How to evaluate the quality of a project in the graphics?

How do you understand when a graphics project is effective? Is it enough to evaluate the quality of a project whether it is good or bad? Does it have to be “cute”? Must it be “fashionable”?

In short: How to evaluate the quality of a project?

In this article I want to talk about this topic, trying to explain how to really evaluate the quality of a project. Objectively.

OK, ready? Let’s start!

How to evaluate the quality of a project in graphic design?

When evaluating the quality of a design project, subjective aspects and personal tastes certainly play an important role, it is true, but it is important to ensure that the evaluation of a project does not depend solely on them.

In fact, in graphic design, a project is created to communicate a message and obtain specific results.

And those are objective aspects: they do not depend on your personal tastes.

The aesthetic aspect is an important factor, but alone it will not tell you if the design is effective or not.

To know if your project is a winner, you need to consider the elements of good visual communication and judge the project against them.

Well, keeping these things in mind, here are some questions you should ask yourself when evaluating the quality of a design.

How to evaluate the quality of a project? The 4 questions to be asked

1. Does your project achieve the set goals?

Let’s start from the basics: what are the objectives of the project you are working on?

Understanding the objectives of a project is a fundamental phase in any graphic design project, which is usually good to do right away, at the beginning.

But what does it mean to understand the goals?

If it is a logo, for example, that logo aims to represent and communicate a corporate identity.

If it is the landing page of a website, however, maybe the goal is to convince users to click on the “Buy” button or to subscribe to a newsletter. And so on.

Each graphic project has a certain objective. And if it does not have it, it means that it is not graphic design but art or decoration.

Always check if the set target has been reached

The first step in verifying the achievement of the objectives is to make sure that all the relevant information is present to communicate the message that you want to communicate.

And that there are only those necessary to communicate it, that message. The right number, no less, no more (Less is more!)

2. Is the message easy to understand?

Each designer project must help to communicate a specific message correctly. Does your project do it easily, immediately?

Here are some practical tips for building an effective graphical layout, in which the message is transmitted immediately …

• Use a focal point on the page. Such as a great title and more often or otherwise something that captures the viewer’s attention. The important thing, however, is that the attention goes on an important and useful element to convey the message. Then choose the focal point carefully!
• Manage the visual hierarchy correctly. For the human eye, something dimensionally larger in terms of visual is more important: it is something to pay more attention to. So, in your project: the most important things (like the titles) must be more evident and others less obvious (but readable!), Like the texts.
• Make the text readable and choosing it correctly.
• Take advantage of the white space. To make the page breathe and establish balance and visual harmony within a graphic project. The empty spaces, or white spaces, are used to conceptually connect various elements to each other and to increase the readability and usability of a project.

If you think you respect all these basic principles, however, try to show your project to someone who has never seen and ask for feedback: the message that shines through is right or not?

3. Is it aesthetically pleasing?

Design is made to solve problems through visual solutions. But if those solutions are also pleasant to see, as well as purely functional, double the strength of what you communicate, right?

Is your project pleasant? Good looking?

This is probably the most subjective part of the evaluation of the graphic design. What is catchy for one person may be horrible for another, it’s true.

However, generally, by applying the principles of graphic design well, one can obtain excellent results on an aesthetic level.

“Bello” does not necessarily mean “different”

On this subject there are many misunderstandings, so I will try to be precise.

Doing something beautiful does not necessarily mean doing something extremely different than what you already do. Because the result of something deliberately “different” could be too extravagant in the end.

Paul Rand, one of the most important logo designers of the twentieth century, said: “do not try to be different, try to be good.

So try to do something that works, even if maybe it is not something radically different from everything that has been seen before (which is virtually impossible, in fact).

Are the aesthetic style and the graphic elements used to suit the relevant public?

Most of the time you’re not just planning for yourself, but you’re trying to create a design that appeals to a specific audience.

A rainbow color palette is not suitable for a finance website because most customers are looking for a consultant that is reassuring, loyal and trustworthy. Therefore, a more moderate and sober tone may be more appropriate.

On the contrary, research shows that children prefer bright colors, so it makes more sense to turn to them with more colorful designs.

4. Is your project original?

Not different in the sense that we have seen before but original in terms of creativity, that yes.

Even if there is nothing really original, it is important to avoid copyright infringement, of course.

The meaning of “originality” depends on the type of design you are dealing with.

If it is a logo, it is better to make sure that it is as unique as possible, because you need to be able to register the mark and the trademark application will be rejected if you use a copied design or that looks too similar to an existing design already registered.

It is difficult to create a logo with a simple and distinctive design that does not resemble any other existing design because many ideas have already been taken and registered as trademarks. If a designer creates a logo that looks like an existing design, it is not necessarily because he copied it, but because there are some logo concepts that are really common and can be achieved regardless of seeing those drawings.

This is why it is necessary to research other designs in your market and avoid overly generic designs.

But anyway, in reality, beyond the logo, the true differentiation of one company over another is in the management of the brand and the complete coordinated image.

On the other hand, when we talk about simpler elements, such as a business card, differentiation is something that is not very sensible and useless. For example, apart from special requests, I always use the same layout for every business card.

Good design is useless if it communicates something wrong

Good design can do great things for a business, but it will not do wonders. It does not matter how “good” your job is as a designer if the company communicates to the wrong public.

Good design will not be effective if the product is poor or communication is 32 inadequate, and a bad sales performance is not always a consequence of the quality of the design.

There are many ways to measure the performance of a project in the real world, such as A / B testing for web pages, product focus groups, results in social interaction or sales. However, not everyone can test a project before putting it on the market.

In most cases, the customer will trust your judgment. So it is essential that you develop a critical sense of analysis of your work and your projects, often repeating the questions I have asked you in this article.

About Post Author

Alyssa Brown

Alyssa@cyonwo.com