summer menu with a small, incorrect price line under the headline

Round one: the price is wrong and the offer gets lost under the headline.

The same portrait post revised so the corrected lunch price is the headline and the menu name sits above it

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](https://gradiently.design/guide/teams-and-workspaces). Agencies running several clients will find the rest of the setup in [Gradiently for agencies](https://gradiently.design/guide/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](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-consistency) explains why that saves more time than any review process.

A square tip card reading One note, one pin, with a smaller line about resolving comments

The single habit that makes design reviews shorter: every point gets its own pinned thread.

## FAQ

### 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.