Key question
How do you find out if your design works and convince others?
Whether a design works only becomes clear with the audience. Simple tests allow you to find out early on what is understood and what isn't. Good feedback and a clear presentation help you justify and improve your decisions.
Learning objective: You can test the impact of a design using simple methods, use feedback, present your concept convincingly, and revise it in a targeted way.
It resonates with the audience.
8.1 / Test the effect
Testing early saves late corrections.
Four simple methods are sufficient for most projects:
01
Five-second test
Show briefly, then ask: What stuck?
02
Distance test
Check the design at full size and from an actual viewing distance.
03
Short interview
Ask open questions to members of the audience.
04
A/B comparison
Show two variants that differ in only one point.
Testing does not replace your design judgment; it sharpens it. Test with members of your audience, ask open-ended questions, and take note of what you observe, not just what is said.
Observing beats asking.
8.2 / Feedback and presentation
Reasoning convinces more than enthusing.
Good feedback focuses on the objective and the audience, not on personal taste. Ask for specific feedback: What is clear, what is unclear, what is missing? Listen, ask questions, and then decide for yourself what to take on board.
In the presentation, you lead from the problem to the solution: initial situation, goal and audience, core concept, execution, test results. Show drafts in context, such as a poster on a wall, so that clients can visualise the impact.
Show designs where they make an impact.
8.3 / Targeted iteration
Each round makes the message clearer.
Iteration means: design, test, evaluate, revise and test again. Criteria such as clarity, legibility or recognition help you organise feedback and make progress visible.
Only change a few things per round so that you know what works. Keep track of versions and insights: this way, you can justify your decisions later in the presentation.
Few changes per round.
Exercise
Test and revise
Task: Test your shadow play poster, revise it and present both versions.
STEP 1
Conduct a five-second test with three people.
STEP 2
Evaluate the draft in the impact check.
STEP 3
Revise the two weakest criteria.
STEP 4
Present before and after in two minutes.
Evaluation: What has improved between the versions, and how can you tell?
Final project
A cultural project that gets noticed.
In the final project, you will put everything into practice: you will analyse a cultural project, formulate the core message and central idea, design a key visual, and adapt it across three channels. Finally, you will test its impact and present your concept.
STEP 1
Clarify briefing
Outline the objective, audience, channels and parameters of the cultural project in a brief summary.
STEP 2
Message & Guiding Principle
Formulate the core message in one sentence and a viable central idea for the campaign.
STEP 3
Key Visual
Design a key visual using imagery, typography and colour, and justify the choice of elements.
STEP 4
Three adaptations
Apply the key visual across three channels, for example posters, social media, and flyers.
STEP 5
Test & present
Test the impact with at least three people, revise it, and present the concept.
Evaluation criteria: clarity of the core message, audience fit, justified choice of symbol, image, typography and colour, consistency of adaptations, legibility and contrast, comprehensible testing and revision, persuasive presentation.
Show what works, and why.