5 best design feedback tools for highly collaborative teams

Design feedback tools help keep product teams aligned on projects by letting designers review and act on feedback—and keep work moving forward. 

But you need the right tools to actually focus on design. Otherwise, your feedback might get lost in the process. That's why leaders of highly collaborative teams need to stay up to date on the best design feedback tools—so you can boost productivity and teamwork.

In this article, you'll discover the best design feedback tools, including key features, pricing, and who they're best for. You'll also learn how Switchboard is your single source of truth for design work and feedback, so it's easy to move projects along in context. 

Want more effective design feedback? 
Switchboard lets you pull in multiple design files - as well as different media like images and video - side by side to workshop in real time and on your own time. 
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Features to look for in design feedback tools

Design feedback refers to the constructive criticism and insights a team provides during the design process. It's an essential part of design development, making sure the end product is both functional and meets the project's goals. This means you need the right tools to improve your creative approval workflow—not get lost in it. 

Here are some features to look for when choosing design feedback software: 

• File support and management. The ability to support various file types and a method to organize these files efficiently is key, particularly in environments where multiple design formats are used.

• Annotation and commenting. The ability to make specific annotations directly on design elements is crucial. This helps pinpoint exact areas that need changes or improvements, making the feedback more precise and actionable.

• Integration with design and project management tools. Integration with commonly used design software (like Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, or Figma) and project management tools (like Trello, Jira, or Asana) ensures a smoother workflow and helps maintain continuity across different stages of a project.

• Ability to work on your own time. Tools that support both real-time and asynchronous feedback and updates can significantly speed up the design process. That's because it lets team members discuss and make decisions when it best suits them, which can improve productivity. 

• Version control. A good design feedback tool should provide robust version control capabilities, allowing team members to track changes over time, revert to previous versions if necessary, and compare different versions of a design side by side.

• Notification and alerts. Timely notifications about new comments, changes, or updates help keep everyone on the same page. 

5 best design feedback tools for better teamwork and products

It's true: The above features will help you create an efficient design review process. But there's more to consider, including how these tools foster a positive feedback culture, encourage clear and constructive communication, and ensure all stakeholders are engaged and informed throughout the design lifecycle. 

Let's dive into the best design feedback tools out there so you can give better design feedback. 

1. Switchboard

Switchboard is an online collaboration platform that helps product teams streamline review cycles with fewer meetings. It offers interactive rooms where you can visually organize and share design files, and documents on an expansive canvas, making it easier to give and receive feedback directly on design elements. Pull in Figma prototypes and mockups, images, and video files, and view and annotate them side-by-side. 

You can work in the room by yourself or teams can flip on video to meet in the place where designs are displayed and ready to go. In addition to design files, you can use Asana project management boards or Google Docs with stakeholder feedback—all web-based apps work in a room.

With Switchboard, you can create a dedicated room for each design project. Simply drag and drop the tools and resources you’re already using onto the room’s canvas—whether that’s websites, applications, images, videos, PDFs, or sticky notes. This makes it easy to compare different design versions and options and give more meaningful feedback. 

Invite team members to join the room, giving them instant access to all project materials, apps, documents, and the latest comments in context. This shared space not only facilitates continuous collaboration but also helps drive your project forward efficiently, even between meetings.

Key features: 

• Expansive canvas to add browser-based apps, websites, PDFs, and images
• Walkthroughs to make information sharing active, not passive
• Switchboard AI, which can answer questions and generate summaries of room activity
• Multiplayer browsers that support any website or web-based application, so you can work side-by-side on anything—without sharing screens 
• Room recording so people can catch up on meetings or leave video notes for each other 
• Sections to organize content
• Presentation mode, to get people to focus on your view
• Built-in whiteboard and whiteboarding tools including sticky notes, shapes, notepads
• Apps including timer, voting, polls, icebreaker generator, and open questions
• Comment threads on any image, video, or sticky note in a room so you can communicate in context 
• Audio and video conferencing 
• In-room chat
• In-app support
• Rooms for projects, meetings, and more
• Ability to invite members and unlimited meeting guests
• App for macOS and Windows

Pricing: 

• Free: Includes limited features, rooms, and members, as well as up to 40 minutes for video calls (ideal for very small teams or individuals).  
• Pro: $15 member/month for up to 200 rooms and 500 members; plus Switchboard AI and additional storage.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing.

When you sign up for free, you get access to all Pro features during your trial. After that, you can choose to keep your Pro plan or move to the free plan with limited features, rooms, and members. 

Best for: 

Switchboard is ideal for highly collaborative teams that want to collaborate efficiently with fewer meetings. 

2. Figma

‍Figma is a versatile no-code graphics and user interface (UI) design platform. It’s used by creative teams to work together in real time or async on websites, apps, prototypes, social media posts, and more. You can communicate in context with comments and sticky notes, asking questions or sharing what each team member is working on. You can also provide feedback on designs and invite non-account holders to collaborate or co-create async in a 24-hour window.  

Figma's intuitive commenting system lets you pin comments to specific design elements, which clarifies communication and can reduce misunderstandings. Plus, designers can directly implement changes during a review session, making it an interactive experience. 

