A Spaces setup for designers
Keep the design tool alone on one Space, references on a second, a clean review Space for presenting, and chat on a fourth. Spacepal's Designer template sets up those four Spaces with names, icons and colours, and opens Figma on the Design Space. Per-Space wallpaper and "hide other apps" make the review Space safe to share on a call.
The Designer template
Apply it from Settings, Profiles, Templates, or with open "spacepal://template/Designer". It fills your first four desktops in order:
| Desktop | Name | Opens when empty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Design | Figma (if installed) |
| 2 | References | Nothing |
| 3 | Review | Nothing |
| 4 | Chat | Nothing |
Figma opens the first time you enter Design after login, and only while that Space has no windows. Each Space gets its own icon and colour, which you see in the menu bar, in the overview and over Mission Control's labels. Change any of it in Settings, Spaces.
Make each Space do its job
Design
- Add your other design apps under "Apps that belong here" so their new windows always open on Design.
- If Figma runs full screen, that becomes its own Space named after the app, and Spacepal remembers any name you give it the next time Figma goes full screen.
References
- Add your moodboard and inspiration links under "Open URL or file", along with a local folder such as
~/Design/References. - Found something useful elsewhere? ⌃⌥⇧2 sends the front window here without leaving your current Space.
Review
- Turn on Hide apps that have no window here so only what you put on Review is visible when you share your screen.
- Use Set Wallpaper for This Space… to give Review a plain, neutral background that does not fight the colours in your work.
- Use Run Shortcut to turn on a Do Not Disturb Focus when you enter and turn it off again on leave (see Shortcuts).
Chat
Pin Slack, Teams or Messages here with "Apps that belong here", and turn on Space Lock in Settings, Windows. Clicking a notification then keeps you on Design and brings the chat window to you. Bringing the window over, like the "Apps that belong here" rule, uses a direct WindowServer move that works on macOS 14.0 to 14.4 and on 26.4 and later; on other versions the window stays on Chat, but Space Lock still takes you back to Design.
Shortcuts for a design day
| Shortcut | Use |
|---|---|
| ⌃⌥1 and ⌃⌥2 | Flip between Design and References |
| ⌥Tab | Overview with previews, handy when you remember the look of a Space rather than its number |
| ⌃⌥F, then ⌘Return | Find a window by title and bring it to the current Space (macOS 14.0 to 14.4 and 26.4 and later; on other versions use Return to go to it) |
| ⌃⌥/ | Summon a scratchpad app, such as a colour picker or notes, over any Space |
Notes for feedback
Give Review a one-line note such as "v3 for Friday", shown under its name. For longer feedback, "Open Notes File" creates a Markdown file for that Space with a checklist line ready, and opens it in your default editor.
A quiet desktop label
If you like knowing where you are without looking at the menu bar, turn on "Show the Space name on the desktop" in Settings, Appearance. The name is drawn on the desktop behind your windows, in the corner you choose. When switching, a short label shows the name, and you can move it to the bottom or make it smaller so it stays out of your canvas.
Previews and privacy
The overview's previews are images of your screen, so client work appears there. They are saved only on your Mac, never uploaded, and Settings, Backup has "Clear All Previews". You can also turn previews off and rely on names, colours and app icons. See Privacy.
Related
- The overview
- Move windows between Spaces
- One Space per client
- Spacepal is a one-time purchase with a 14-day trial
Written by Dan Bayer, developer of Spacepal. Last updated 2026-10-27.