Boost Design Approval Rates with Four Key Evaluation Dimensions

Introduction

Designers often face situations where requirements change repeatedly, non‑designers give vague feedback, or senior leaders pose challenging questions, making it hard to get design drafts approved.

Using four dimensions—goal sense, refinement, consistency, and innovation—can significantly improve approval chances.

Goal Sense

Setting clear goals helps pinpoint where design effort should focus. Goals split into product goals and design goals. Start by discussing with product teams: internal or external needs, target users, and expected metrics. Then translate product goals into design objectives.

Design solves problems, not just looks good. Spend about 80% of time thinking, 20% executing. Use methods like 5W2H to uncover deeper reasons, avoid limiting thinking to provided solutions, and derive design goals from past solutions.

Maintain a global view when handling multiple product requests; integrate requirements to avoid “digging pits” or “filling pits.” Consider long‑term impact, alignment with overall product functions, and how changes affect users and business.

Refinement

Refinement, or “精致度,” is a subjective sense of quality. Even small designs can feel refined. Using design techniques—such as 2.5D illustration—can enhance visual appeal.

This is the design without added details.

After detailed refinement and extensions, the design feels more polished, with fuller composition, comfortable colors, distinctive shapes, and clear texture.

When functional constraints limit creativity, aim for the most refined look possible and propose a clear solution direction to save time.

Consistency

Consistency reduces user cognitive load and improves usability. Aligning style and elements across the UI creates a cohesive feel and aids team collaboration.

Designers can still inject personal ideas within consistent boundaries, fostering growth.

Innovation

Innovation is the hardest dimension. It requires strong critical thinking and habit of exploring connections, benchmarking competitors, and brainstorming.

Design techniques: shape, composition, color, texture, 3D, motion.

Design details: unique functions, good interaction details, differentiated visuals.

Design vision: explore future product possibilities and lead design trends.

Conclusion

These scenarios are common for designers. By establishing personal design evaluation standards, you can reduce problem occurrence, handle each issue professionally, learn from experience, and develop strategies to advance together on the design journey.