Design Audit

Ensuring design consistency and usability through a structured audit.

🔍 What’s Design Audit?

Is a comprehensive review of a company's visual and UX design to ensure consistency, usability, and effectiveness. It helps identify inconsistencies, outdated elements, and areas for improvement across branding, UI, and UX.

Why Conduct a Design Audit?

✅ Ensure brand consistency across products and platforms
✅ Improve usability and user experience
✅ Align design with business objectives
✅ Identify outdated or redundant components
✅ Enhance accessibility and performance

Tools & Plugins

Figma

FigJam

Miro

Loom

Templates & Kits

Audit label stickers
Creator: Aurora Pleguezuelo

Design Audit Template
Creator: Romina

Design audit - Kit
Creator: Gaspard

Auditing design systems for accessibility
Creator: Anna E. Cook

Design Audit Toolkit - Design System
Creator: cfPRO and FEUX®

Design Audit
Creator: Shams

Guides & Learning Resources

The Design System Guide

Articles & Videos

Auditing design systems for accessibility 
By: Anna Cook

How to start a design system? Let's talk about design audits
By: Belka Live Talk #6

UI UX Audit Process - How to Stop Skipping Them
By: Headway

Checklist

1️⃣ Branding & Visual Identity

✅ Logo usage is consistent across all platforms
✅ Colors match the brand palette and follow accessibility standards (contrast ratios)
✅ Typography is uniform (font families, sizes, weights, and hierarchy)
✅ Iconography is consistent in style, size, and meaning
✅ Imagery and illustrations align with brand guidelines

2️⃣ UI Components & Layout

✅ Buttons are consistent in shape, size, and hover states
✅ Forms and input fields have uniform styling and validation states
✅ Navigation elements (menus, breadcrumbs, sidebars) are structured properly
✅ Grid system and spacing follow a standardized scale
✅ Alignment and padding maintain a clean and balanced look

3️⃣ UX & Interaction Design

✅ User flows are intuitive and easy to navigate
✅ Call-to-action (CTA) buttons are clear and accessible
✅ Onboarding and guidance elements (tooltips, modals, tutorials) are effective
✅ Microinteractions and animations enhance, not hinder, usability
✅ Error messages and feedback states provide clear instructions

4️⃣ Content & Messaging

✅ Tone of voice is consistent across pages
✅ Readability is optimized (sentence structure, jargon-free language)
✅ Content hierarchy follows best practices (headings, bullet points, whitespace)
✅ Localization and translation are properly implemented (if applicable)

5️⃣ Accessibility & Performance

✅ WCAG compliance is met (color contrast, keyboard navigation, alt text)
✅ Page load speed is optimized (images, scripts, caching)
✅ Mobile responsiveness is tested across devices
✅ Cross-browser compatibility is ensured
✅ Forms and interactive elements work with assistive technologies

6️⃣ Documentation & Governance

✅ Design system is up to date with all components documented
✅ Brand guidelines are accessible to designers and developers
✅ Version control is in place for design files
✅ Collaboration between design and development is smooth

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