Key takeaways
💡 Design critique is a design evaluation process where designers have the space to present their work to peers in an effort to collect feedback.
🔦 The designers should walk away from the design critique with a list of the design strengths, as well as with items for improvement.
🔍 Design critiques can be invaluable tools throughout the product development lifecycle.
A design critique is a great design evaluation tool that all mature design teams should have in their arsenal. However, design critiques tend to be emotional, often leading to subjective user feedback that can hinder the improvement of the design.
That’s why, in this comprehensive guide, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about design critiques—their benefits, team roles, and best practices for more productive, objective discussions.
What is a design critique?
Design critique is a design evaluation process where designers have the space to present their work to other team members, peers, or stakeholders to collect constructive feedback.
The ultimate goal of a design critique is to understand how usable the current design is and whether it aligns not only with the user needs but also with the business objectives.
A design critique process typically consists of the presentation of the designers’ work to the critique group, during which they explain the rationale behind their design as well as highlight any areas of interest or concern.
After the presentation is over, the critique group will then give their constructive feedback focusing on the way that the design could potentially be improved.
As a takeaway, the designers would walk away from the design critique with a list of the design strengths as well as with items for improvement.
💡 Pro Tip
Focus critiques on usability and alignment with goals. Frame feedback as questions or suggestions—e.g., “How might this improve accessibility?” rather than “I don’t like this.”
Design critique examples
Design critiques can be invaluable tools throughout the product development lifecycle.
For instance, during the early stages of product creation, they are a great way to validate the concept of the product before the product team heavily invests in its production.
A design critique can also be well-suited for refining designs at the prototype stage, ensuring effectiveness. Last but not least, they can be a great tool for assessing the state of the product as a team before the final launch.
Here are two handy examples to have in mind:
App prototype validation
Consider a team of UX designers that has just finished developing an interactive prototype of a new mobile application.
To gather constructive feedback from other cross-functional teams such as the product, marketing, and development team, they decide to hold a design critique.
During the critique, the lead designers go through the interactive prototype explaining the user flow and highlighting the main interactions.
The participants would then provide feedback using the ‘I like, I wish, What If’ method to provide structured feedback about the things they like, what else they would like to see, and any improvements that they could think of.
As a result, the UX team will be able to make informed decisions about the product design before they fully invest in its development.
Website design critique before the final launch
In another scenario, the UX design team is preparing to launch a brand-new website. Before doing so, they decide to organize a final design critique session to present the final design to the marketing and customer support team.
During the critique, the participants are given the space to provide feedback on the usability and accessibility of the website.
The critique in this case acts as a safety net for catching any last-minute issues or sticking points preventing costly post-launch mistakes.
Importance of design critique sessions
Holding design critique sessions can have a host of advantages for your digital product.
First things first, the very nature of the design critique has the power to foster collaboration among cross-functional teams and cultivate a culture of open feedback and communication.
On top of that, regular design critiques can massively help teams stay aligned with the product’s goal ensuring that both the user needs and the business objectives are being catered for.
As a result, those critiques are gold as they can help with the quality improvement of the product while also offering valuable soft skills and professional growth for your team.
Lilibeth Bustos shares that at Nuvocargo, design critique is used to ensure effective collaboration within her design team:
“We meet with the design team once a week and dedicate a specific time in the agenda to discuss the projects we’re working on and the solutions we collectively arrive at for each problem we tackle.
Recently, I updated our design critique process and templates, providing designers with a designated space in the product design process to gather and receive feedback from one another. This has allowed us to align our understanding of the UI and analyze the business aspects together.”
Who participates in the design critique?
Design critiques involve a range of stakeholders from different teams. UX designers would typically take on the presenter’s role and they would be responsible for showcasing their design.
The participants of the design critique, who are the ones expecting to provide feedback, can be a range of stakeholders coming from cross-functional teams such as UX research, product, engineering, marketing as well and customer-facing teams.
In addition to the different teams involved in the design critique, there are also different roles to be assumed:
- The presenter(s): This is the individual or team that will showcase the design and will explain the design decisions behind it.
- The facilitator: This is the individual who guides the sessions ensuring that the feedback is provided in a structured way and prevents the discussion from derailing.
- The note taker: This is the person responsible for documenting key feedback as well as any decisions that are made during the design critique.
- Critique participants: These are the stakeholders who critique the design and they would typically focus on providing objective feedback.
The main challenges with design critique
Despite the benefits, design critiques do come with their challenges.
Subjective, emotional feedback
One of the key challenges that comes with design critiques is that the critique participants might be overly subjective leading to emotionally charged feedback that does not reflect reality.
On top of that, the participants are also prone to expressing personal preferences leading to discussions that are not necessarily productive.
Lack of structure during sessions
A lack of clear structure during the design critique sessions can turn them into chaotic conversations without actionable feedback.
Taking feedback too personally
Receiving feedback is sometimes challenging so designers might get defensive with their designs or take negative feedback personally. This can lead to unproductive conversions without actionable insights for product enhancement.
Design critiques are not representative of our audience’s needs
Last but not least, although design critiques are generally a great practice, designers should remember that the feedback received is not always representative of the audience’s needs and wants.
With that in mind, designers should always put user data and insights at the forefront of any design decisions.
💡 Pro Tip
Feedback is valuable, but user data is key. Always validate critique insights against real user needs and behaviors.
