Design Critiques and Guidelines for Sharing Design Work
At Algolia, sharing design work is a basic expectation for designers and is considered an essential element of career progression. It challenges us to practice our core company values: candor, trust, humility, grit and care. And it not only improves the quality of our designs, but also provides team members and stakeholders the opportunity to align on vision, to learn and to grow. For a long time, we didn’t have set expectations about sharing work, but as our team began to grow, we wanted to formalize our practices for the benefits of consistency and on-boarding team members.
General Tips and Guidelines
This is how we set expectations for product designers at Algolia regarding sharing work:
- Show often and early: You are expected to show your work at each stage of the design process, on a regular basis with your immediate squad, key stakeholders, and the design team.
- Use all the tools: There are many ways to show work: in weekly Design Critique attended by brand and product designers, in project design reviews, through digital channels, such as Slack and email. Try not to get stuck in a single mode of sharing and know which method will best give you the desired results.
- Don’t skip Design Critique: When you come, be prepared to contribute and share (see below).
- Use virtual channels for non-critical feedback only: Sharing in Slack channels or via e-mail are great ways to provide progress updates, “FYI” or optional feedback opportunities for broader stakeholders. If you need timely and critical feedback to move your project forward, please schedule a meeting with the folks from whom you need the feedback. Feedback is best received in a two-way exchange, and it will be more time-efficient in the end.
- Schedule a review cadence for your project team: You should be conducting in-person critiques with your squad. A good time to start them might be at the beginning of the Ideation phase of your project. Cadence is up to you, but weekly or bi-weekly is recommended. You can share progress via other channels between these review sessions.
- Help others improve their feedback skills: Especially non-designers may have trouble providing feedback in a form that is useful to you. Use this as a coaching and teaching opportunity to ensure the giver grows in this area and you get the feedback that helps you move forward.
- Provide great feedback: Lead by example by providing thoughtful and kind feedback to others.
Design Critique
Design Critique is an essential part of our team process, because it allows us to help each other improve, grow and learn as designers.
Rules of Engagement
When we first started this practice, the designers collectively came up with “Rules of Engagement” for our critique:
- Come prepared to show something at every/most critiques, even if it is “not ready”. The best time to receive feedback is early in the process (sketching phase), so there is no such thing as showing a design “too early”.
- Assume best intentions and accept feedback gracefully (read more here);
- Ask clarifying questions when you do not fully understand the design or a piece of feedback
- Stay off devices!
- Critique should be considered a high-priority meeting on our calendars and not missed, if possible.
The structure of our critique was inspired by Facebook’s approach. There are three key roles in critique and each has a part to play.
The Facilitator:
Fostering the right environment in critique is critical (get it?) as it can either lead to open-minded exchange or a sense of dread. It’s the facilitator’s job to ensure that the atmosphere remains focused, light-hearted and positive.
Here are few things the facilitator does to achieve that:
- Creates agenda: Asks participants ahead of time what they want to present, how much time they need and what kind of feedback they’re looking for.
- Keeps time: Sets a timer and sticks to it to ensure everyone gets a chance to show their work; if one project needs extra attention, encourage the person to schedule a separate deep-dive critique for just this project (this is very encouraged!)
- Fosters an inclusive environment: Starts with remote folks first.
- Enforces the guidelines: Reminds participants to remind us what type of feedback they are looking for and what the reviewers should focus on. Makes sure to whip folks on devices into shape.
- On-boards newcomers: When new team folks join the critique, the facilitator’s role is to bring them up-to-speed on best practices and rules of engagement.
- Read more here: Four Things Working at Facebook Has Taught Me About Design Critique by Tanner Christensen
The Presenter :
Presenting is more than just doing as a walk-through of your design work. It is about providing the full picture to your audience and focusing their attention where it is most needed. Here is what an effective presenter does:
- Provides context and goals: What’s the problem we’re trying to solve? What does success look like? What’s our time frame? What are the main constraints? For whom is this being designed?
- Asks for feedback: What type of feedback are you asking for? What should the reviewers focus on? Let your audience know where you need help and divert their attention away from things where you don’t (e.g. “I am not looking for visual feedback right now as I haven’t tackled that yet.”)
- Tells stories: Critique is a great opportunity to practice storytelling. Instead of just showing where different buttons are, walk through the designs explaining rationale and how it will impact your users’ lives.
- Read more here: How to Present Designs by Julie Zhuo
The “Critiquers”:
The critiquers have the most delicate job of all. They need to understand the problem, to clarify their own understanding of the solution and to provide actionable feedback in a respectful and kind manner. It’s not easy and requires practice! Here are a few things one can do to get there:
- Stay present: Stay off your devices and give the presenter respect and undivided attention
- Ask clarifying questions instead of making assumptions
- Be specific about what’s working and not working
- Evaluate designs and speak in term of their effectiveness from point of view of user needs & project goals
- Provide directional suggestions, but avoid problem solving
- Be kind and empathise with the presenter
- If you have any feedback or ideas beyond the scope of feedback requested, write it down and discuss after the critique.
- Read more here: How to Give Kind Criticism, and Avoid Being Critical from Zen Habits
Design Critique is one of my favorite meetings of the week. At Algolia, it is a dynamic, fun and creative moment in our busy schedules. I learn a lot from the designers in the room all of whom have various strengths and talents. It is a great opportunity for us to get a glimpse of what each of us is working on and the progression of our projects over time. I am confident that without critique the quality of our work would suffer and the sense of trust and care we build a a team as well.
