Canvas: Designing a multi-view QA tool to simplify creative review
Overview
Our production teams were using a single-deliverable review view - not ideal for reviewing creative campaigns as a set. To QA multiple assets, they used time-consuming workarounds.
I led the design of Canvas, a multi-view QA tool that improved review speed by 30%, reduced repeat errors, and quickly became the go-to solution for internal and client-facing teams. We shipped the MVP in under 6 weeks.
The problem
The existing QA tool only supported 1-up viewing, which meant campaigns had to be reviewed one deliverable at a time, even though consistency across deliverables was key. This caused repeated brand errors, manual workarounds like screenshots and third-party tools, slower QA and growing frustration for internal teams.
Canvas final MVP
Discovery & prioritisation
Stakeholders had a long wish-list, but our timeline was short.
I worked with the project engineer to evaluate features by technical effort vs. user value, and proposed a tightly scoped MVP. I collaborated closely with:
- QA teams to understand pain points
- Engineers to validate feasibility
- PM to align on priorities and communication
- QA analyst to write acceptance criteria
I also looked at other canvas tools and creative review tools for a light competitor analysis. While there was plenty of cross-over with canvas tools like Figma and Miro, and review tools like Frame.io, there wasn't really anything combining the two for a proper review experience within a canvas.
Some of our considerations were:
- How to handle large-scale projects with 200+ assets
- Page load performance and UI clarity when displaying many assets
- Integration of the existing 1-up and version compare with this new tool
- Defining the naming and product positioning of a brand new tool
Gathering requirements and questions
Key design decisions
Internal feedback from the QA and production teams helped shape our MVP. We determined that the maximum amount for reviewing together was around 12 assets, and global player controls for video would be really useful. Other decisions included:
- No new components: Used existing panel UI to reduce dev lift
- Deliverable order: Matched Canvas layout to left-panel order for intuitive scanning
- Ruler tool: Added after hearing users were installing Chrome extensions to measure assets
- Draggable layout: Let QA teams visually group and compare assets with ease
Hover to highlight asset on canvas
Dragging assets to canvas for overlays or safezones
Outcome
- Shipped MVP in under 6 weeks
- Reduced QA time by 30%
- Replaced manual QA workarounds
- Became a core tool for both internal QA and client-facing production workflows
- Provided foundation for ongoing iteration and refinement
Final Canvas
Reflection
Canvas was a classic “tight scope, high impact” win, but more than that, it showed how aligning early on priorities, bringing stakeholders along with transparency, and designing within constraints can result in something simple, powerful, and widely adopted.
I’m currently working on the next iteration of this feature to incorporate 1-up view, version compare, and adding revisions within the same view.
Feedback from the team
Sam
Junior Producer
NGL this wee nugget kinda blew my mind - we are well and truly killing the game here team. Epic stuff. Move over Photoshop.
Mirr
Team Lead, Traffic
OMG the Canvas is now live!! So excited to use them on actual production projects!
Fenn
VP Creative Operations
Love it!
Mirr
Team Lead, Traffic
Hi @Sheeraz and @Kat, here to inform you guys that we finally got to put the canvas tool to full use with a project that contains a large number of deliverables. It is beyond helpful when its utilized to the full extent, must say!
Mirr
Team Lead, Traffic
OMGGGGG YESSSSSS! We would love it if that’s possible! Each of our team members had different opinions/preference of how it should be grouped. So this would be the perfect solution for it IMO. This might be a game changer!
Tuyet
Head of Traffic & QA
Hi @Kat @Sheeraz I tried this out on the dev environment and must say it’s an amazing tool!!
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