How to critique (Design)

Critical Thinking

The classic—there are four steps to this method:

1. Describe

   Take a look at what you’re looking at. What does it look like, literally? What are you seeing? What stands out to you? What is getting your attention?

   "I’m seeing a lot of pop up windows."

2. Analyze

   After describing what you see, take a step back and consider how it’s impacting the design

   "I’m seeing a lot of pop up windows which are making the website feel invasive."

3. Interpret

   What do you think the designer’s intentions were with this project? This is a good time to ask questions to get more information.

   "Is this project intended to be disruptive to prove a point?"

4. Evaluate

   With the information you have, consider if the design is successful. Are some parts of it are clearer than others? Can you provide ideas on what might help, or other possible outlets for exploration? Is the design this memorable? Yes? No? Why not?

   "I’m seeing the train of thought of wanting to create a disruptive experience on the website. It feels interesting, but I’m wondering why the pop up windows are stylized in an early 90s web aesthetic? Are these design choices necessary to the experience? How can we try something new?"

Other types of feedback

But there are more angles to critique and feedback.

• How can feedback become a tool to think together?
• How can it be a communal experience?

Affirmative Feedback

Of course, we don't always have to be critical. And after all positive feedback is scientifically proven to be more effective at making you a pro bowler. When we give affirmative feedback it often helps to:

• avoid starting your sentence with: I like...
• Instead you could say: This worked for me...
• Mention what worked well and why?
• There are no buts.

Perspectives

No matter how hard we try to be objective, critical thinkers, we always have biases and a lot of what we might think to be rational analysis might as well be our opinion. But we can take this into account.

When looking at a work ask yourself:

• What what doesn't work?
• What do you dislike?
• What irritates, confuses or bores you?
• Then, before saying it
  • Take a step back
  • Realize that, you are the one who thinks this
  • Ask yourself why you think this.
• you could say, I need [...] for this to work.

By shifting the focus towards yourself your statements can become less judgemental.

"If you are trying to make a really annoying website, I need more pop-ups, because I remember those being a very common feature in websites before ad-blockers."

Open Questions

Especially when a project is in it's earlier stages we can pose an open questions to the room or the presenter. These can focus the attention on a particular part of the work, raise a series of associations, or simply clarify something about the work.

• How do you feel about...?
• I'm wondering why this is...
• Have you tried...?
• What do you think of...?

Keep in mind here, that these questions don't have to be answered, and are more used to get us thinking about something.

Tips and Tricks

Feedback can also be a bit more pragmatic. Sometimes it's helpful to reference other works, associations, or simply give a practical/technical tip.

"Incase this might be useful, I saw this W3C tutorial on how to make pop-ups."

Personal Letter

Some feedback might work better in a more private setting. You can always write down your thoughts and give feedback as a personal note or via some private channel.

Plus One

Your feedback doesn't have to be unique, or groundbreaking. Supporting existing feedback is also a valid form of contribution. It's allowed to just agree with people.