Digital Corps

Reviewing Design Content as a JPM

Quick Tip!

The Design Team straddles the line between subjective art and strategic content organization. New JPMs may undervalue their own perspective because they aren’t ‘art-oriented’. Dismiss this worry now, as this article will provide you with the needed tools to be an effective reviewer of design work!

Helpful Staff for this Topic

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Project Review Process

1. JPM
2. PM
3. Riley or Josh
4. Brandon

NOTE: Riley and Josh share responsibilities on most projects. Check with your PM or staff if you aren’t sure who should review a submission.

This article will cover overall considerations for the review as well as identify the most common design deliverables produced at the Digital Corps.

Overall Considerations

There are four main aspects of a design review to consider, regardless of the deliverable format.

As you review design content, ask yourself if the design:

1. fulfills the requirements discussed in the meeting?
2. matches the branding of the project?
3. meets the aesthetic preference of the client? (closely connected to the brand of a project)
4. works in conjunction with the other teams’ needs?

Taking Effective Notes in Meetings

Often, students and staff prefer to talk through their feedback in person. This can be an effective way to communicate changes, but it is critical that you keep a comprehensive record of the changes discussed.

You should also strongly encourage your Design Team members to take their own notes as well. Note-taking helps to keep the review process fast and efficient.

Project Branding

At the Digital Corps, project branding will most likely fall into one of the following categories:

• strict adherence to the Ball State brand guidelines
• inspired by or related to the Ball State brand guidelines
• unique brand unassociated with the Ball State brand guidelines

Quick Tip!

To determine if a deliverable is following BSU brand guidelines, review the “Brand Resources” article and the “Ball State University Assets” article.

As the JPM, you need to have an intimate knowledge of the brand and/or style guide of a project. One of your first steps in a review should be to confirm that brand guidelines are being followed correctly.

Aesthetic Preferences

Clients will often express a general vision, or “aesthetic” that they’d like to see. This vision is often tied in closely with the branding guidelines, but it is not the same thing.

Here are examples of what a client may ask for:

• “I want this website to be fresh and innovative. I want it to stand out from other sites similar to it.”
• “The report template needs to be very formal. I just need a clean, consistent look for my documents.”

Take note of these aesthetic preferences and check design submissions to make sure they are achieving the desired ‘look’.

Coordinating with Other Teams

The Digital Corps prides itself on fostering collaboration. Because of this, deliverables rarely exist on their own. A design needs to work with the other moving parts of a project.

Your job is to remember the big picture: “Will this deliverable work effectively with the other pieces of the puzzle?”

Here are some example questions you may find yourself asking:

• Will this mockup work with the Comm Team’s web content?
• Is this animation the correct length for the video?
• Was the UX Team included in the wire-framing process?

It’s not uncommon for a fully approved design deliverable to require changes once it’s incorporated with other pieces. Try to predict these possibilities early in the design process.

Common Deliverables

Along with the considerations outlined above, there are additional variables you should be aware of as you review design content.

Generally speaking, these are the three most common types of design content:

1. Branding
2. Web Design
3. Design Assets

Branding

Branding deliverables include style guides, logos, and document templates.

When reviewing these submissions, ask yourself the following:

• Are the colors and text accessible?
• Does this meet the client’s needs?
• Has the designer tried several iterations?

Web Design

At the Corps, web design includes deliverables such as wireframes, mockups, and front-end coding.

When reviewing wireframes, remember that this should be the skeleton of the website. Don’t let the designers get ahead of themselves during this process.

When reviewing mockups, remember that they vary quite a bit in fidelity. Fidelity refers to the level of detail and functionality accounted for in the design. Check with design staff if you aren’t sure that the appropriate level of fidelity is being shown.

Front-End coding refers to the development of the structure (HTML) and the appearance (CSS) of a website. As the JPM, you will likely be asked to simply review the finished page to ensure that it matches the final mockups.

Design Assets

This is a broad category of design elements that are not normally stand-alone deliverables. Examples include animation, illustration, and iconography.

For these deliverables, it is important to confirm that they follow the project’s branding guidelines. Also if it is a set of animations, illustrations, or icons, confirm that they are visually consistent with one another.

These deliverables tend to play supporting roles to the primary deliverable. Icons can strengthen a user’s understanding of a website. Animations and illustrations often provide additional context when conveying information.

As you review these, remember they should be purposeful:

• Does this icon clearly represent the concept of a profile page?
• Do these animations effectively illustrate how this process flows?
• Is this illustration providing a visual example that helps the viewer better understand the written content?

Wait, there’s more?

This article has covered the basic considerations and most common deliverables that you’ll encounter as a JPM. However, the longer you work here, the more you’ll be exposed to.

If you’re ever unsure of how to review a piece of design, do not hesitate to reach out to your peers, your PM, or the staff.