Arbenting

As a couple of avid tool junkies, we are always on the look out for new and exciting tools to use in our freelancing careers. And since we are a couple of exciting tools, we know that we can easily identify others (according to the popular ’It Takes One to Know One’ mythos, that is). So when we were given the opportunity to use and review ProofHQ, we were a bit excited, to say the least. Now, after a few weeks of using the service, we are itching to tell our other freelance readers about it.

What is Proof HQ?

ProofHQ is a proofing service for both designers and their clients. As the designer, simply upload your proof and choose which clients you would like it sent to, then your job is done until you hear back from the client. And forget the sticky communication barrier that can occur as they try to explain what they liked and what they did not. This can sometimes lead to unnecessary hours spent tweaking the wrong areas of the design if the client was unable to correctly convey what it is they were trying to say. When your clients log in to ProofHQ, they can not only view the proof, but also make notes for you directly on it using a variety of tools to clearly communicate their desires. (this can also act to cut down on the amount of time you have to spend actually speaking to the client, if that is not your favorite part of the job).

ProofHQ allows your clients to easily mark-up, comment, collaborate in discussion threads, refer to old versions and make a decision about each version of a proof, giving them the feel of a more hands on role in the creative process. Best of all, multiple people can review a proof at the same time, and as clients add comments, you get real time updates on your screen.

Ease of Use

Not only is ProofHQ extremely easy to use, but it is also intuitive at virtually any level of experience. This benefits you, but more importantly, your clients. Not that any unfamiliarity with the process at all will act to hinder your use of this tool, as they have a series of in-depth video tutorials to clarify any questions that might arise among you or your clients.

You can see from the screen captures below that the dashboard and proof menu are very straight forward.

Features for your Clients

When your clients view your proof they have a wide variety of options available to them to mark up and comment on your design. They can add their own comments and reply to the comments of other reviewers. Aside from comments they also have the option to add arrows, boxes, highlighting and more.

Once the clients use any of the aforementioned mark-up devices, they then have the option of adding text comments to that mark-up telling you exactly what they want changed. And since you get real-time updates on your screen as your clients comment on your proof, you can have discussions with them about the changes they want. Swapping ideas back and forth, and perhaps even being able to convince them into seeing the value of the original.

Clients may also view different versions of a proof side by side while maintaining the usability of all of their mark-up tools. This enables them to have ready access to say, both the original design and the latest redesign, and they can easily see the changes that were made to decide if it was an improvement.

And clients can make a final decision on each proof with options including:

• Changes Requested
• Approved With Changes
• Approved
• Not Relevant

Integration with Basecamp

We don’t use Basecamp so we can’t give an accurate review of the tie-in aspect of the service. But we felt it warranted a mentioning here since we know a lot of our readers do. For more about this integration, here are some of the features as listed on the ProofHQ site.

• Improve how you get feedback on proofs using Basecamp.
• Link proofs in ProofHQ direct to your Basecamp projects.
• Add Basecamp team members to your ProofHQ proofs with just one click.
• See all comments and replies from ProofHQ inside your Basecamp project.
• See all versions of your proof inside Basecamp.

Cost

Regardless of what level you’re at in your freelancing business, ProofHQ has a package that will work for you. With 8 different plans ranging from the free Personal plan with 5 proofs per month and 50MB of storage, to the Corporate plan with 2000 proofs per month and 50GB of storage, they should have a plan that fits your needs and your budget. Standard and Enterprise plans range from $17/month to $499/month.

What Is Your Solution?

That is our take on time we have spent with ProofHQ. What are some of the ways that you are currently handling and managing your proofs? Do you have any favorite services you want to tell us about? Just hit us up in the comments, as always.

A Final Word

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