How do you evaluate your graphic design work before launching?

1 Check the basics

Before you dive into the details, make sure you have covered the basics of graphic design. These include alignment, contrast, hierarchy, balance, color, typography, and whitespace. Use a grid system to align your elements and create a consistent layout. Contrast can highlight important information and create visual interest, whereas hierarchy can help organize your content and guide the eye. Use balance to create harmony and stability, and color to convey mood, emotion, and meaning. Typography can enhance readability and personality, while whitespace creates breathing room and clarity.

2 Test your design

Testing your design is an essential step to assess its effectiveness and usability. Depending on your project goals and resources, you can use different methods for testing. User testing involves getting feedback from real or potential users of your design. You can ask them to perform specific tasks, observe their behavior, and inquire about their experience, preferences, and opinions. Peer review involves getting feedback from other graphic designers or professionals in your field. Ask them to critique your design, point out strengths and weaknesses, and recommend improvements.

Self-review requires reviewing your own design with a critical eye. To do this, you can use checklists, guidelines, or frameworks to evaluate your design from different perspectives such as aesthetics, functionality, accessibility, and communication.

3 Refine your design

Based on the feedback and testing results, you can refine your design to improve its quality and performance. Adjusting the size, shape, position, color, or style are ways to change your design elements. You can also make changes to your design content, such as adding, removing, or editing text, images, or icons. Adding, removing, or modifying animations, transitions, or effects are some ways to modify design interactions. When you refine your design, make sure you keep track of your changes and document your rationale.

4 Validate your design

Prior to launching a design, it is essential to validate it to ensure it meets the requirements and standards of the project. Depending on the project scope and specifications, there are various methods of validation, such as quality assurance, compliance, and approval. Quality assurance involves checking for any errors, bugs, or inconsistencies and can be done with validators, inspectors, or simulators. Compliance involves verifying that the design follows the rules and guidelines of your industry, client, or platform with checkers, audits, or certificates. Approval requires getting the final approval from your client, stakeholder, or supervisor through presentations, portfolios, or reports. By taking these steps before launching a graphic design project, you can ensure it delivers the best results possible.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?