SlideShare una empresa de Scribd logo
1 de 81
Descargar para leer sin conexión
Design
without critique
is like a flower without water
Petr Stedry, UX Designer
My name is Petr Stedry, I work as a UX Designer for GoodData a Business Intelligence cloud platform.
Today I would like to help you improve your designs through critique.
Imagine your child is 5 years old and learning to write on his own.
Says “DRINKING REGIME”
And one day he shows you this.
What will be your reaction?
What kind of feedback will you give him?
A) Wow! That's fantastic.
Will you praise him for his good skills?
Saying something like ...
Wow! That’s fantastic! You are really good at writing.
A) Wow! That's fantastic.
B) Good job!
Or will your feedback be more specific like this?
Good Job!
The letters are well spaced and straight.
But look, the N and Z are flipped. And you are missing a space between the words.
A) Wow! That's fantastic.
B) Good job!
Who thinks A is a better response?
Who thinks B is better?
Who thought A was better?
Actually A is what most people do to their kids. They want them to feel good.
Offering only praise. Glancing over the errors without mention.
Who thought B is better?
But B is a much better feedback for the child as it can use it to improve his skills.
Let’s talk about ways to use the same approach for your designs. And not only designs.
If you want to improve, critique will help you in many situations.
And not only with your design.
Critique is a life skill.
Critique
What is it?
Why should I care?
So what is critique?
And why does it matter?
No, I don’t want you to read a wikipedia page.
That wouldn't help you understand.
Let's look at an example. Or rather a counter example.
You are probably familiar with one setting, where critique usually does not occur.
Design review meetings.
You know them, right?
You would want them to be more like supermarket.
You get in with a design and get out with a list of things to be improved.
And everyone one is happy! No?
Usually the design review meetings are more like a gallery.
You bring the art and the stakeholders either like it or don’t.
Or worse. They are trying to offer improvement suggestions.
To get to the list of things that work and those that don’t you need to perform systematic and detailed analysis of the design.
And that’s critique.
It is about critical thinking. Challenging the status quo and not blindly accepting the world as it is.
Thinking like Sherlock Holmes.
Argument
Argument
Argument
Argument
Argument
Argument
At the heart of critique is an argument.
But not all arguments are equally powerful.
Personal opinions – the “likes” and “dislikes” – are the weakest arguments as they are based only on emotions.
You can agree or disagree with them depending on how much they match your opinion.
But that will not make them useful beyond expressing your feelings.
< Opinion Strong Argument >
You can imagine the strength of arguments on a scale like this.
With opinions being off the scale on the left and strong arguments no one argues about on the right.
A little bit stronger than opinions are arguments based on inductive reasoning, consensus or analogies.
“That horizontal menu worked well on that site, so it will work on our too.”
Arguments like this are pretty common and quite weak.
< Opinion Strong Argument >
A strong argument – in design – is based on direct observation, results of usability testing or other forms of research.
You can read research papers online for free!
And it’s a great idea to spend as much time in usability tests as possible.
It doesn’t need to be your site or app that’s tested. The observations you’ll make will be worth it.
Preparing for critique
To get most of the critique session, you should prepare yourself in advance.
There are a few things you can do.
Accept that your design is not perfect
Start with accepting that your design is not perfect.
I have a story to tell you ...
A long time ago, I was a JAVA programmer.
My job was to design and implement an optimal technical solution to a problem.
O (n²)
In programing it is quite easy to measure what approach is best.
I got taught at school how to compute the asymptotic time complexity of an algorithm. Those were times.
Everything seemed so simple.
I began to move from programming to design in 2004 when I was working as a contractor for Skoda Auto, the car manufacturer.
I carried on the skills I had learned.
When the requirements arrived, I tried really hard to produce the optimal user interface.
When the negative comments came, I was mostly defending my "optimal" solution, looking for arguments to support it.
Accepting critique seemed like admitting failure.
Failure to design the optimal solution on my own.
Wrong
50 %
Right
50 %
Don't be like that past me. Don't blindly defend your solution.
Wrong
50 %
Right
50 %
Accept, that you might be right just 50% of the time.
Use critique to uncover what is good and what it wrong in your design.
Set your expectations
