What you’ll make
One revised design with a change you can point to and check yourself.
Which page makes it clear how to get the free chart?
Five ways to offer a free crochet stitch chart
Say you’re offering a free chart that shows how to read common crochet stitch symbols. Try five layouts with the same sample and see which one makes the offer and email signup easiest to find.
Five sketches
Same chart preview, offer, and copy
- A · Headline first with the chart below it
- B · Chart first with the button beside it on desktop and directly below it on a phone
- C · One symbol close-up before the full chart
- D · A short list of what’s included before the chart and button
- E · Chart preview beside a photo of the matching stitch
Three reviews of B
Three notes from the same 390 px draft
- Brief · The chart is visible, but ‘free’ sits below the first screen.
- Layout · The heading takes four lines and pushes the chart down.
- Usability · ‘Download’ opens an email form without saying why.
Second version
Free Crochet Stitch Chart
- Button · ‘Email me the chart’
- Note · ‘We’ll send the PDF to your inbox.’
- The shorter heading brings the chart into view. A test signup opens the right PDF.
Before you start
- Choose a piece you can revise in one sitting. Write down who it’s for and what you want them to understand or do.
- Bring your real copy and images, any brand rules that matter, and a reference you can look at on phone and desktop. Use a clickable preview if you have one. You can review a sketch first and leave button behavior for later.
Write down one thing the design needs to do
Choose a draft, a width, and a job you can check. Write down what you should see before you tap and where you expect the action to take you.
Look at the draft in three passes
Open the same preview for every pass. First check the offer. Then check what fits and what’s easy to see. Finally, follow the main action or trace it if you only have a sketch.
Make one change to a copy
Start with a problem that gets in the way of the main action. Keep the old version nearby so you can check the same spot in both.
On the free crochet chart page, I see ‘Download’ open a form that asks for an email.
I change the button to ‘Email me the chart’ and add a line saying the PDF goes to your inbox. I leave the form destination alone.
Repeat the check on the revision
Open the revised draft at the same width and follow the action again. Save the revision and a note saying what you confirmed and what still needs a working preview.
- Find where the page explains the offer.
- Check what the button says will happen next.
- Follow the action or mark it as still untested.
Optional: Compare a few more directions
Keep the goal from step 1 and make a small set of alternatives. Compare the first thing a reader notices in each version and check the strongest one against your first revision.
Make five drafts I can compare fairly
Use this with one design, its fixed content, and a reference to get a board you can judge at both widths.
I’m designing [piece] for [audience] so they can [task]. Here are [fixed words, images, brand rules, and main action], [reference screenshots or link], and [phone and desktop widths]. Start by turning the goal and the reference into three to five checks with observable results. If you can’t view a reference, say which checks come from my brief or notes. Make a board with five genuinely different layouts labeled A to E, keeping the words and images fixed. For each one show what’s first in the reading order, where the main action sits, and what stacks or moves on a phone. Use annotated wireframes if rendering is unavailable. Give me a comparison table tied to the checks and mark behavior that still needs a clickable preview. Recommend the first draft to test and explain which tradeoff it makes.
Run one fresh review of the chosen draft
Use this in a separate chat for each reviewer job, with the same version and only that job’s checks.
You’re reviewing [version and preview or captures] for [brief, layout and brand, or usability]. Here are the checks for your job: [criteria and widths]. For each one give pass, fail, or untested, then identify the screen, control, and evidence. If you can use the preview, report the actual steps you tried and where they ended. A screenshot can support visual findings. Leave tap behavior, keyboard focus, and link destinations untested if you couldn’t try them. For each failure suggest one small change and how I’d repeat the check. Put personal preferences in a short note.
Make me a revision list I can retest
Use this after collecting three reviews to tie proposed changes to the evidence and version.
Here are [reviews for the same version] and [original checks]. Group reports about the same issue and preserve the device or width where each appeared. Put blockers first and mark any conflicting reports or missing evidence. For each confirmed issue give me the smallest fix, the location, and a retest with an observable expected result. If two reviewers disagree, propose a quick check with both options against the original goal. Finish with a list for [next version]: failed checks to repeat, nearby elements to spot-check, and any behaviors that still need a working preview.
Optional worksheet: Design critique worksheet
Fill this in as you go. Keep this page open while you work. Reloading it clears your answers.
Troubleshooting
What if a review just says it looks good?
Run the check again with one task. Point to the line that says the chart is free or follow the button and record where you end up.
What if two reviews suggest opposite changes?
Go back to the check each change is trying to pass. Try both on a copy and use the same check on each. Keep the version that gives you the clearer route to the result.