Design and creative production: Digital job cards for illustration studios
Digital job cards for illustration studios in the form of an image card per illustration, with brief, sketch approval, colour choice and export requirements kept together with the image.
What a job card for illustration studios should hold.
In an illustration series every image has its own history. The sketch for plate three was approved on the condition that the dog looks left, plate five is waiting on a copy change and plate seven has been coloured, but in an old palette. In illustration studios those agreements are scattered across email threads, comments in a PDF and notes inside the drawing software. Anyone picking up an image, such as a colleague doing the colouring, lacks the context. At delivery it then turns out that approval was never given explicitly, or that an export went to the printer in the wrong colour profile.
Digital job cards for illustration studios
Example- 1
Set up the image card
DoneEvery image in a series gets its own card with the brief line, size, application and the references that belong to it.
- 2
Record sketch approval
In progressWhen the sketch is ready, it is placed on the card and submitted for review.
- 3
Finish rendering and exports
NextDuring rendering the card tracks which colour variant was chosen and which export formats are needed, for example a print version, a web version and a crop for social media.
From preparation to signed-off card.
Set up the image card
Every image in a series gets its own card with the brief line, size, application and the references that belong to it. When starting, the illustrator sees exactly what this one image must show and which text or space needs to be left for it. Nobody has to reread the full brief for a single plate.
Record sketch approval
When the sketch is ready, it is placed on the card and submitted for review. The client or project lead approves or adds a comment against that specific sketch. Only after approval does the image move to rendering. Later questions about composition can be traced back to that moment and that version.
Finish rendering and exports
During rendering the card tracks which colour variant was chosen and which export formats are needed, for example a print version, a web version and a crop for social media. The illustrator ticks off each export. If a format is missing or the colour profile does not match the spec, it shows up before the series is delivered.
No more paper and loose photos.
Illustrators work in their own drawing software and keep files in a shared folder or cloud storage. Feedback arrives by email, as comments in PDFs or through a client's review platform. The image card does not replace the drawing software and does not have to hold the source files. It points to the right folder and version and records the agreements. Illustrators keep ownership of their working files; the studio owns the agreements and approvals. Feedback from email can be pasted onto the card so it does not get stuck in an inbox.
A card per image or per series
A card per series is tidy for small jobs but gets messy once images are at different stages. A card per image takes slightly more setting up but shows exactly where each plate stands. For a series of just a handful of images, a hybrid can work: one series overview with a short status line for each image.
Approval by project lead or by client
Some studios have the project lead review sketches internally before the client sees them. That stops a weak sketch from going out, but adds a step. For smaller jobs, direct client approval is quicker. The card can show per job which route applies and who has the final say.
Feedback as text or as marks on the image
Written feedback is quick to give, but "a bit more space on the left" is open to interpretation. Marks drawn directly on the sketch are more precise but require the client to use a drawing tool. Many studios accept both: a short note and, where needed, a mark on the image, both stored with the right version.
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No customer story from this industry yet. This is how the software works for businesses elsewhere.
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Read the storyWhat goes on the job card.
Every image gets a card with brief, format and references, the sketch approval and the colour choice and export formats through to delivery. We go through two series together: one where everything goes to plan and one where the client wants to rework a composition after approval. An overview of open approvals per job and sharing the cards in the client portal are yours to use once the cards have settled in.
View pricingSupport and updatesGood to know.
Explore pricing and optionsDo our source files need to be stored in this system?
No. Source files stay in your own storage. The image card points to the right folder and version and only holds the sketches and previews needed for approval. Heavy working files stay where they are now, and nobody has to maintain two copies.
What if a client wants changes after approving the sketch?
That becomes a new comment on the card, noted as coming after approval. The studio decides whether it falls within the agreed rounds or counts as extra work. Because the approval was recorded with a date, that call is easy to make and easy to explain.
Can a colleague take over an image halfway through?
Yes. All agreements, sketches and comments sit with the image, so a colleague immediately sees what is going on. The card shows who worked on it before and which choices were already made. The handover does not depend on a long email or a conversation where details slip away.
How do we make sure every export is ready for delivery?
Each image lists the export formats it needs, with colour profile and dimensions. The illustrator ticks them off and can attach the file. Only when every export in a series is ticked does the overview mark the series ready for delivery, so no format gets forgotten.
What often connects to this.
- Quotation software for illustration studiosQuotation software for illustration studios that shows image complexity, number of sketch rounds and usage rights separately, so clients understand what the proposal is made of.
- Scheduling software for illustration studiosScheduling software for illustration studios that shows drawing days, sketch reviews and time spent waiting for feedback together, so a delivery date is only promised when both illustrator and client can make it.
- Customer portal for illustration studiosA customer portal for illustration studios where clients review sketches and colour proposals per image, leave comments and give approval, without versions scattering across email attachments.
Job cards that come back complete.
Start with a short intake. Then we schedule a call to show the software with your services, team and way of working.
WhatsAppinfo@vorlyo.com Digital job cards for illustration studios: an image card per illustration holding the brief, sketch approval, colour choices and export formats.
- Set up the image card
- Record sketch approval
- Finish rendering and exports