Most of the time, during the development stage of a certain project, we are often focused on the functional side of things. While there is nothing wrong with making sure that features works 100%, bug-free and delivered on-time, I believe that design should have it’s own place in the cycle.

It is often overlooked that people who will be using the product is not only driven by the features but also by the visual experience delivered by the design.

Designs are a product of intensive thought-process from UX to UI to make sure that the product is not only functional but also engages users to stay, interact and have a better experience which makes it as equally as important as the functional features.

What is Design QA?

Design QA is a process of making sure that visual designs, micro interactions, and copywriting are properly followed throughout the development process.

A Design QA’s main objective is to make sure that production is carried out with the required level of quality and design output.

The Challenge of Implementing Design QA?

Initially, design QA can be extremely difficult. It can eat up time during a sprint and be quite costly. However, incorporating it into your process ensures high-quality output and better user experiences.

The challenge of adding Design QA layer in the workflow may receive a lot of friction from the whole team especially the front-end developers.

Devs may want to focus on integrating the API endpoints to their work instead of adjusting paddings, colors and spacings but the moment the team starts doing this, we can be able to reduce design debt which is “all the good design concepts or solutions that you skipped in order to reach short-term goals”

While it is always good to focus on skipping some design details specially when we are pushing for a faster delivery, if we continue neglecting Design QA and the product is out, we’ll realize that no matter how optimized our code structure is, if the interface looks totally out of place, all of our efforts will be futile.

If we continue neglecting Design QA and the product is out, we’ll realize that no matter how optimized our code structure is, if the interface looks totally out of place, all of our efforts will be futile.

“Users interact with the interface, not with the code.”

In the art world, there is always the conflict between form and function and I believe that a balance of a high functioning code and a powerful visual component is what makes a highly successful project.

Apps needs to be a multi-sensory experience. Design, ease-of-use as well as audio will give another layer of flavor.