Design Reviews vs. Design Critique

In the time that Aaron and I have been sharing our thoughts on critique, we’ve had a lot of opportunities to speak with designers, developers, project managers, etc. about their organizations and how they’ve incorporated critique (or haven’t) as a part of their…

The emotional realities of receiving feedback

“I want to be open to critique but to be honest I feel it is hurtful and I don’t know how to respond… …I do feel defensive and attacked and not trusted and I don’t know what to do.”

Critique & People Management

“Critique is about iteration and improvement. So long as you’re looking to improve on whatever it is you’re…

Critique Vs Direction

When talking with teams about making critique a part of their process Adam and I often get questions about Direction vs Critique. Teams want to better understand how instruction/direction from team members like creative directors, design directors and leadership differs from critique, and…

3 Kinds of Feedback

Asking for feedback is a universal part of the design process regardless of organization, industry or maturity. At some point in the process of making something you turn to others and either explicitly or implicitly open the doors to collecting their thoughts on what you’ve constructed. It…

Tips For Facilitating Productive Critiques

Adam and I talk a lot about the various aspects of critique, facilitation, and how to improve the conversation surrounding design in presentations and workshops at conferences and for companies. As a result we have picked up some helpful tips and…

Avoid Problem Solving For Better Critiques

People have a tendency to jump to a solution before they fully articulate the problem that they’ve found. Design Researchers see this all the time in usability studies, interviews, etc. Participants frequently make statements that begin with phrases along…

Filtering Solid Critiques from Personal Opinion.

I recent asked what questions individuals might have about critique and their design process. Andrew Norcross asked a question that both Adam Connor and I have heard quite a bit.

The Role of Intent in Critique

If you have participated in a design critique (whether large or small) you understand that at a high level there are two facets to critique: giving and receiving. At the root of these is intent. Intent is the initiator of critique; it is the “why”… Why am I asking for…