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Design Review Questions

When to use: During design critiques. Before shipping any page. Weekly self-audits.

The test: Can you answer "why" for every element on the page?

The 5-Question Audit​

Before any detailed review, answer these:

  1. Who is this for? - Specific person, not "everyone"
  2. What do they need to know? - The essential information
  3. What do they need to do? - The one action
  4. Why should they trust us? - The proof
  5. What's stopping them? - The objection

If you can't answer all five, the page isn't ready for detailed review.

First Impression (0-3 Seconds)​

Questions to ask looking at the page fresh:

  • What is this?
  • Who is it for?
  • What's the one thing to do?
  • If you stopped here, what's the message?
  • What's the emotional hook?

Message Clarity​

Is it clear?​

  • Is what it says and what it means the same thing?
  • What do we want them to remember?
  • Are we assuming too much?
  • What's the simpler version of this?
  • Why are we saying this twice?

Is it necessary?​

  • Do we need to say that here?
  • Is it worth pulling attention away from that?
  • Would it matter if someone missed that?
  • What would happen if we got rid of that?

Visual Design​

Hierarchy​

  • What matters most here?
  • Why are things in this order?
  • Does that make it clearer?
  • How would someone know that's important?

Elements​

  • Why is that there?
  • What problem is that solving?
  • Would this be better as a sentence or a picture?
  • What is the key action verb?
  • What's a more polished version of this look like?

User Flow​

Actions​

  • Why is that worth a click?
  • Is that worth scrolling to?
  • What's the obvious next step?
  • Is it obvious what happens next?
  • What just happened? (after action)

Friction​

  • Why would someone leave at this point?
  • Does that make it easier or harder?
  • Why isn't that clear?
  • How can we make this more obvious?

Behavior Change​

Questions about impact:

  • How does this make you feel?
  • How does this change someone's mind?
  • How does that change behavior?
  • Why would this make them choose that?
  • Where's the idea?

Technical Decisions​

When in doubt about implementation:

  • What happens when this expands?
  • If we got rid of this, does that still work?
  • Are nested dropdowns necessary?
  • How else can we say this?
  • Why is this better than the alternative?

Review Workflow​

Solo Review (15 min)​

  1. Fresh eyes - look at page cold (2 min)
  2. First impression questions (3 min)
  3. Message clarity pass (5 min)
  4. Visual hierarchy pass (5 min)

Team Review (30 min)​

  1. Designer presents intent (5 min)
  2. Silent observation (3 min)
  3. First impressions shared (5 min)
  4. Structured questions (15 min)
  5. Action items (2 min)

Rules for Critique​

  • "Why" before "what if"
  • Questions before suggestions
  • Intent before execution
  • One speaker at a time
  • Critique the work, not the person

Anti-Patterns​

Bad FeedbackBetter Question
"I don't like it""What problem does this solve?"
"Make it pop""What should draw attention first?"
"It feels off""What's competing for attention?"
"Users won't get it""What might confuse someone here?"
"We need more""What's missing for the decision?"

Quick Reference Card​

Print this for design reviews:

FIRST LOOK (30 sec)
□ What is it?
□ Who's it for?
□ What do I do?

MESSAGE (2 min)
□ Is it clear?
□ Is it necessary?
□ Is it simple?

VISUAL (2 min)
□ What's most important?
□ Why this order?
□ Why this element?

FLOW (2 min)
□ Worth a click?
□ Obvious next step?
□ Why would someone leave?