Why your design critique sucked

What went wrong, what makes a great critique and alternatives.

A wooden sign says “Next in line for Confession”
Photo by Shalone Cason on Unsplash

I ran a design critique the other week. Frankly, it sucked.

Here’s what went wrong and how to make things right (and some great alternatives to a standard design critique thank you Figma conference 2023 Rituals of Great Product Teams).

What I heard (and post retrospective):

  • Most of the questions I needed answered could have been answered by our manager before the session.
  • The rest of the team was left hanging and hardly had a reason or felt enabled to speak.
  • There weren’t clear alternatives to provide feedback on or clear guidance on what feedback I was after.
  • The critique space didn’t facilitate a good space for the team to collaboratively contribute or discuss.
  • The designs were pretty much done.
  • I had gotten used to just scheduling a design critique whenever a design needed some kind of input.

Why do we run critiques?

Running regular design critique across designs gives designers a broader view to see consistency (or inconsistencies) and alternative approaches that we ourselves might not of consisdered.

The Nielsen Norman Group as always has a great breakdown on design critiques that I recommend looking at.

When a design critique loses value:

  • If around 80% of the questions can be answered by 1–2 people.
  • If the guidelines for feedback are unclear (or non-existent).
  • If you’re not specific on what feedback, you need to move forward.

What a good critique feels like

The ultimate goal of a design critique is not to judge a design but support a designer in improving a design.

A design critique should feel like a positive event that should feel good for all parties involved. It should encourage open discussion rather than command and answer.

If a design critique feels like a drag or chore then it’s time for a rethink. If you’re designs…

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Categorized as UX