Use this pool service shirt proof review checklist on one named proof version, not on a screenshot assembled from several revisions. Review authoritative copy and artwork first, then placement, exact product mapping, role and wearer versions, order totals, and approval evidence. A proof is ready only when every unresolved item has an owner rather than an assumption.
Before opening the proof
Collect the evidence that will control the review:
- The exact proof filename, version, and received date
- The approved logo package and color references
- The current design brief and required copy
- The product and variant reference under review
- The current product artwork template or documented artwork areas
- The active role and wearer list
- The proposed order worksheet
- The name of the person authorized to approve
Do not begin by asking whether the shirt “looks good.” Visual preference cannot catch a digit copied incorrectly or a proof mapped to the wrong product.
Check 1: identify the exact version
Place the version in the review notes and confirm that every reviewer sees the same file. A forwarded image can be useful for discussion, but it should not become the approval artifact unless the workflow explicitly makes it one and preserves all required views.
If front, back, sleeve, or alternate-color views arrive in separate files, verify that their version labels agree. Stop if one view belongs to an earlier revision.
Check 2: compare business copy character by character
Read the company name, service descriptor, phone number, website, role labels, wearer names, and any other included wording against the authoritative source. Check capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and number order.
Read contact details backward one character at a time, then have another reviewer read them normally. Do not validate a phone number by recognizing its shape.
Mark optional and excluded copy from the brief. A line can be spelled correctly and still be wrong because it was never approved for the shirt.
Check 3: match the logo to the master asset
Compare icon shape, wordmark, proportions, color variant, descriptor relationship, and background version with the approved logo package. Watch for an old tagline, improvised outline, substituted font, redrawn symbol, or reversed version that was not authorized.
The logo preparation guide explains how to create a traceable asset package. If the proof exposes a source-file problem, return to that package rather than editing the proof by guesswork.
Check 4: confirm product and variant mapping
Write the exact product reference, garment color, variant, and proof version together. Confirm them against the current source supplied for this order. Similar product names or thumbnails are not sufficient evidence.
Check that every shown artwork area is documented for the exact selection. Do not assume that an area available on one garment exists on another. If a live product fact is missing or conflicting, mark the proof blocked pending clarification.
Check 5: review front, back, and optional areas separately
For each view, list the elements shown and compare them with the approved information hierarchy. Confirm which side owns company identity, service context, contact information, or role wording.
Ask for a plain view without a dramatic scene so reviewers can judge relative scale and alignment. A lifestyle mockup can provide context, but it should not hide edges, folds, or contrast relationships.
Use the front-and-back information guide when the underlying content decision is still unresolved. Proof review should verify a decision, not invent one.
Check 6: inspect hierarchy at useful viewing sizes
Review a full view and a smaller ordinary-view preview. Confirm that the company-led element remains identifiable and that secondary wording does not compete with it. Look for lines that appear centered individually but drift as a group, uneven margins, or a role label that resembles the company name.
Do not estimate production dimensions from the screen. Compare only with the current template, documented provider specification, or stated proof measurement.
Check 7: test all colorways and variants shown
Verify each colorway independently. A correct light-background logo does not automatically approve a dark-background version. Confirm that the proof uses an authorized artwork variant and that no unapproved border, shadow, or color substitution has been added.
If only one garment color is being ordered, remove unused colorways from the approval set or label them not approved. Otherwise, a future reviewer may mistake a concept for an authorized option.
Check 8: reconcile role and wearer versions
Make a small matrix with wearer or reserve purpose on one axis and design version on the other. Confirm that owners, route leads, technicians, helpers, estimators, or shared reserves receive only versions allowed by the current role policy.
Check personal names separately. Confirm exact display copy, current eligibility, and whether the order worksheet maps the name to the correct size and product.
Check 9: reconcile the order build
Count proof versions by exact product, variant, garment color, size, and artwork version. Compare those combinations with the crew ordering worksheet.
A visually correct proof can still produce the wrong order if the standard technician version and lead version are combined under one total. Every purchasable combination should trace back to a wearer or approved reserve purpose.
Check 10: write correction requests precisely
Each correction should state proof version, view, element, observed issue, required change, and authoritative source. For example: “Version 4, back view: website differs from the approved copy sheet; replace with the exact line in source row 3.”
Avoid comments such as “fix logo,” “make it pop,” or “use the other blue.” They cannot be verified in the next round.
One person should consolidate comments and remove contradictions before returning them. Preserve the submitted list with the next proof.
Check 11: clear old approvals after material changes
A change to company copy, logo asset, product, garment color, artwork area, role mapping, or wearer name can invalidate an earlier check. Identify which sections must be reviewed again rather than carrying every checkmark forward.
Label superseded proofs clearly and keep them outside the active approval folder. Never rely on filename order alone to show which one is current.
Check 12: record approval as a complete statement
The final record should name the exact proof version, product and variant, approved views, colorways, role/wearer versions, order worksheet version, approver, and timestamp. List any explicitly excluded concept or future option.
Silence, a download, a mockup reaction, or an approval of only the front does not approve the whole package. If a reviewer is waiting on a fact, status remains blocked.
Owners can review current categories in the Custom Pool Service Uniforms collection. Recheck exact products, variants, artwork areas, size information, availability, price, and order terms before purchase; the proof alone does not verify those current facts.