In order to be able to accept the critique, you also need to set your expectations.
Do you need a hug?
If the answer is “Yes” then go to your or mother.
She loves you and will hug you if you ask for it.
Or post your work on Behancé.
This screenshot shows the typical type of feedback you will receive.
Isn’t that the digital equivalent of a hug?
Or did you just want to show off your supreme design skillz?
Why not. Nothing wrong with that.
But it won’t work as a critique session.
It's not about your ego. It's about improving the design, remember?
Only call for critique if you want your design improved.
This has to be your main motivation.
Prepare the design
For you the design is probably "your child". You nurtured it for several days, weeks or maybe even months.
It IS hard to accept critique.
The design needs to be prepared.
The bond between you and your design is strong. An there’s something called the IKEA effect.
It says the strength of the relationship between you and the design depends on the amount of labor you put in.
You can also observe this phenomenon when you have kids.
Your feelings for them are so strong because of the extraordinary amount of work you put into raising them.
In design though, there is one easy way to minimize its effect.
Start with critique as soon as possible.
Forget long hours in Photoshop or Axure to polish a design.
Whenever you can, critique pencil sketches created in a few minutes.
You will be much less attached to them.
Share the context
For other people to be able to critique your design effectively, they need to know what you know …
Without this information, they cannot objectively evaluate the quality of the design.
It would be the same as if you were wandering around city on a foggy day, unable to see most of its beauty and flaws.
And someone would ask you: “How do you find this city?”. You would be unable to answer.
So share Personas, Scenarios and any other user research you’ve based your work on.
It is important, that this information is not only presented, but also well understood by all participants of the session.
But you do not want the critics to follow you in your footsteps.
Just show them where you intended to go - what were your design goals and constraints.
A-ha!
You need them to form their own opinion!
They need to experience that “a–ha” moment.
It’s hard not to explain your design decisions!
And it needs practice.
But if you avoid that, the critique session will go much more smoothly.
The critique session
So you’ve prepared the design, set your expectations and provided the context.
And the critique session starts.
People participating in the session might not know about critique.
So you will need to moderate.
Following these tips will help you get the most of it.
Be specific
Are you trying to get feedback on something specific?
Then say what it is.
Do you want to hear arguments about the paper on the package or the ribbon?
If people get too far from what you want criticised, nudge them back to the topic.
Keep the target in sights or you lose the battle :) as they say.
+–
Critique usually starts with negative feedback, at least where I come from. That’s why it is perceived as something bad ...
... as nitpicking. But do not stop there, critique is impartial analysis.
Try to discover what is good as well as what is bad about a design.
Positive feedback tells you what should be kept and improved.
Negative feedback tells you what needs to be simplified, changed or removed.
Always strive to achieve a balance between negative and positive feedback. Nothing in design is all wrong or perfect.
There is a nice iterative colaborative design method called the Design Studio that uses critique at its core.
Who heard about Design Studio?
I am curious. Who heard about Design Studio?
Who tried Design Studio?
Is there anyone who had the chance to try it with clients or colleagues?
If you haven’t heard about it or tried it out yet it’s the perfect training ground for critique.
I like ...
I don’t like ...
When trying to criticise the sketches of their peers at the workshop, many people start with "I like", "I dislike".
Those are opinions, remember? The weakest arguments, that completely disregard the target group the design is created for.
The design was not created for your eyes only!
BAN
Ban "I like"! Ban the emotional response. Encourage people to refer to the personas, target groups or whatever resemblance of
the customer you have.
Banning the emotional response will help you to create a design, with the people in mind.
There’s also another reason to keep the discussion impersonal.
I don’t like your design!
(in a resolute voice) "I DON'T LIKE YOUR DESIGN"
How do you feel?
How does this comment change your behavior?
Do you want the dialog to continue?
Probably not.
You will either get passive or defend yourself.
And this is exactly what are you trying to prevent during the critique session.
You need people to feel safe. You need them to be willing to share any feedback.
