Here's how you can analyze and understand the reasons behind a failed design.

When a design fails, start by asking if it met user needs. Engage your target audience through surveys, interviews, or usability tests. Understanding their pain points and preferences will highlight any mismatches between expectations and the final product. A successful design solves problems efficiently and effectively, and identifying where yours fell short is the first step in analysis. How do you gather and utilize user feedback to refine your design and better meet user needs?

My recent design for branding didn't quite hit the mark. To figure out why, I went back to the core: user needs. Did my design actually solve their problems? I talked to client who tried it out to understand their frustrations and how they interacted with it. This helped me see where my initial assumptions about their needs might have been off.

Reviewing your design thoroughly is crucial to ensuring quality and effectiveness. Insufficient research, ideation, or testing can lead to incomplete or flawed designs. Reflecting on each phase helps identify rushed timelines or shortcuts that may have compromised the outcome. From my experience, taking the time to review and iterate thoroughly has led to more robust, user-centred designs and avoided potential issues, ensuring the final product meets all objectives and user needs. This doesn't mean that with accurate research, your design will never be criticised but you will drastically decrease the chances.

Maybe the problem wasn't the final design itself, but how I got there. Looking back, did I rush through the process? Did I skip out on sketching enough ideas (ideation) or creating prototypes to test with real people? Sometimes you get too focused on the final product and forget to validate your ideas along the way. In my case, maybe I needed to spend more time in the earlier stages to ensure I was on the right track from the beginning.

Sometimes, as designers, we tend to design too much for other designers and too less for the clients/customers. Analyzing feedback helps deliver a better product by uncovering specific user issues and patterns. It reveals where design elements fall short, guides improvements, and ensures alignment with user expectations. This iterative process enhances usability and satisfaction, leading to a more refined and effective final product.

The feedback came pouring in after I launched my design, and it wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for. Sure, some things seemed okay, but there were recurring issues that kept popping up. I started digging deeper, categorizing the comments to see what people consistently disliked. Was there a specific feature causing major confusion? Did a design element turn them off completely? By dissecting this feedback, I realized some core parts of my design needed a major rethink, maybe even a complete revamp.

Evaluate Trends Design doesn't exist in a vacuum; it's influenced by evolving trends and standards. If your design failed, consider how well it aligned with current design principles and user expectations. Perhaps it was too ahead of its time or clung to outdated conventions. Analyzing industry trends can provide context for your design's reception and guide you in adjusting your approach to be more in tune with what users are seeking.

Maybe the issue wasn't the core functionality, but how it looked and felt. Design trends change all the time, and it's possible my design missed the mark because it relied on outdated styles or conventions. Did I accidentally create something that felt too old-fashioned, or maybe even too futuristic for the current user expectations? Taking a look at what's trending in the design world could help me understand how to update my approach for the next project.

Sometimes, a theoretically sound design can fail in practice when the context in which it operates is overlooked. Once you've assessed the needs of your target audience, it's important to check against and work with the ground reality. Depending on the socio-cultural demographic that it serves, the design should be evaluated based on 4 inclusion topics- product, representation, access and accessibility. This helps adapt your design to reflect the environment of it's users.