Design Review
Evaluate your application's visual quality and usability against established design standards. This review catches issues that typically require a trained designer's eye — responsive breakpoints, accessibility compliance, visual hierarchy, spacing consistency, and internationalization readiness.
When to use
- Shipping UI without a designer reviewing it
- Before a launch or demo
- After significant UI changes or redesigns
- Checking accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA)
- Validating responsive behavior across devices
Standards Referenced
- WCAG 2.1 Level AA — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- Material Design / Human Interface Guidelines — spacing, touch targets, typography scales
- ISO 9241-110 — Interaction principles (suitability, self-descriptiveness, conformity)
- APCA — Advanced Perceptual Contrast Algorithm (next-gen contrast)
Phase Overview
Phase 1: EDUCATE → Brief context on what we check and why
Phase 2: SCOPE → Identify pages, breakpoints, and focus areas
Phase 3: ANALYZE → Browser-based checks with evidence capture
Phase 4: REPORT → Findings with screenshots, scores, confidence
Phase 5: REMEDIATE → Fix guidance + YAML regression tests
Phase 1: Educate
Why this matters: 94% of first impressions are design-related. Poor visual quality erodes trust even when functionality is correct. Accessibility issues affect 15-20% of users and carry legal risk (ADA lawsuits increased 300% since 2018).
This review checks your app against objective, measurable design criteria — not subjective taste. Every finding references a specific standard.
Phase 2: Scope
Gather context
-
Auto-detect — scan the project for:
- Framework (React, Vue, Next.js, etc.)
- CSS approach (Tailwind, CSS modules, styled-components, etc.)
- Design system in use (if any)
- Route structure → list of pages
- Existing a11y tooling (eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y, axe-core, etc.)
-
Ask the user (one at a time, with auto-detected defaults):
- Target URL: Where is the app running? (auto-detect dev server)
- Key pages: Which pages matter most? (recommend top 3-5 from routes)
- Target devices: Desktop only? Mobile-first? Both? (default: both)
- Brand guidelines: Any specific colors, fonts, or design system? (default: evaluate against general best practices)
- Focus areas: Any known concerns? (optional)
-
Define breakpoints to test:
- Mobile: 375px (iPhone SE), 390px (iPhone 14)
- Tablet: 768px (iPad)
- Desktop: 1280px, 1920px
- (Adjust based on user's target audience)
Phase 3: Analyze
Open a browser session with
using
. For each page in scope, run the following check categories.
Category A: Responsive Design (RES)
| Check ID | Check | Standard | Method |
|---|
| RES-01 | Viewport meta tag present | Mobile best practice | Inspect |
| RES-02 | No horizontal overflow at any breakpoint | Responsive design | Resize viewport, check for horizontal scrollbar |
| RES-03 | Touch targets ≥ 48x48px on mobile | WCAG 2.5.8 / Material Design | Measure interactive element sizes at mobile breakpoint |
| RES-04 | Text remains readable without zoom at 375px | WCAG 1.4.4 | Check font sizes ≥ 16px for body text on mobile |
| RES-05 | Navigation is accessible at all breakpoints | Usability | Verify nav collapses/adapts, hamburger menu works |
| RES-06 | Images scale appropriately | Responsive images | Check for / or CSS containment |
| RES-07 | No content truncation without indication | Usability | Check text overflow, ellipsis with tooltip or expand |
| RES-08 | Form inputs are usable on mobile | Usability | Check input sizes, proper input types (tel, email) |
Browser validation: For each breakpoint, use
to resize the viewport, then
to capture DOM and screenshot. Check for overflow elements, measure sizes via JavaScript.
Category B: Accessibility (A11Y)
| Check ID | Check | Standard | Method |
|---|
| A11Y-01 | Color contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1 (normal text) | WCAG 1.4.3 AA | Extract computed colors, calculate ratio |
| A11Y-02 | Color contrast ratio ≥ 3:1 (large text ≥ 18pt) | WCAG 1.4.3 AA | Same as above for large text |
| A11Y-03 | All images have alt text | WCAG 1.1.1 | Check elements for attribute |
| A11Y-04 | Form inputs have associated labels | WCAG 1.3.1 | Check or |
| A11Y-05 | Heading hierarchy is logical (h1→h2→h3) | WCAG 1.3.1 | Extract heading levels, check sequence |
| A11Y-06 | Focus is visible on all interactive elements | WCAG 2.4.7 | Tab through elements, check focus ring visibility |
| A11Y-07 | Keyboard navigation works (Tab, Enter, Escape) | WCAG 2.1.1 | Navigate entire page via keyboard |
| A11Y-08 | Skip navigation link present | WCAG 2.4.1 | Check for skip-to-content link |
| A11Y-09 | ARIA roles used correctly | WCAG 4.1.2 | Check for misused/redundant ARIA |
| A11Y-10 | Page has lang attribute | WCAG 3.1.1 | Check |
| A11Y-11 | Modal focus trapping works | WCAG 2.4.3 | Open modal, verify Tab stays within |
| A11Y-12 | Error messages are associated with inputs | WCAG 3.3.1 | Check or |
| A11Y-13 | Reduced motion respected | WCAG 2.3.3 | Check for media query |
| A11Y-14 | No seizure-inducing content (>3 flashes/sec) | WCAG 2.3.1 | Visual inspection of animations |
Browser validation: Use
to extract the DOM. Run JavaScript via
to compute contrast ratios, check ARIA attributes, extract heading hierarchy. Use keyboard navigation (Tab, Enter, Escape) to test focus management.