And when the feedback comes, you should "ack-app-cap" it.
Acknowledge
Appreciate
Capture
Acknowledge, appreciate an capture it.
Let’s talk about why are those actions important. And how do they help you.
This is Dan Ariely a behavioral economist.
Dan and two other researchers published an interesting paper acknowledgment and its effect on the willingness to work.
Note: The following material is from the “Beginners guide to irrational behavior” by Dan Ariely on Coursera. All rights reserved.
People were given sheets of random letters and they were asked to find pairs. They got paid for each sheet.
In the first condition, people were asked to sign the paper in the top right corner.
And were asked to deposit the each sheet at a table. The person sitting at the table acknowledged this by saying “A-ha”.
In the second condition, people delivering the sheets were completely ignored by the person at the table.
In the third condition, the person at the table took the sheet of paper and put it into a shredder without looking at it.
People in the “shredder” condition completed about 6.5 sheet on average.
People in the “acknowledged” condition completed more than 9 sheets on average.
People in the “ignored” condition completed almost the same number of sheets as in the “shredded” condition.
As you see, it is quite important to acknowledge and appreciate the feedback you receive. Failure to do so will result in
dramatically less feedback.
The easiest way to appreciate something is to say "Thank you".
Good point. Thanks!
My own “mantra”
You all have a way how to appreciate other humans. So do not forget to use it during critique sessions.
My own mantra is "Good point. Thanks!". Feel free to use it too :)
Do you think you can remember everything clearly without writing things down?
You are probably right at first. You can remember for a few second or minutes ...
But as time moves on, your memory will remove or twist the facts that don’t match your beliefs.
And in the end it might look like your opponent actually praised your design.
Red Green Blue
That’s caused by cognitive dissonance - the state that you’re in when with information that goes against what you believe.
This is a nice example of it. The text says something else than the colors.
Makes you uncomfortable just looking at it, right?
Write everything down.
If you are not able to take notes during the session, ask someone to do it for you.
Buy red and green markers and carry them with you everywhere you go.
And use them as often as possible.
Annotate the arguments directly into the design itself so the feedback stays close.
Don’t be afraid to end the discussion
Any argument also has to be presented in a way that’s understandable.
And if they do understand, there is (usually) no point in repeating it.
Let me tell you a story about this ...
Once, I had a meeting with a client ...
No, not like this.
More like this.
The client paid for my critical opinion on a design they got from another agency.
We sat down, went from the information architecture down to each page in detail. We got to a point where he started to defend
his point of view.
He repeated his arguments.
I waited for him to finish and said: "We both presented our arguments. You know my opinion and I will not add anything to it at
this point. Let's continue with the next page."
He paused for a moment and replied with: "Oh. That's professional.".
And we moved on.
Say what you have to and move on.
It's pointless to repeat arguments.
You’re in for the feedback not to have the last word.
Questions?
Source for all images - internet. All rights reserved.
So this is it. We’re almost at the end.
Let’s ask some questions and then I will sum it up.
Prepare for critique
‣ Accept your design is not perfect
‣ Set your expectations
‣ Prepare the design
‣ Share the context
To sum up ...
first you should prepare for the critique ...
Set your expectation, explain the context and prepare the design ... sketches work best.
During the session
‣ Limit the scope & be specific
‣ Positive and negative feedback
‣ Ban "I like" and keep it impersonal
‣ A-A-C
‣ End when you run out of arguments
So how do you use this to improve your designs?
What are you worst at?
So how do you use this knowledge to improve your designs or yourself?
Think about how you approach critique.
What are you worst at? Got it?
What could you do really fast?
What could you start doing really fast?
Pick one technique in each of these two categories.
And write an e-mail to the future you asking if you already achieved these two goals and how did you improve.
You can use futureme.org a free service, that does exactly that - send you an e-mail at the point in time in the future of your
choosing. I suggest you put it at least one year in the future so you forget that you sent it in the meantime.
You can reach me at
petr.stedry@gmail.com | @vorkronor | delicious.com/vorkronor
Thank you :)
And that will make you a better designer and a better person as well.
Thank you!

