ProjectShelf for designers: Figma, Canva, and local design files

Design work spreads out the same way code does. A client job has a Figma file, a folder of source assets, an exported deliverables folder, maybe a Canva version for the social cuts, and a shared drive link somewhere. ProjectShelf treats all of that as one project with several addresses.

Mapping design work onto the fields

Each project has a local path, a repository link, and a hosted link. Read them as three locations rather than three developer concepts.

The repository field is just a labelled link. Putting a Figma URL there means the Open repository action takes you straight to the file, and searching for part of the URL finds the project.

Opening Figma files

Figma has a desktop application that registers a URL scheme, so a link can open the file in the app rather than a browser tab. Add Figma as an application under Settings, then Applications.

The placeholder is {github} because that is the field holding the Figma URL. Placeholders are named after the field they read, not after what you use the field for, so use whichever one you filled in.

Canva and other browser-first tools

Canva, Framer, Penpot, and most browser-first tools have no desktop launcher, which makes them simpler. Put the design URL in the hosted field and open it with the ordinary link action. If you want several links on one project, keep the main one in the hosted field and list the rest in the notes field, which is searchable.

Canva social cuts: https://www.canva.com/design/...
Brand deck: https://www.canva.com/design/...
Stock licences: invoice 4417

Opening the working folder

The local path opens in your file manager, which is usually what you want for a design project: the folder with the source files, the fonts, the client photographs, and the exports. Configure the file manager once under Settings, then Applications.

You can add design applications the same way, so a project opens directly in the tool that owns it.

Launch sets for client days

If you block out a day per client, a launch set per client is the natural unit. Select every project belonging to that client, create a set, and launching it generates the commands to open all of their folders at once. Sets are also useful per phase: everything in review, everything waiting on client feedback.

Using status for a pipeline

The six statuses are generic on purpose. For client work they map onto a pipeline reasonably well: Active for in progress, Paused for waiting on the client, Finished for delivered, Archived for closed out, and Experiment for the concepts you keep meaning to come back to. Filter by status to see only what is actually moving.