Design Process: 12) Refine the Look and Feel

Many times, the design of the site needs to be altered once there is final content or others have a chance to test the prototypes.

Nobody is perfect, and no amount of preparation can prepare for the business stakeholders changing their minds and direction.

An important thing that needs to be in place is that there is good communication from the Manger to the Owner, and that the ramifications of change at this point are understood. Sometimes, this affects the team’s deadlines and can put the project in jeopardy. 

Sometimes, it’s merely adjusting the height or width of something to accommodate a sentence or word, or lack of content that has been planned for, but never have gotten for whatever reason.

This should be viewed as the final touches for the designer. This is the final step before the project is sent to the development team or the printer.

In many cases, it’s not — and that is where the project gets much more expensive (in both wasting of time, money and other resources).

Potential Pitfalls

This step in particular is opposite of the rest of them. You can NOT constantly change the look and feel of the project. Typically, aesthetic things can be changed before development starts, depending on what it is, but it must be limited and planned for.  If you don't have a planned interval to review the design, then it’s natural for people to feel that they can make changes whenever they want to.