A few years ago, while justifying a page design to a stakeholder, I realised it might help to explain the key things I consider when designing. Adding this context could make it easier for them to see where I was coming from.
For example, I wanted to show that while adding more dynamic colors might look exciting, it probably wouldn’t fit our brand guidelines. Or that creating custom technical components might blow our budget and timeline.
I crudely drew this on a piece of paper:
To break it down, I went through the key factors I think about when designing(in no particular order):
- Design (Aesthetics): Making sure the layout is logical and visually engaging, using things like Gestalt principles to group and contrast elements.
- Accessibility: Ensuring the design works for as many people as possible, regardless of physical, cultural or cognitive abilities..
- Usability: Making the product easy to use and understand without confusion.
- Development feasibility: Staying within technical constraints and considering what’s possible.
- Marketing/Brand: Keeping the design consistent with our brand’s look, tone, and overall goals. (I appreciate that marketing and brand aren’t the same, but they fit better grouped here—see the aesthetics note above!)
- User Needs: Understanding who we’re designing for and how it helps them.
- Business Requirements: Making sure stakeholders are happy, and ensuring pieces of work are delivered on time and budget.
When I explained all this to my colleague, they were shocked: “Wow, you think about all that for one page?” It felt good to show the balancing act behind even simple designs—how different factors push and pull against each other.
Sure, there are other things to consider, like data collection and reporting, but this framework helped me prioritize what’s most important and find clarity in my role as a designer.
The next question I asked myself was: What do I have the most influence over? My first thought was aesthetics, accessibility, and usability since they’re squarely in my wheelhouse. Over time, I learned that even if I don’t control areas like marketing or development, I can collaborate early with those teams. Understanding their constraints upfront has helped me design smarter and avoid unnecessary roadblocks.