Free Graphic Design Workflow Template
A graphic design workflow covers the steps from brief and concepts through print-ready artwork, prepress checks, and final sign-off and delivery.
Share template
Design can look right on a screen, but the real worry shows up later when the job hits paper, signage, or labels and the colour or detail doesn’t hold. This graphic design workflow runs the work as a project board, so the process that protects the final print lives in one place under Space Grotesk headings with Inter body text, marked out in press-ink green with a rose accent.
The columns move from Brief and prep through Prepress and colour, so a client brief turns into vectors, layouts, and then print-ready files with checks attached. Each card names a concrete piece of work like sketching directions, cleaning up logo files, building a basic style guide, creating a print-ready PDF, or preparing colour-match swatches and spot specs, so nothing important gets lost between “looks good” and “ready to reproduce”… and the last column closes out delivery and the invoice.
- Brief and prep Cards cover reviewing the brief and assets, confirming scope and deliverables, and setting the expected rounds.
- Concepts and sketches Cards walk through auditing existing files, producing redraws and vector clean-up, and preparing two direction comps.
- Artwork and layout Cards cover building print-ready pieces like a flyer, poster, window decals, and label artwork to printer spec.
- Client sign-off and handover Cards cover consolidated proofs, final exports in agreed formats, and closing the job once invoicing is sent.
In Plutio, the board becomes a set of tasks you assign to the people doing the work, leaving you to add your own dates since the board keeps order, not a calendar. The project stays readable from the first scope confirmation through final handover, so the next print job doesn’t start from a blank slate.
We went from spending hours on every proposal to creating fully customized ones in under 5 minutes. That's not an exaggeration - we timed it.
What is on this board
6 columns carrying 16 cards. Adding it builds the whole thing as a project in your workspace, with every column and card in place.
| Column | What is in it |
|---|---|
Brief and prep | Starts the job with cards for reviewing the brief and existing assets, then locking scope, deliverables, and rounds before design begins.
|
Concepts and sketches | Covers early exploration with cards for auditing current marks and files, doing logo redraws and vector clean-up, and building two direction comps.
|
Design development | Moves into refinement with cards for final vectors, a brand sheet and basic style guide, plus stationery and business card mockups.
|
Artwork and layout | Holds production design cards for a print-ready flyer PDF, an A1 poster and window decal set, and label artwork built to printer specs.
|
Prepress and colour | Handles the print-critical checks with cards for a print file checklist and proof notes, plus colour-matching swatches and spot specifications.
|
Client sign-off and handover | Finishes the project with cards for sending consolidated proofs, delivering final files in agreed formats, and closing out once invoicing is sent.
|
What happens when you install it
- A project is created with its board, 6 columns and 16 cards already there.
- Nothing carries a due date, because a board holds the order the work runs in rather than a calendar. The dates go on once you know when the job starts.
- Every card opens as a task with its own description, assignee, dates, subtasks and files, and columns are renamed, reordered or deleted like any other.
Who it is for
Studios and freelancers doing brand identity, print & editorial work, packaging design, or presentation design that still has to reproduce cleanly when it’s produced.
Questions about this project template
Can you work from what I’ve already got, or do we have to start again?
The workflow includes an early audit of existing marks and files, plus a brief review of current assets. That lets the project start from what’s usable before any redraws or clean-up happen.
What do you need before you can start, and how many rounds of changes are normal?
The first column covers reviewing the brief, confirming scope, and agreeing deliverables and rounds. The cards make that decision part of the process instead of something that gets guessed halfway through.
What’s the difference between print-ready artwork and prepress?
Artwork and layout is where the pieces get designed and exported as print-ready files to spec. Prepress and colour is where the checklist, proof notes, and colour-matching details get prepared before sign-off.
Can you match colours so the sign, menu, and labels look the same?
The workflow includes preparing a colour-matching swatch and spot specifications. That work sits next to the proof notes, so colour decisions stay tied to approval.
If a printer or signwriter needs a different file, can you supply it?
The handover column includes exporting and delivering final files in agreed formats. The earlier steps also cover getting to final vectors, which supports different output requirements.
How do you keep feedback from getting scattered across multiple proofs?
The workflow ends with sending consolidated proofs for client review before final export. Keeping proofs consolidated gives one place to check what was approved before handover.
Start free today
Your entire business, one login away
No credit card required. No contracts. Just the tools you need to run, grow, and automate your business with Super Work AI.
No credit card required
