Design critique format
See also: Asynchronous design critiques.
Time: 1 hour or less
- 5–7 min introduction of problem and constraints
- 10–15 min presentation of solution
- 15–30 min of questions, answers, and feedback
2–6 participants:
- Facilitator: responsible for keeping the critique running smoothly and staying on time, and documenting the discussion. The presenter may also act as the facilitator when there are fewer participants, but it’s best to have someone else do it.
- Presenter: the person presenting the design solution.
- Critics: Preferably including at least a PM, engineer, and one other designer. It’s also helpful to have people from other functions/departments present.
During the critique, the presenter will present:
- the problem they set out to address, and who they are addressing the problem for (Personas)
- priorities and constraints taken into consideration
- the type of feedback they’re looking for that’s relevant for the stage at which the work is being done (e.g., focus on user flows vs. style)
Some examples from NN Group include:
- How the design meets or doesn’t meet user goals
- How it utilizes brand guidelines and tone of voice
- Specific content questions
- Overall look-and-feel of the visual design
- the process and work done to arrive at a solution to the problem(s)
At each stage it’s important for participants (the critics) to ask clarifying questions about the problem, priorities, and constraints (Tips for critiquing a design).
After the problem, ask the audience:
“Does this sound like a valid problem, is the problem statement confusing, is there anything that may have been overlooked? Do we agree that this is the problem that we should be solving?”
Feedback from the audience
New Concepts
My questions
After the presentation, ask the presenter:
“What are the next key steps you’ll take to move the work forward?”
Design critique format
Interactive graph