DesignLab (UW-Madison) uses the acronym CAT to help folks learn about design.

• Conceptual
• Aesthetic
• Technical

What kind of project are you making? What do you need to know about the particular medium/genre?

• What is your project about? — What is the main idea, argument, or information you are trying to convey?
• Who is your audience? — Is it your instructor? Your classmates? A community group? A high school class?
• What is your purpose? – To convince? To persuade? To inform? To call to action?

What is the look or style or tone of your work?

• Do the font, spacing, alignment, layout, color, illustrations, and other visuals support your ideas?
• Are your design choices consistent and coherent?
• Or, when your design choices aren't consistent and coherent, why aren't they?
• Do your design choices connect with your intended audience(s)?
• How do your design choices convey your meaning or purpose?

Think about your rhetorical situation

• What's your attitude toward your topic, and how do you want to present yourself to your audience?
• How do you want to come across to your audience?
• Does your overall look or style or tone suit your rhetorical situation—and does it reflect your stance?

Did you use software and other tools competently?

• If you used images — are they clear and properly scaled? (not pixelated, etc.)
• If you used text — is it written at the appropriate level for the intended audience? Is it legible (both size and font)? Does it contrast with any backgrounds?
• If you used sound — Is the audio clear and crisp? Are the sound levels balanced? Are the transitions unnoticeable?
• If you used video — Is the orientation appropriate for the venue/viewing device? Is the picture clear?
   

DesignLab, "CAT Principles" (University of Wisconsin–Madison): https://designlab.wisc.edu/resources/design-tips-and-tricks/cat-principles/.

Andrea Lunsford, Let's Talk: A Pocket Rhetoric (Norton, 2021).