How To Ensure That A Submitted Design Matches Your Design Brief

Last updated on September 21st, 2021

“Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design.” –Charles Eames

When shopping, would you buy a thing that you do not require? Well, mostly the answer is, no. You scrutinize a product to find if it is the one you want. That should be true for checking a graphic design also. You sent a design brief to a designer. Now check if the submitted work comes true to your expectations or not. Do not harm your business prospects by blindly accepting a design.

So, when checking your graphic design, you need to consider its many aspects. Most importantly, find if the design is only a technical thing. Or, it is connecting emotionally with your customers. Do not forget these wise words of designer Dale Carnegie — “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.”

Business owners should be careful in picking right logos etc for their brands. They hire professional graphic designers or crowdsource the design works to create logos, business cards, stationery designs etc. But, when receiving the designs, many clients believe on the designer’s experience and accept their work without questions which should be avoided.

When receiving the designs, make sure that it meets all the requirements mentioned in your design brief. You wrote the design brief carefully, giving your company profile, customers’ backgrounds, preferences of images, colors, typefaces, etc. When you receive the designs, it is important to check that the submitted piece is as per the design brief.

How To Ensure That A Submitted Design Matches Your Design Brief

01. Is The Design Original And Unique?

A logo or business card design etc. will represent your company well in your niche market if its design is original, unique and memorable.

Check Out These Errors:

• Eliminate all clichéd stock elements, which have lost their novelty value. If the people take your logo as a clichéd design, it can potentially damage your brand image.
• Check the design for its unique elements and overall good impression.

02. Is It For Your Target Audience?

Your design brief should elaborate on who your target customers are. If you fail to provide a detailed social, financial or demographic background of the target audience, it is the designers’ job to do the research to know about your customers. If the design does not target an audience, it becomes almost worthless for business.

• So, the first thing to check in design is whether it addresses your target audience.
• Make sure that the design speaks to your customers directly.

03. What Is The First Impression?

You may not be an expert to elaborate on the qualities of a great work of graphic design. Still, a good first impression of design is often enough to gauge the value design.

Consider This:

• Take a simple look at the design and see if it is unique and impressive does it look good to you?
• Or, is it a complex design, leaving a bad impression?
• Has the design too many colors, typefaces, and clutter?
• Ask for eliminating the clutter and keep it simple and appealing

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.” –E. F. Schumacher

04. Test It For Customer Reaction

Before approving the design, do not forget to test it. Your customers must like it immediately. Their positive reaction and comments will be a sign that the design is worth representing your business and company in a competitive niche market.

Check Out These Things:

• You can gauge the customer’s reaction by simply running the A/B tests.
• You can alternatively put the design on social media and ask for the experts and people’s reaction.
• The survey will let you know a general opinion of the public.

05. Is It A Cluttered Design?

An unprofessional designer will create a piece in a hurry. The design you receive must be simple and free of the complexities.

Check Your Design For These Key Things:

• One of the signs of such a design is that it has no or little white space.
• Make sure that the design has white space that gives relief to the eyes from the stress of looking at the work.
• A cluttered design has too many elements put together in a limited space. Such a design delivers an obscuring message.
• Ensure that your design has enough white space for viewing pleasure.

06. Is The Color Scheme Impressive?

A professional graphic designer understands the importance of colors in creating unique logos, business cards, etc. Colors leave a lasting impression on the viewers.

Make Sure That:

• The selection of colors has a purpose.
• The colors should convey a brand message. So, evaluate the design for its use of colors.
• Find out if the colors used in the design represent your brand, industry, and market.
• Are the colors conveying your message to the target audience? Check the design for such color usage.

07. Is The Typography Appropriate?

Typography is the most dominant element of most of the logos and other designs. If your company’s name makes the logo, then careful use of the right typefaces will determine the success of the design. Typefaces sans serif, serif, comic, etc. help build a personality of the design. This, in turn, makes your company’s brand identity.

• Make sure that there are one or two typefaces.
• Multiple typefaces will create confusion for the viewers. Avoid it.
• Check the size of the typefaces and their alignment with the colors and text also.

08. Are The Edges Pixelated?

When you get a design, check its edges also.

Check These Aspects:

• Are the edges blurry? Such a design will look confusing and unimpressive when printed.
• A design with pixelation or artifacts is a poor layout, showing that the designer did not care for giving the finishing touch to the design.

09. Are Different Elements Well-Organized?

A quality of a great design is that it is a coherent design.

So, Make Sure That:

• Check that different elements of the design must fit together in a way that they create a flow. One element should complement the other.
• A design that looks like a disorganized work having loose pieces assembled in a hurry should be discarded without giving it a second thought.

10. Does It Have Your Style?

If you have mentioned something about the style that you want to ensure in your logo or other design, then check it.

• Ascertain that the design meets the style objectives discussed in your brief.
• Check that the typeface style is perfect as per your design requirement

Conclusion

Do not approve a graphic design work, especially your logo design, without first checking it on various parameters. Keep your design brief in mind and make sure that the design meets the requirements perfectly. The design should address your target audience, it’s color scheme and use of typeface should be perfect, and all the different elements should be well organized.

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