Designers, no matter their practice, have gone through some form of design critique in the past. Someone had to critically point out how the work needed to improve during the educational years.

University programs are specifically structured with formal critiques in their curriculum; these help students get critical feedback to expand their thinking and learn new insights. The thing is, when we are 18-22 years old we are still figuring out who WE are as people. Most young students are not coached to separate their craft work from their overall identity – to detach. Each piece of work is like showing someone a part of who you are. So when critical feedback is given during a critique in school, the feedback feels like a gut punch – feeling like someone is critiquing your heart, personality, and intention.

As a result, we have designers who run from the word critique like a building is on fire. “No way, uh-uh, not gonna do it. I’ve been through that experience. I thought it was over. Why in the world is it showing up now in the workplace?!”

The thing is… all makers need critique.

Why Critique Matters

Companies structure design staffing differently. At SEP we embed designers within cross-functional teams. This means, in most cases, there is 1 designer per team. Or if the need is larger, perhaps there are 2+ designers on a team.

Let’s say you’re a designer at a software company. You’ve been there a few years, you’re making good things happen. Clients/customers are happy. You’ve built some impactful things that have made a difference in the world. You’re probably thinking, I don’t need critique. Everyone’s happy, and I’m doing great.

But are you? It’s pretty easy to feel like you’re accomplishing great things if no one ever challenges you.

Why We Critique

In the software business, something new is always trending or evolving. Methods, patterns, styles, and principles are always reshaping themselves into the next their next evolution. Designing for complex domains on top of that, we have a recipe for assumptions.

Here are the main reasons why we critique:

Help us see what we don’t see when we’re too involved in a problem or solution.
We can get stuck in a problem and swirl.
We may be missing something obvious as an opportunity to solve for.
We may think we are doing something well, but actually not.
There may be a better way to do something, but we don’t know about it yet.
Learning from our mistakes, learning from our peers, and understanding how others approach work can help us be better designers, ourselves.
For times when research is scarce, design subject matter experts can help you with best practices.
And if you aren’t sharing and learning from others, you’ll quickly become obsolete in your craft.

In software work, there are many ways to solve a problem. How do we know which is best – given the consistent dichotomy between outcomes and constraints? How do we know we’re not injecting our own biases into the problem space and subsequently designing solutions that are off the mark? Getting multiple perspectives can help us check ourselves on how the solution is shaped together. Allowing others to influence the outcome, disconnecting from our own personal ideas, and allowing the solution to be collaboratively shaped will broaden the impact of the outcome.

Then, “vulnerability” enters the chat…

And if you’re still building an argument to disagree with me right now… Let me quickly address why you’re doing that. Vulnerability. Critique exposes our ghosts of the critique past. All the “what ifs” are dancing around in your mind… what if my work is not good enough, what if I did something wrong, what if I get feedback and I learn the whole approach is off – I won’t have time to go back and address the concern, I don’t want to feel like I did in college, and the most serious of them all… what if I’m not good enough?

Or, perhaps you’re still in the boat of I’m a Staff, Lead, Architect level designer. I know my stuff. Let me be direct… even younger designers can poke holes in a seasoned designer’s work. Whether you acknowledge it or not, you are rooted in your past experiences, and their fresh perspectives can help you see things another way. And perhaps the most important part of a senior designer getting their work critiqued is modeling. You are modeling for those who have the freshest critique wounds. It’s an opportunity to show them how to present your ask for critique, present your work, actively listen to critical feedback, and bring closure to the experience. You get to model how to critique the safe way. The way you wish someone had taught you back in school. You get to show someone a new path forward.

Critique is critical to learning and growing.

How to Critique

First, build trust. (Do not skip this step.) To move beyond the experiences of the past, we have to trust the people around us to show up with the same intent as we are. This could look like sharing time together, getting to know each other at a deeper level, or having fun field trips together.

Then, work as a group to create a shared intent for critique. For SEP designers, during our critiques, we agree to:

Help one another grow in our craft and deliver the highest possible value to our clients.
Invest in building trust with one another.
Hold one another accountable for following our critique process and guidelines.
Never purposely make anyone feel wrong or wronged.
Ask socratic questions to help someone think about a problem differently.
Never solve the problem on behalf of the person requesting critique.
Be devoted to understanding each domain uniquely so that we can contribute meaningful feedback.
Show our work at all stages of maturity/fidelity.
Discuss client experience or team situations that relate to the work.
Work to ensure that the person presenting walks away knowing what was done well and what needs to be improved.
Ensure feedback is actionable, not an expression of opinion.
Hold critique to the highest of standards. These discussions help to shape the quality and standardization of our design practices.

How to Ask for Feedback

Explain the project context, problem statement, constraints, schedule, etc. Only enough for the feedback request. We can always share more later if needed.
Review users’ and biz stakeholders’ goals.
State approach taken, level of fidelity, etc.
Detail any concerns about the approach, method, solution, etc.
Direct the feedback response. Explain what’s in/out of bounds for the feedback you’re seeking.
- Example: “I want to know what you think about this approach. Don’t worry about the hierarchy here, that work is already in progress. What I really need feedback on is this component and how it’s helping the user clearly understand the primary action.”

Giving Constructive Feedback During a Critique

Be candid and direct, using Radical Candor.
Be specific – detail what’s working and what’s not.
Tie your feedback to user and biz goals – always. This isn’t about whether YOU like the design approach. Your goal is to help the feedback requester expand their thinking.
Ask questions for clarity.
Ask socratic questions to get someone to think. Don’t jump into solving the problem for them.

Receiving Constructive Feedback During a Critique

Recognize your own gut reactions and first instincts. What are you feeling and why?
Challenge yourself to listen to the feedback without getting defensive. If you are getting defensive, take a breath and look deeper to see what may be causing this for yourself.
Ask questions to gain a deeper understanding of the feedback.
Process the feedback. You always have options to ask if the person giving you feedback could be available to review or go deeper at another time.
Reflect. Process, not only the feedback on the work, but how the person gave you feedback. Did your feedback request framing provide the right feedback you needed?

Get Into the Habit of Critique

No muscle forms overnight. When we started design critique here at SEP, we went through phases to get where we are today. Now, we have a group of trusted peers, all building our skills, craft, practices, and principles together. We’re all moving in the same direction.

To get here, we had to build trust, set and align expectations, and repeatedly ask for, provide, and receive feedback. We still adjust and modify our critique process as we grow to ensure we adapt to the ever-changing landscape of design and software.

So, I encourage you to let go of past critique ghosts and explore what a strong-knit group of peers can do to help level up, not only you – but the work, the outcomes, and your organization.

Say it with me folks… “I am not my work. My work does not define me.” Now repeat 3 times, write it on a post-it and keep on your monitor, and ask for some feedback. You got this.

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When we were first building our critique processes we drew lots of inspiration from this article about critique from Patrick Thornton. Thank you, Patrick. You got us kickstarted.

Photo credit – Unsplash

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