Design Submission Checklist: How to Ensure Your Design is Ready

When you’ve poured hours into a project, it’s tempting to hit “send” right away. But before you deliver your design to a client or upload it for production, it’s crucial to make sure everything is correct. A single oversight can cause costly delays, brand inconsistencies, or even require a complete redesign.

Go back to the original design brief and read it again carefully. Compare every detail of your work against the client’s instructions.

• Did you follow all the required specifications?
• Are the brand assets used as requested?

Even small mistakes—like forgetting an icon or using the wrong version of a logo—can lead to unnecessary revisions.

Spelling errors, missing text, or incorrect details can harm your client’s credibility. Always cross-reference the provided content with your design.
Pro Tip: Copy and paste the content directly instead of retyping it to avoid typos.

The wrong file settings can ruin a project. Always check:

• Print projects: CMYK color mode, 300 DPI resolution.
• Digital projects: RGB color mode, 72–150 PPI resolution.
• Artboard dimensions: Match exactly what’s listed in the brief.

Strong brands maintain a cohesive visual identity. Confirm your design follows the brand guidelines for:

• Fonts & typography hierarchy
• Color palette accuracy (exact hex, RGB, or CMYK values)
• Icon and image style
• Overall tone and impression

A great design directs the viewer’s eyes effortlessly. Ask yourself:

• Is there a clear focal point?
• Do elements feel evenly spaced and proportionate?
• Does the design feel balanced on both sides?

Viewers should know what’s most important at first glance. Ensure:

• Headlines stand out from body text
• Subheadings guide the eye logically
• Content reads in the intended order

Have you applied a proper visual and text hierarchy? Does the header text stand out from the rest of the body content? And are you able to read all the content in the proper order, that you would like the viewer to see?

Even with software alignment tools, visual alignment sometimes needs manual tweaking. Make sure:

• Text boxes line up consistently
• Images and graphics are placed neatly
• Nothing looks unintentionally off-center

See if all your texts and images are aligned. Don’t rely too much on the automatic alignment settings of your design software because sometimes, even if you’ve set the alignment, it still doesn’t look right because it’s not visually aligned. You must adjust some elements manually to look right.

 Is there enough between all your elements? Are you sure that your design does not look too crowded or cluttered? If it is, try trimming down the content and leave only the essentials. You can also try to reword the content to be more concise and clear.

White space (negative space) is just as important as the content itself. Avoid clutter by:

• Adding spacing between text blocks and graphics
• Removing non-essential elements
• Rewording content to be more concise if necessary

Final Tip: Make this checklist part of your design workflow. Save it somewhere visible—like a sticky note on your monitor or pinned inside your project management tool—so it becomes second nature. Be your best critic to save time and effort and have better design project results!

Looking for more branding and marketing design tips?
Check out our blog for expert strategies to take your designs to the next level.