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop templates 
• File sharing and editing 
• Embedded comment threads and @mentions 
• Reactions with stickers, emojis, and dot vote
• Kanban boards to organize work 
• Sticky notes and audio notes 
• Share links to files 
• Share or embed prototypes 
• 24-hour open jam sessions for async co-creation 
• Version history 
• Reusable asset libraries 
• Interactive prototypes with library of pre-made, embeddable videos  
• Third-party integrations 
• Mobile app  

Pricing: 

• Starter: Free
• Professional: $12/month per user
• Organization: $45/month per user
• Enterprise: $75/month per user

Best for 

• Figma is useful for creative design work, brainstorming, and collecting design feedback in real time or async on digital products.  

3. FigJam

Figma’s digital whiteboard, FigJam, is particularly useful in the early stages of the design process, where brainstorming and ideation play critical roles. FigJam offers a fluid, user-friendly interface where team members can gather to share ideas, sketch out concepts, and provide instant feedback. Plus, the integration with Figma ensures insights gained during FigJam sessions can be transferred to more refined design stages in Figma, maintaining continuity and context. 

You can use sticky notes, drawing tools, and diagrams to express ideas visually, which is essential for giving creative feedback. FigJam supports voice comments and cursor chats, which can encourage more dynamic and engaging feedback sessions. You can also create streamlined flow charts, workflows, and mind maps with markers, shapes, arrows, and connectors—offering multiple ways to give and receive suggestions. 

Key features: 

• Simultaneous editing, drawing, writing 
• Drag and drop elements
• Mind mapping and diagramming 
• Digital whiteboard 
• Integrations with popular tools
• Animated labeled cursors, emoji reactions, shapes, stamps
• Sticky notes, comments
• Cloud-based storage  
• Video, image, file, and Figma design import
• Integrations with Figma design libraries 
• FigJam AI to instantly sort feedback into themes

Pricing: 

• Free version with limited functionality and members
• Professional: $3/month per user
• Organization: $5/month per user

Best for: 

• Designers prioritizing early feedback, where they can brainstorm, sketch, and iterate on ideas before moving into high-fidelity designs in Figma. 

4. Air.inc

Air.inc is a visual asset management tool that makes it easier to manage your creative approval process by keeping everything in one place. With Air, you can find, organize, and comment on files such as images, videos, and design documents.

Team members can leave precise feedback on specific parts of an image or design file, which is essential for productive design critique sessions. Once approved, it's easy to see how the design process fits into your overall workflow. You can track changes over time, compare different versions of a file, and revert to previous versions if necessary. With detailed access controls and permissions settings, managers can also control who can view, comment on, or edit each asset. 

Key features: 

• Video comments 
• Timestamp commenting
• Public commenting
• Mobile and email notifications
• Version stacks for structured revisions
• Flexible annotations
• Integrations with popular tools

Pricing: 

• Free version with limited functionality and members
• Plus: $83.33/month up to 5 members
• Pro: $250/month 
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Best for: 

• Product and design teams looking for a repository for user interface designs and user experience flows—allowing for easy feedback and revisions during the development process.

5. Adobe XD

Adobe XD lets you create interactive prototypes that can simulate the behavior of apps and websites. This is crucial for gathering feedback on user experience and interface design, since stakeholders can interact with the prototype as if it were the final product. Teams can work together in real time within the same design document, making it possible to give and receive feedback instantaneously. 

But if you're working on your own time, Adobe XD generates shareable web links that display design specs, assets, and code snippets. This means developers and other team members can quickly access these details to understand design requirements fully—and give better design review feedback. Plus, it helps make sure the final code aligns with the original design vision—keeping design iterations on track. 

Key features: 

• Integrated commenting and annotation
• Access to Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
• AI for generating content
• Shareable web links for prototypes or design assets
• Version control 

Pricing: 

• Adobe Creative Cloud single app: $37.99/month per user
• Adobe Creative Cloud all apps: $89.99/month per user

Best for: 

• Adobe XD is tailored specifically to meet the design needs of UI/UX designers and teams working on digital products.

Pro tip: Use all the design tools mentioned above in a dedicated Switchboard room for design feedback. With all the apps and files you need in an expansive canvas that saves everything, it's easier to work in context—and give and receive better feedback. 

Bringing everything together: The best design feedback tools

Highly collaborative teams need the right tools, not all the tools, to actually focus on design and not get lost in a bad design approval process. That's why leaders need to stay up to date on the best design feedback tools—so you can boost productivity and teamwork.

For example, tools like Figma, FigJam, Air, and Adobe XD are all great options for product teams that want precise feedback directly on design assets. But they all have their own use case: FigJam is better suited for collecting feedback at early stages of the design process, Figma is great for more advanced design steps, and Adobe XD is built for UX/UI designers. 

No matter what your design feedback needs, Switchboard lets you unify all your favorite tools, apps, and files in a dedicated design room. With everything together in one place, you can give better feedback and make decisions in context—no matter when or where you work. 

Want more effective design feedback? 
Switchboard lets you pull in multiple design files - as well as different media like images and video - side by side to workshop in real time and on your own time. 
Sign up free

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