When you create a project brief and submit it to a designer, it lays out the requirements you are looking for. When you get the designs back, it is important to know what to look for to make sure your requirements have been met and you have received a complete final product.

You have to consider whether the designer has met the goals and objectives you set out and whether they fulfilled the full scope of the project. Here is what to check.

Does it focus on your target audience?

When you start a design project, you should provide information to the designer regarding the target audience. Take a look at the design and consider what you know about your target audience. Put yourself in their shoes and determine whether the design will effectively speak to them.

How do your customers react?

To get an idea of the quality of the design, you can also test it. Try it out to see how customers react to the new design. You can gauge this by simply monitoring how the business performs with the new design, running A/B tests, or you could even perform a survey.

Does it feel right?

In most cases, you can get a feel for whether a design is good or bad with just a simple look. Consider whether it automatically conveys the message you are trying to send? Does it seem a little confusing and unfocused?

Are the colors right?

The color scheme is an important element of design. You need to make sure the designer met your requirement for colors and ensure they are used in a way that works well. Sometimes there can be too much color, colors that don't work well together or color usage that takes away from the quality of the design.

Is it organized?

With a good design, the different elements fit together in a way that is organized. This helps to make a flow that brings the elements together in a coherent design. You don't want to see a design that just looks like a bunch of loose pieces that were hastily assembled.

Is it professional?

This is another point that you will be able to identify right away. If there are obvious mistakes or elements that do not look like they were put together by a professional, then the design is not going to provide good results.

Is it generic?

If it appears a lot of stock elements have been used in the design, then there is a good chance you are not getting what you paid for. Consider whether the design looks rather basic and if the designer really put any originality into it.

How is the typography?

You want to look at several points concerning the typography. The number of fonts in a design can make a difference. Consider the size, color and alignment of the text also. Additionally, you want to look at whether the typography is used in such a way that it lays out a hierarchy.

Is the typeface suitable?

The typeface can also help to distinguish the message. Along with the different number of typefaces, you want to consider whether the type fits the design and message. For example, cutesy curly fonts don' t exactly look professional for a law firm.

Are there pixelated edges?

Inspect around the edges of the design. If there are artifacts or pixilation, it is the sign of a poor design. It means that the designer did not take the time to clean up the finished product.

Is it cluttered- not enough white space?

A common problem in design projects is cluttering. Too many elements can make the design confusing and it can obscure the message. There should be adequate white space.

Does it match the style you discussed?

In your design brief, you probably conveyed some information about the style that you are looking for. Look at the design and see whether the designer has met your style objectives.

For a website, is it optimized?

If you are talking about a website design, then you need to consider whether the design is optimized for search engines, PCs and mobile devices. If your design does not translate well on mobile devices and doesn't check the SEO must-haves, then you are going to lose a lot of opportunities.

Conclusion

Creating a design that will be effective can be complicated. Even an excellent designer might miss the mark on the first design they submit on a project. The client needs to take the time to review the submission and note any points that have been missed or done poorly.

If you give detailed feedback to the designer, hopefully they can use it to create the final design you are looking for.

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Written by Jessica Walrack on Monday, May 23, 2016

Jessica Walrack is a professional freelance writer with a background in sales and marketing. After 7 years in the corporate world, she stepped into the online sphere and has now been freelancing for 4 years. She specializes in helping businesses to create a stellar online experience for their audience in order to build industry authority and increase profitability. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys traveling all over the world with her family.