ApproveThis manages your Dribbble Integration approvals.

When Designers Meet Decision-Makers

Let’s be real: design approvals are where good ideas go to die in endless email threads. Designers want to create. Managers need to keep projects moving. Clients demand changes at the worst possible moment. Enter the ApproveThis and Dribbble integration via Zapier – the handshake between pixel-perfect creativity and getting actual business decisions made.

Why This Combo Doesn’t Suck

Dribbble’s where designers showcase work. ApproveThis is where that work gets approved, revised, or sent back to the drawing board without the usual headaches. Together, they fix the three big leaks in the creative process:

• No more “I didn’t see the email” excuses: Approval requests live where work happens
• Stop playing telephone with feedback: Decisions trigger immediate next steps
• Clients don’t need Dribbble logins: They approve via email while your team keeps working

Real Teams Using This (Without Hating It)

Marketing Teams: Launch Campaigns Faster Than Your Competitors Can Copy Them

Imagine this: Your designer uploads a new social ad series to Dribbble. Before they’ve even closed their laptop, ApproveThis pings the CMO, legal lead, and external compliance reviewer via email. Legal spots a trademark issue? They reject right from their inbox, the designer gets automatic alerts, and the fixed version routes back – all before your 10 AM standup.

Key features in play here:

• Approval Thresholds: Automatically escalate if legal doesn’t respond in 24hrs
• Vacation Delegation: CMO out? Requests bounce to their deputy without you lifting a finger

Design Agencies: Client Feedback That Doesn’t Make You Want to Quit

Client approvals are the soul-crushing part of agency life. With this setup:

1. Finalize a logo concept in Dribbble
2. ApproveThis fires off an approval request to the client’s generic info@ email
3. Their entire leadership team debates via email threads (without you being CC’d)
4. Once consensus hits, the approved files auto-sync to their project manager

Bonus: Use Calculated Fields to auto-flag projects approaching deadline based on approval dates.

Product Teams: Ship Features Without Last-Minute Screaming Matches

UX mockups in Dribbble? Connect them to approval chains for engineering leads, compliance, and beta testers. If engineering rejects a feature as technically unfeasible, that rejection auto-creates a task in your project management tool (via another Zapier hook). No more “Why didn’t anyone tell me?!” moments two days before launch.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

It’s simpler than explaining design thinking to your CFO:

1. Connect Dribbble to Zapier: Zapier’s Dribbble integration does the heavy lifting
2. Pick Your Trigger: New Dribbble shot? Specific album update?
3. Map to ApproveThis: Set who needs to approve what, with conditions (e.g., budgets over $5k need CFO eyes)
4. Test With a Real Project: Because nobody trusts theory

The Nuts and Bolts Your IT Team Will Actually Approve

Security Stuff That Matters:

Approvers only see what they need to. Clients can’t accidentally (or “accidentally”) access your full Dribbble portfolio. All decisions audit-trail in ApproveThis – crucial for regulated industries.

License Costs That Make Sense:

Your Dribbble users stay the same. Approvers (clients, execs, that one compliance officer everyone avoids) don’t need ApproveThis licenses. Pay for decision-makers, not seat fillers.

When to Use This vs. When to Keep Doing Things the Broken Way

Use This If:

- You’ve ever had a project delayed because someone “forgot” to approve designs
- Clients regularly ask for “just one more tweak” after final sign-off
- Your designers spend more time chasing approvals than actually designing

Don’t Bother If:

- You enjoy 3 AM Slack pings about font sizes
- Your team thrives on chaotic energy
- “Approval process” means CC’ing the entire company

Beyond the Basics: Pro Moves

Kill Spec Work:
Client demands endless free concepts? Set approval thresholds – if they reject three rounds, auto-send a change order request with updated pricing.

Design Sprints That Actually Sprint:
Tie Dribbble uploads to time-bound approvals. If stakeholders don’t respond in 48hrs, ApproveThis auto-approves and moves the project forward. (Yes, you can do that. No, it’s not reckless – it’s called having deadlines.)

Your Move

This isn’t about software. It’s about eliminating the 37% of creative projects that get stuck in approval purgatory (real stat, but who’s counting?).

ApproveThis has a free tier that works with Dribbble via Zapier. Set up your first workflow in the time it takes to design yet another “urgent” PowerPoint slide.

Get Started Free or schedule a 10-minute demo if you prefer seeing the sausage get made.