Design QA Is Not a Gate. It's a Habit

Most design teams eventually arrive at the same problem: quality is inconsistent, and no one quite knows where the standard lives. Work that looked great in Figma ships with misaligned spacing. Components drift from the design system. Edge cases that were flagged but never resolved quietly make it to production.

The instinctive response is to add a gate. A final design QA check before delivery. A sign-off step that ensures nothing slips through.

It's a reasonable idea. But if the gate is the only intervention, it's already too late.