Repeatable preflight workflow

Design handoff checklist

Twenty checks for catching brand drift, accessibility failures, broken exports, and ambiguous approvals before a design asset reaches production.

Published July 28, 202620 checksBrowser-printable

How to use this checklist

Review the actual exported file, not only the editable design. Mark a check complete only when the evidence is visible. If the format hides information—such as flattened fonts in a PNG—assign a human review instead of treating the missing evidence as a pass.

1

Brief and source of truth

  1. 1.Confirm the intended channel, audience, dimensions, and delivery deadline.
  2. 2.Identify the approved brand-guideline version and asset library.
  3. 3.Record any approved exceptions before review begins.
  4. 4.Name the person responsible for final approval.
2

Visual brand rules

  1. 5.Compare exported colors with the approved palette.
  2. 6.Verify typeface, weight, style, hierarchy, and fallback behavior.
  3. 7.Use the correct logo variant without stretching or cropping.
  4. 8.Measure minimum logo size and required clear space.
3

Accessibility and content

  1. 9.Check text contrast in every important state and placement.
  2. 10.Check meaningful UI graphics and component boundaries.
  3. 11.Verify product names, capitalization, claims, and prohibited terms.
  4. 12.Confirm that color is not the only way information is communicated.
4

Export and production

  1. 13.Open the final export and verify width, height, and aspect ratio.
  2. 14.Check canvas edges, cropping, transparency, and safe areas.
  3. 15.Remove unsafe scripts, external references, and unresolved SVG resources.
  4. 16.Confirm the file type, size, naming convention, and delivery folder.
5

Evidence and handoff

  1. 17.Separate confirmed passes from findings that still need review.
  2. 18.Attach observed values and repair guidance to each failure.
  3. 19.Preserve the final export, report, rule version, and reviewer decision.
  4. 20.Re-run the checks after corrections instead of approving from memory.

What automation should report

A useful design QA result is more than a score. It identifies the rule, shows the observed evidence, explains why the difference matters, and gives a repair action. Coverage must be reported separately so that an unchecked area cannot make a high score look more certain than it is.

Read the full brand compliance guide for guidance on translating a brand book into deterministic rules.

When the asset includes a logo, use the confirmed guideline to check logo spacing and minimum size against the visible artwork and the nearest competing boundary.

Run the measurable checks locally

BrandPreflight checks supported SVG, PNG, JPG, and WebP assets in your browser. Creative files and brand guidelines are not uploaded.

Open the preflight workspace