Design Critique Template
Every time a novice designer has to attend his/her design critique (mostly presided by senior designers), they panic. Many junior designers have reached out and asked for guidance. Hence, here’s a quick guide, especially for the newbies out there so they can enter the war-room with confidence, sound professional during the session, and exit the room a bit more knowledgable!
What is Design Critique
A design critique refers to analyzing the design and giving constructive feedback on whether the design presented meets its objectives.
But, why do a critique?
- To enable designers to think and assess the problem space before they start their UI/Design process
- To empower designers to think independently while solving the problem and improve collectively during the Design Critique
- To enable designers to present professionally to their peers
Alright, let’s get to the point!
How do I get started?
Step 1:
Fill in the Project Brief (shown below) before you start your designs. You may work with your Business teams or Product Owners to fill in the details.
Step 2:
Work on your designs as usual. Follow your preferred design methodology. If needed refer to your Design goals as set in the Project Brief.
Step 3:
A day before your Design Critique, please send out the Project Brief and the Critique Introduction (shown below) in your email communiqué to all participants who would be attending your design critique.
Step 4:
Follow the Designer Cheat Sheet (shown below) to ensure that you stick to the best practices.
Project Brief
(Step 1:) This needs to be filled before you start your designs. You may work with your Business teams or Product Owners to fill in the details.
Critique Introduction
(Step 3:) A day before your Design Critique, please send out the Project Brief and the Critique Introduction in your email communiqué to all participants who would be attending your design critique.
e.g.
I am showing the final solution around finding a structured way to conduct a design critique because it will enable our designers to be more professional and effective. And I am looking for feedback around (i) the feasibility of the template, (ii) the additional workload on designers, and (iii) if we can gamify it.
Designer Cheat Sheet
(Step 4:) Follow the Designer Cheat Sheet to ensure that you stick to the best practices.
I hope it helps junior designers to be better at Design Critique sessions. For any feedback, please do not hesitate to comment and ask.
Wait, what about the audience?
A critique includes two parties — viz. the Designer, and the Audience. When you are not presenting, you’ll have to critique some other designer’s work. So, here are some bonus points for you — the audience.
Audience: The other side of design critique
As much as it is important to be good at presenting and defending your designs, it is necessary to know how to be a good audience and provide constructive feedback.
Lastly, an audience cheatsheet.
Don’t make it personal. Direct the feedback towards the work, not the designer.
Before you go
Clap 👏 , if you enjoyed it, so others can find it
Comment 💬, if you have a question you’d like to ask or know more about
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🎁 Here’s another template for writing Product (Design) Proposals & Case Studies for your portfolio.
While you are at it, my designer friends, why not present new ideas or conduct workshops for your team? A great way for you to grow, learn and create meaningful impact within your team.
You can help your teammates make sense of Cross-cultural design for websites/apps. Here’s an extensive slide deck just for you 👉 https://medium.com/@praty/clearly-cultural-fefc06f68af1
Or, conduct an Accessible Design workshop to talk about inclusive designs. Here’s how I did it 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/conducting-accessible-design-workshop-pratyush-pandab/
Design NDA Disclaimer
*To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information. All information presented is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of the company.*
