“So, soon after I got here, I proposed that our design team adopt a set of non-visual criteria to define ‘good design’ without resorting to the normal formal jargon. If you and your client could answer ‘yes’ to the following questions about a solution, then it probably is a good piece of design:
Is it clear? Can I understand what it is, can I read it, can I sense its purpose?
Is it accessible? Does it engage me, does it invite me in, is it easy and intuitive to use?
Is it appropriate? (to its budget, to the amount of time available to make it, to the language style and level of the audience, to the medium, to the objectives of the project, and to the family of materials it will join, etc.)
A final measure, and perhaps a key measure in a business where variety is the norm, is quality. ‘Of the highest quality’ does not mean expensive. It means thoughtful and well-executed in its genre. If all these things are present in a project, then it is likely to be successful, from a design point of view, and otherwise.”
— Chris Pullman (via)