How to check if your design is good

Asking whether a design is "good" or not can sound subjective, but there is a lot that is quantifiable.

You know your target, and you know what you want to say to them. There are online tools that will tell you if one font works with another. And even more tools to tell you colors that work together. Match that with some honesty and some questions, you can determine if a design is good and what you can improve.

The following is a quick process you can go through to ensure your output looks and works great.

Review

Sounds simple, but this is a review on the design only. Here you ask questions from the viewers perspective to make sure you've hit the mark.

• Is the message / action clear?
  • What are you trying to show the viewer or get them to do?
• Will it appeal to my target?
  • Is the messaging and visuals right for the audience?
• Did I use colors and fonts that work?
  • Were they chosen purposefully and with the help of tools?
• Is it high quality
  • Are the images clear, the text legible, the colors and elements appropriate

Compare

A great way to know if you're close to a good design is to compare it to other great designs. Look at what your competitors are outputting and see if yours looks as good. If not, what elements and techniques are they using that you can try? What are other designs in the same space (ads, banners etc.) doing that you can emulate? If you put yours beside these others, would it look out of place among them quality wise?

Ask Someone

The scariest of the methods, asking for feedback can give you some of the best perspectives. When putting together our work we can get a certain tunnel vision. We're no longer seeing the obvious issues with what we're doing. An outside opinion can see the work with fresh eyes and identify easy fixes that you would never notice.

Another check to make it great

By creating more work and exposing yourself to great design, your taste will improve. You'll be able to identify if something looks good and will achieve it's goal. But even when you get to that point, a piece of work can always improve with an honest assessment. Step back, review, compare, ask, and watch your results get better.

Cheers to you next well reviewed work!