Insert smart art

Insert a SmartArt diagram into the client proposal. Use the Process type, pick a horizontal Chevron layout with five steps, label the steps: Discover, Define, Prototype, Validate, Launch, and place it on page 4 centered between the header and the next section. Make sure the shapes use the company blue and grey palette and export the graphic as a high-resolution PNG for the design team.

Before I send the proposal to design, make the SmartArt easy for a reviewer to understand. Use a five-step horizontal chevron, put the one-line summary for each step above the shape, surface the savings or benefit on step three, convert the SmartArt to grouped shapes so design can recolor, and flag any wording that could be misread by procurement reviewers.

I dropped in a five-step Process SmartArt labeled Discover, Define, Prototype, Validate, Launch, but a reviewer in Germany says their team reads the sequence ambiguously and might interpret Validate before Prototype. I don’t know whether to flip the layout, add numbers, or rewrite labels. What is the likely cause and the quickest fix that preserves design while removing ambiguity for multilingual reviewers?

Every time I hand a document with SmartArt to design, they replace the SmartArt or ask for PNGs because the shapes’ colors and spacing shift in export. I want fewer rounds and a cleaner handoff. Should I stop using SmartArt and build grouped shapes myself, always export PNGs for design, or keep SmartArt but convert it before sharing? Recommend the single habit change that saves the most time across five documents per month.