Tips for critiquing a design
Design critiques are meant to make the design—and designer—better. Remember, presenting work can make the presenter feel vulnerable.
It’s important to understand what the designer is trying to accomplish. What problem did they set out to address? What constraints were they working within?
As someone providing feedback, what you like or don’t like—whether it be the design or the designer—doesn’t matter unless you can look at the work objectively and provide supportive suggestions for improvement.
If you’re unsure what the design is solving, be cautious about providing strong feedback. Give the design problem or solution some thought, and ask questions.
It’s not your job to tell the designer how to fix problems in their design—that’s the designer’s job. Provide direction rather than prescribing your own solution. Likewise, instead of imposing your own stylistic preferences, help them sharpen their own by reinforcing universal design principles.