Design critique best practices: Dealing with subjective feedback
In order to address the above-mentioned challenges, teams can benefit from a range of best practices when it comes to critique methods.
Those frameworks can help them stay more focused and minimize the risk of receiving subjective feedback.
Utilize structured critique methods
Utilizing structured critique methods can massively help designers keep the conversation flowy and focused while minimizing subjective feedback.
The ‘I Like, I Wish, What If’’ method is a great technique to encourage participants to express their thoughts and opinions in a structured and guided manner.
In particular, using this guidance participants are expected to say what they liked about the design, what they would have done differently and finally give some areas of improvement.
On the other hand, the 3Cs framework referring to context, content, and composition, can guide participants to assess designs based on those three key aspects.
Hence, by structuring feedback based on those three categories, participants are guided when it comes to the nature of the feedback they are expected to give.
Feedback should be related to the session goal
Setting a goal for the design critique session can massively help the session stay on track.
Start your design critique by clearly communicating the goal of the session at the very beginning to ensure that the participants are aware that are expected to tailor their comments according to the session goal.
Use UX research results to support feedback
Last but not least, do not forget to incorporate your UX research findings into your design critique sessions. You can do so by adding references to usability testing data and insights that can back up your decisions behind the product design.
Design critique frameworks: Making sessions more effective
Another great way to ensure that design critiques are more effective is the use of a structured design framework. Here are some of the key ones to keep in mind:
4-Part Design Critique Framework (Context, Exploration, Discussion, Decision)
The 4-Part Design Critique Framework can enhance the effectiveness of your design critique sessions as it serves as a guide for the session that can minimize the risks of chaotic conversations and unproductive feedback.
As part of this framework, the presenter sets the ‘context’ by clearly communicating the session’s goals.
The ‘exploration’ involves examining the design in detail, followed by the ‘discussion’, where participants share feedback and insights. Finally, the ‘decision’ is the part where feedback is summarised into actionable next steps for the team.
💡 Pro Tip
A well-structured critique prevents chaos. Define the session’s goals, guide the discussion, and ensure feedback leads to clear, actionable outcomes.
The Feedback Matrix
A feedback matrix can also help participants structure and categorize their feedback. The matrix typically consists of columns denoting the type of feedback the participant is expected to give.
This feedback can concern the usability, visual design, or accessibility of the design, and it can include a rating scale to assess how much the current design has covered in these areas.
Daki and usability heuristics
Last but not least, incorporating frameworks like Daki, which stands for design, action, knowledge, and impact, as well as tried-and-tested usability heuristics, can also help your team stay afloat and guide your critique sessions.
With such frameworks, participants can benefit from a more systematic and objective approach to feedback.
Establishing communication guidelines to improve collaboration
Another great way to tackle these challenges is to create an establish communication guidelines so that you can improve collaboration during the design critique sessions.
Setting the right tone
Make sure to set the right tone by encouraging an environment of positive and open communication with a respectful atmosphere where all participants feel comfortable sharing their opinions about the design.
💡 Pro Tip
Start the critique by reminding participants to focus on the design, not the designer, and encourage a balance of positive feedback and constructive suggestions.
Using specific and actionable language
Establish clear communication by giving actionable feedback focused on specific areas of design and avoid vague comments that can lead to confusion.
Inclusive language
Don’t forget to promote an environment where language is inclusive and encourages participation from all participants equally.
Creating a “Do’s” and “Don’ts” guide
Finally, a good idea is to create a “Do’s” and “Don’ts” guide, which can help the participants better understand expectations.
Preparing UX Research results for design critique
As briefly mentioned above showcasing relevant usability testing results during your design critique is a great way to enhance the quality of feedback received.
Want to see usability testing in action? Try it yourself with UXtweak’s usability testing tools! 🍯
Start by summarizing key findings from the studies that relate to the design that is being discussed during the critique. Present the data and insights to support feedback and recommendations from the team.
By backing up these discussions with research findings the participants of the design critique can ensure that the feedback is not only subjective but also informed by user data.
Dealing with negative feedback
Negative feedback is an unavoidable and natural part of the design critic process so you might want to consider a few strategies in order to ensure that this is handled effectively.
Stay objective and focus on the design rather than your personal feelings. When feedback is unclear or critical, do not hesitate to ask for further clarification to better understand the concerns expressed.
Finally, instead of being defensive with your design try to view feedback as an opportunity for improvement rather than as a personal attack.
💡 Pro Tip
Set feedback guidelines before the critique begins. Encouraging specificity and solution-oriented comments leads to more constructive discussions.
Design critique template
Here is a design critique template to get you started:
Session Details Date & Time [Insert Date & time] Presenter [Name of the designer] Facilitator [Name of the facilitator] Design Version [Prototype/Wireframe/Final design] Session Goal [E.g., Improve accessibility, refine user flow] Audience [List participants]
Feedback Method Key Feedback Action Items & Next Steps [Method used, e.g., “I Like, I Wish, What If”] [Summarized insights] [Define tasks and responsibilities]
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Wrapping up
Design critiques can be invaluable tools to enhance collaboration as well as improve product quality all this by fostering professional growth.
If you are unsure where to begin with your first design critique, UXtweak has got you covered!
From assumption mapping to usability testing and A/B testing, this platform lets you easily export results from previous studies to showcase during your design critique and prepare seamlessly.
Want to see it in action? Book a demo today!