Category C: Visual Consistency (VIS)
| Check ID | Check | Standard | Method |
|---|
| VIS-01 | Consistent spacing scale | Design systems | Extract margins/paddings, check for consistent scale (4px/8px grid) |
| VIS-02 | Typography scale is consistent | Typographic hierarchy | Extract font sizes, check for consistent ratio/scale |
| VIS-03 | Color palette is limited and intentional | Design best practice | Extract all used colors, flag if >10 unique non-gray colors |
| VIS-04 | Interactive elements have consistent styling | Consistency | Compare button styles, link styles across pages |
| VIS-05 | Alignment grid is consistent | Layout | Check for misaligned elements that break the visual grid |
| VIS-06 | Loading states exist for async operations | UX best practice | Trigger async actions, verify loading indicators |
| VIS-07 | Empty states are handled | UX best practice | Navigate to pages with no data, check for meaningful empty states |
| VIS-08 | Error states are styled consistently | UX best practice | Trigger validation errors, check styling |
| VIS-09 | Dark mode consistency (if applicable) | Design systems | Toggle dark mode, check for un-themed elements |
Browser validation: Use JavaScript to extract computed styles, compare across elements and pages. Screenshot comparison between pages for visual consistency.
Category D: Typography & Readability (TYP)
| Check ID | Check | Standard | Method |
|---|
| TYP-01 | Body text 16-20px | Readability research | Extract computed font-size |
| TYP-02 | Line height 1.4-1.6 for body text | Readability | Extract computed line-height |
| TYP-03 | Line length 45-75 characters | Readability (Bringhurst) | Measure character count per line |
| TYP-04 | Font loading strategy (FOUT/FOIT prevention) | Web performance | Check font-display CSS, preload hints |
| TYP-05 | Sufficient hierarchy levels (≥3 distinct sizes) | Typography | Extract and count distinct heading sizes |
| TYP-06 | Text is left-aligned (not justified) for body | Readability | Check text-align for body paragraphs |
Category E: Internationalization Readiness (I18N)
| Check ID | Check | Standard | Method |
|---|
| I18N-01 | No hardcoded strings in components | i18n best practice | Scan source code for string literals in JSX/templates |
| I18N-02 | Layout handles text expansion (+30%) | i18n design | Inject longer text strings, check for overflow |
| I18N-03 | RTL layout support (if applicable) | i18n | Toggle , check layout adaptation |
| I18N-04 | Date/number formatting uses locale | i18n | Check for hardcoded date/number formats |
| I18N-05 | Font stack includes CJK/Unicode fallbacks | i18n typography | Check font-family declarations |
| I18N-06 | Icons/images don't contain text | i18n | Visual inspection of image content |
Browser validation: Use JavaScript to modify
attribute, inject longer text, change locale settings. Screenshot at each state.
Phase 4: Report
Generate a structured report saved to
shiplight/reports/design-review-{date}.md
:
markdown
# Design Review Report
**Date:** {date}
**URL:** {url}
**Pages reviewed:** {list}
**Breakpoints tested:** {list}
## Overall Score: {X}/10 | Confidence: {X}%
## Score Breakdown
|----------|-------|----------|
| Responsive (RES) | 7/10 | 2 high, 1 medium |
| Accessibility (A11Y) | 5/10 | 1 critical, 3 high |
| Visual Consistency (VIS) | 8/10 | 1 medium |
| Typography (TYP) | 9/10 | 1 low |
| i18n Readiness (I18N) | 6/10 | 2 medium |
## Findings
### CRITICAL
#### A11Y-01: Insufficient color contrast on primary buttons
- **Standard:** WCAG 1.4.3 AA (minimum 4.5:1)
- **Finding:** Primary button (#4A90D2 on #FFFFFF) has contrast ratio 3.1:1
- **Evidence:** [screenshot with annotation]
- **Pages affected:** All pages with primary CTA
- **Confidence:** 97%
### HIGH
...
### MEDIUM
...
### LOW / INFO
...
Confidence Scoring
- 90-100%: Browser-validated, measured programmatically (contrast ratio calculated, element size measured)
- 70-89%: Strong evidence from DOM inspection, screenshot supports finding
- 50-69%: Heuristic-based, may vary by context (e.g., "spacing looks inconsistent")
- Below 50%: Don't report
Phase 5: Remediate
For each finding, provide:
1. Fix guidance
markdown
#### A11Y-01: Insufficient color contrast
**File:** src/components/Button.tsx:23
**Current:** `background: #4A90D2` (contrast 3.1:1 against white)
**Fix:** `background: #2563EB` (contrast 4.8:1 against white) — maintains blue hue, meets AA
**Alternative:** `background: #1D4ED8` (contrast 7.1:1) — meets AAA
2. YAML regression test
yaml
- name: a11y-01-button-contrast
description: Verify primary button meets WCAG AA contrast ratio
severity: critical
standard: WCAG-1.4.3-AA
steps:
- URL: /
- VERIFY: Primary action buttons have sufficient color contrast (minimum 4.5:1 ratio for normal text)
timeout_seconds: 15
Save all YAML tests to
shiplight/tests/design-review.test.yaml
.
Tips
- Use to read the DOM first — it's cheaper than screenshots and provides element indices for .
- For contrast checking, use JavaScript via with
window.getComputedStyle()
- Test keyboard navigation by using with keyboard actions (Tab, Enter, Escape, Arrow keys).
- Run this review at multiple breakpoints — many issues only appear at specific viewport sizes.
- For i18n text expansion testing, use with JavaScript to modify to longer strings.
- Close the session with and use for a shareable evidence report.