Evaluate a design, structurally and culturally.

The design's tradition (Sāmoan, Marquesan, Hawaiian, Māori, Tongan, etc.) is identified — not treated as generic 'Polynesian' or 'tribal.'

Different Polynesian peoples have distinct visual systems, protocols, and vocabularies. A responsible design names which one it draws from.

The motifs, structural rules, and compositional density are internally consistent with the named tradition.

A stated Marquesan piece using Sāmoan compositional rules — or vice versa — is a red flag.

The design avoids protected material (e.g., unearned tā moko, unauthorized malu / pe‘a elements, family-specific motifs) unless the wearer holds the standing.

Some material is not available to all wearers, regardless of skill or payment.

The practitioner discloses their training lineage, regional affiliations, and any qualifications relevant to this tradition.

Cultural responsibility begins with disclosure, not credentials on paper.

The design carries a story tied to the wearer — genealogy, journey, role, or relationships — rather than a menu of decorative symbols.

Polynesian tattooing operates as a visual language, not decoration.

The design is not a copy of another living wearer's tattoo.

See 'Tattoo Copying and Cultural Responsibility.'

The primary flow follows the anatomy: muscle groups, joints, and the direction the body moves.

See the pillar article on Flow.

The secondary flow (internal detail, texture, pattern direction) supports rather than fights the primary flow.

Layered flow reads across different viewing angles and distances.

Joints (elbow, knee, shoulder, wrist) are handled with structural intent, not left as broken transitions.

See case studies on elbow and knee.

There is a clear compositional hierarchy — anchors, primary elements, secondary elements — rather than uniform density.

A design without hierarchy reads as texture rather than story.

Borders and frames contain the composition and hand off cleanly to neighboring areas or negative space.

Negative space is used deliberately as a structural element, not filled by default.

Contrast is planned for long-term readability — the design will still read at 10, 20, and 40 years.

Balance is present without being reduced to mirror-image symmetry.

Motifs are read in composition and region — not as one-word dictionary entries.

See 'The Limits of Online Symbol Dictionaries.'

The design avoids motifs whose known misuse (e.g., mismatched region, decorative-only shark teeth, romanticized 'warrior' iconography) has been flagged in the library.

The client and practitioner engaged in substantive consultation before the design was drawn.

The choice between freehand and predrawn design is deliberate and disclosed to the client.