stackon.co
Design Studio Software · Visual Proofing & Client Portals

Design studio software with built-in visual proofing & client portals.

Eliminate messy email feedback threads across Figma exports, brand decks, and UI mockups. Coordinate-accurate pin annotations, version diff sliders, and milestone stage gates unified in your own 100% white-label client portal.

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No credit card required5 studio seats included for $49/moUnlimited free client reviewers
What is Design Studio Software? Direct Industry Definition

Design studio software is an integrated operations and client management system engineered specifically for graphic design agencies, branding studios, and UI/UX teams. Unlike generic project management software that treats creative assets as plain file attachments, dedicated design studio software provides coordinate-accurate visual pin annotations, multi-page PDF presentation proofing, side-by-side version comparison sliders, and milestone deposit gates that protect studio revenue and eliminate scope creep.

Engineered for Creative Precision

How Stackon Powers High-End Design Studios

Purpose-built tools designed to present your creative work with agency-grade elegance.

Coordinate Pin Annotations

Clients point and click anywhere on PNG, JPG, and WebP mockups to leave exact feedback pins. Stop chasing paragraph emails explaining which icon needs resizing.

Multi-Page PDF Brand Decks

Present complete brand identity guidelines and pitch presentations in a responsive web viewer. Clients page through decks, inspect vector details, and leave comments in place.

Visual Version Diff Slider

Overlay v1 and v2 with an interactive split slider. Clients immediately see their requested revisions without side-by-side file downloads or confusion.

Milestone Deposit Escrow

Stage-gate deliverables so clients must approve proofs or pay milestone invoices before final high-resolution vector assets are unlocked for download.

Design Retainer Ledgers

Automate monthly design subscriptions and retainer contracts with real-time hours burning, rollover allowances, and automated overage notifications.

100% Studio White-Label

Every plan includes custom domain mapping (e.g., portal.yourstudio.com), custom logos, favicons, and accent palettes with zero vendor badges.

The Studio Operating Standard

The 5-Step Design Delivery Cycle

How leading creative studios eliminate revision churn and deliver projects on schedule.

Step 01

Intake Brief

Clients submit structured creative briefs, moodboard assets, and brand guidelines via custom portal forms.

Step 02

Visual Proof

Designers publish mockups directly to the deliverable room. Clients pin coordinate comments on desktop and mobile.

Step 03

Version Diff

Reviewers drag the split slider to verify v2 revisions against v1 pins before approving final designs.

Step 04

Sign-Off Gate

Clients sign off with timestamped approval. Deposit invoice is settled via Stripe before escrow release.

Step 05

Asset Handover

High-resolution SVGs, font files, and source packages unlock automatically in the client's asset vault.

Factual Feature & Cost Breakdown

Stackon vs Dedicated Design Software Stacks

Compare Stackon's unified studio OS against juggling separate proofing, portal, and PM software.

Capability
Stackon Studio
MarkUp.io
ManyRequests
Monday.com
Included Team Seats
5 Seats Included ($49/mo)
Requires $20/user/mo ($100/mo for 5)
1 Seat Included ($59-$99/mo + $20-$30/seat)
$24/user/mo Pro ($120/mo for 5)
Native Visual Pin Proofing
Built-in (Images & Multi-Page PDFs)
Visual proofing only (No portal/billing)
Basic attachments & file links
Basic markup widget (No PDF diffing)
Version Comparison Diff Slider
Native Split-Screen Diff
Side-by-side compare
No version comparison
No version slider
Milestone Deposit Gates
Automated Invoice & Asset Escrow
None (Proofing only)
Manual invoice generation
Requires third-party integrations
White-Label Custom Domain
Included on All Plans ($49/mo)
Locked behind Enterprise
Locked behind $99/mo Pro plan
Enterprise tier only
Annual Cost for 5-Person Studio
$468 / year (Studio Annual)
$1,200 / year (Proofing only)
$2,100 / year (Pro + 4 seats)
$1,440 / year (No client portal)
Frequently Asked Questions

Got Questions About Design Studio Management?

Why do creative design studios switch from generic project management tools to Stackon?
Generic project management tools like Asana, ClickUp, and Trello treat design deliverables as raw file attachments with unstructured comment threads. This forces design studios to juggle third-party tools like MarkUp.io or Frame.io alongside external client portals and invoicing systems. Stackon eliminates tool fragmentation by uniting structured intake briefs, coordinate-level visual proofing, split-screen version diffing, automated retainer ledgers, and branded client portals in one system starting at $49/mo flat for 5 team seats.
How does visual canvas proofing eliminate revision rounds for designers?
Instead of deciphering vague feedback like "make the logo pop" or "move the button up on page 3", clients click directly on any coordinate of a PNG, JPG, or WebP design to pin numbered feedback items. Designers resolve each pin in sequence, preventing overlooked revisions and reducing review cycles by an average of 62%.
Can clients mark up multi-page brand guides and PDF presentations?
Yes. Stackon includes a native multi-page PDF viewer that renders complete brand identity decks, pitch presentations, and typography guidelines without requiring clients to download 100MB files. Reviewers navigate pages, zoom into vector details, and leave coordinate pins across every page.
How does the side-by-side version diff slider prevent scope disputes?
Stackon's visual diff slider overlays version 1 and version 2 of any design asset with an interactive swipe handle. Clients can instantly see exactly what changed between iterations, verifying that their requested adjustments were executed faithfully before requesting new revisions outside original scope.
Does Stackon protect studio revenue with milestone stage gates?
Yes. Studios can enforce milestone gates where final production assets (vector SVG, print-ready PDF, source archives) remain securely locked behind an approval gate or milestone deposit invoice. Once the client approves the final proof and settles the invoice, the portal automatically unlocks high-resolution downloads.
Can studios track recurring monthly design subscriptions or retainers?
Yes. Stackon features a dedicated retainer hours and capacity ledger. Studios offering monthly design subscriptions (e.g., productized design-as-a-service or agency retainers) can set monthly hour allocations, rollover rules, and overage rates. The client portal displays remaining monthly capacity in real time.
Is the client portal completely white-labeled with our own studio domain?
Yes. 100% white-labeling is included on all plans. Studios can map their own custom domain (e.g., portal.studiocreative.com), upload their custom favicon and logo, configure brand accent colors, and eliminate all third-party vendor branding.
Are client reviewers charged as billable user seats?
Never. Stackon includes unlimited client accounts, client portal logins, and guest proofing links on every plan. You only pay for your internal studio team members, keeping software overhead completely predictable.

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