5 Quality assurance tips for designing

The initial design process of an architect is inherently chaotic. We love it, but it can also make us cry from time to time. And the question for today is, what can we do to make sure we are going the right way. We can think of this as a list of failsafe mechanisms for our own comfort. If we will go through them, we are making sure we deliver the project of optimal quality.

1. Plan/Section dependence

These two basic drawings influence each other directly. Thus, we have to be sure what the change of one influences in the other. At first, this might appear simple and it also depends on how we design. However we can easily try to make changes, that can destroy our intentions in other parts of the project. Before taking any major decision, be sure to know what lies beneath, beside and above and if any of these decisions won’t have direct consequences elsewhere.

2. Ask for opinion

There is a danger that we fell in love with our design and become blind to its flaws. The best policy to avoid that is to ask someone unbiased. A colleague, a teacher, a friend. Even someone who might not know anything about design. It is important to have a completely different point of view, that may uncover what you have missed. Some people focus more on the structure, others on the spatial qualities, some might have a lot of experience with installations and input from all of them carries a huge value.

3. Print it

Once you inserted your design into a software of your choice, it is great if you can print it and see it in black and white. The computer screen can often be deceptive. You can zoom in and out, how you please. But once you print it out, it becomes fixed and you can see the proportions without the possibility to distort it. And then grab a red pen and go wild. It can always be better than it is. Mark what could be better, discuss with your drawing. Lend the pen to a friend to suggest some improvements.

4. Compare with similar typology

Another tool you can use is to compare your design with similar typology and see how others solved the problems you are facing. Maybe you can learn from them. Everyone says that we should learn from mistakes, do those mistakes have to be ours, though?

5. Try it in scale 1:1

The sense of scale is a skill that has to be trained all life long. To leave no space for ambiguity, we can mark the space in scale 1:1. Let’s assume the building regulations require a clear width of one meter. Is that enough? Would the minimum be comfortable to use? Why not take the tape measure and try how one meter looks in reality. We often think we know how much is one meter, but what if it gets more complicated? Room four meters times three meters? Is that enough? You won’t know if you won’t try it out.

Hope you can use some of these in your own process and have a great fun doing them. In the end, some of those are about human interaction, and if we can get input from everyone, then we can do the best project.

Cheers