How to ask a client for design approval by email

Ask the authorized reviewer to approve one identifiable design version for a named next stage. Provide the review link, explain what the decision covers and list any excluded or unresolved items. Request either a clear approval or consolidated changes; do not interpret a vague compliment as approval of the whole project.

Define the object of the approval

“Do you like it?” asks for an opinion. “Please approve homepage v3 for developer handoff” asks for a decision. The second is useful when that is actually the stage and approval process you agreed.

Name the version, the screens or components included and the next step unlocked by the decision. If mobile screens are still pending, do not ask for approval of “the website” while linking only a desktop homepage. Identify pending copy, photography or other open items that the reviewer cannot yet approve.

Keep the decision separate from permission to start additional work, accept a new price or use the project in your portfolio. Those are different requests even if they appear in the same email thread.

Get one usable review response

Check who can make the final decision. An enthusiastic comment from a stakeholder may still require approval from another person. Use the agreed decision owner rather than promoting whichever reviewer replied first.

When several people review, ask the client contact to consolidate their changes. Keep opposing opinions visible until the client resolves them. “Make the button larger” and “make the button smaller” are not instructions you can combine by pretending the reviewers agreed.

Make the review link easy to find and specify how to respond. You can offer a simple choice between approval of the identified version and one consolidated feedback list, while preserving the client’s ability to raise a concrete unresolved issue.

A design approval request

EMAIL TEMPLATE / REPLACE THE FIELDS

Subject: [Project] approval requested for [version]

Hi [contact],

Please review [deliverable/version] at [review link]. This review covers [specific screens or elements] for [next stage].

[Open items or exclusions, if relevant.]

Could you confirm approval of [version] for [next stage], or send one consolidated list of changes? [Actual agreed review date, if there is one.]

[Your name]

If there is no agreed deadline, ask when the review can be completed instead of presenting a newly invented date as an existing obligation.

Example: “looks good” needs a specific confirmation

Alex replies “looks good” to Northline’s desktop and mobile homepage v3. Maya still needs confirmation for developer handoff; the separate pricing page is outside this review. In this fictional example, Maya asks one precise follow-up.

FICTIONAL EXAMPLE / DESIGNER TO CLIENT

Subject: Confirming approval of Northline homepage v3

Hi Alex,

Thanks for reviewing the homepage. Could you confirm approval of homepage v3 for developer handoff? The review covers the agreed desktop and mobile homepage screens at [link].

The separate pricing page is not part of this approval. Once the homepage approval is confirmed, I can prepare its agreed handoff files.

Maya

Use this example only if both desktop and mobile screens were actually available for review. An email cannot expand a reviewer’s earlier comment to a screen they have never seen.

Record the approval before moving on

Save the approved version and the actual response. If changes were requested, keep the version under review marked pending and resolve those changes through the agreed revision process. A later version is not automatically approved because an earlier one was.

Can I change the version after approval?

Record the change and identify whether another review is needed. Do not overwrite the approved reference without making the new state clear to the people using it.

What if two stakeholders disagree?

Ask the decision owner to resolve the specific conflict. The feedback guide shows how to preserve both comments while requesting one direction.