Más contenido relacionado

La actualidad más candente

What is Game Thinking?
What is Game Thinking?What is Game Thinking?
What is Game Thinking?Amy Jo Kim
 
Slack Game Thinking Teardown
Slack Game Thinking TeardownSlack Game Thinking Teardown
Slack Game Thinking TeardownAmy Jo Kim
 
Game Thinking Asia Keynote
Game Thinking Asia KeynoteGame Thinking Asia Keynote
Game Thinking Asia KeynoteAmy Jo Kim
 
Shanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game Thinking
Shanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game ThinkingShanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game Thinking
Shanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game ThinkingAmy Jo Kim
 
Kickstarter Game Thinking Teardown
Kickstarter Game Thinking TeardownKickstarter Game Thinking Teardown
Kickstarter Game Thinking TeardownAmy Jo Kim
 
Learning as a creative professional
Learning as a creative professionalLearning as a creative professional
Learning as a creative professionalConfiz
 
How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4
How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4
How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4Nicred
 
Interviewing customers 101
Interviewing customers 101Interviewing customers 101
Interviewing customers 101Rebecca Rose
 
Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015
Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015
Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015Amy Jo Kim
 
Turbo-charge you product with Game Thinking
Turbo-charge you product with Game ThinkingTurbo-charge you product with Game Thinking
Turbo-charge you product with Game ThinkingAmy Jo Kim
 
The Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to mastery
The Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to masteryThe Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to mastery
The Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to masteryAmy Jo Kim
 
Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'
Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'
Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'Triggr In
 
How Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hit
How Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hitHow Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hit
How Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hitAmy Jo Kim
 

La actualidad más candente (15)

What is Game Thinking?
What is Game Thinking?What is Game Thinking?
What is Game Thinking?
 
Slack Game Thinking Teardown
Slack Game Thinking TeardownSlack Game Thinking Teardown
Slack Game Thinking Teardown
 
Game Thinking Asia Keynote
Game Thinking Asia KeynoteGame Thinking Asia Keynote
Game Thinking Asia Keynote
 
Shanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game Thinking
Shanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game ThinkingShanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game Thinking
Shanghai Keynote: Innovate smarter with Game Thinking
 
Kickstarter Game Thinking Teardown
Kickstarter Game Thinking TeardownKickstarter Game Thinking Teardown
Kickstarter Game Thinking Teardown
 
Ux4 indiedevs
Ux4 indiedevsUx4 indiedevs
Ux4 indiedevs
 
Learning as a creative professional
Learning as a creative professionalLearning as a creative professional
Learning as a creative professional
 
How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4
How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4
How to-become-a-likeable-person xlyzoreqj4
 
Interviewing customers 101
Interviewing customers 101Interviewing customers 101
Interviewing customers 101
 
Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015
Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015
Turbo-charge your product with Game Thinking - Lean Startup Conference 2015
 
Turbo-charge you product with Game Thinking
Turbo-charge you product with Game ThinkingTurbo-charge you product with Game Thinking
Turbo-charge you product with Game Thinking
 
The Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to mastery
The Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to masteryThe Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to mastery
The Game Thinking Roadmap: a PMs path to mastery
 
Marketing on facebook
Marketing on facebookMarketing on facebook
Marketing on facebook
 
Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'
Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'
Anatomy of a killer retail website - 'Triggr The Web'
 
How Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hit
How Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hitHow Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hit
How Slack, Kickstarter & Duolingo used Game Thinking to create a breakout hit
 

Destacado

The Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design Process
The Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design ProcessThe Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design Process
The Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design ProcessAdam Connor
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of CritiqueDiscussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of CritiqueAaron Irizarry
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011Aaron Irizarry
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYC
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYCDiscussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYC
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYCAaron Irizarry
 
How to critique your photos
How to critique your photosHow to critique your photos
How to critique your photosImageMaven Inc.
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of CritiqueDiscussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of CritiqueAdam Connor
 

Destacado (10)

(Big) Data Science
(Big) Data Science(Big) Data Science
(Big) Data Science
 
The Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design Process
The Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design ProcessThe Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design Process
The Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design Process
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of CritiqueDiscussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - Web 2.0 Expo NY 2011
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYC
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYCDiscussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYC
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique - ixdaNYC
 
Art Criticism student example
Art Criticism student exampleArt Criticism student example
Art Criticism student example
 
How to Formally Critique Art
How to Formally Critique ArtHow to Formally Critique Art
How to Formally Critique Art
 
How to critique your photos
How to critique your photosHow to critique your photos
How to critique your photos
 
Research critique example rmt 1
Research critique example rmt 1Research critique example rmt 1
Research critique example rmt 1
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of CritiqueDiscussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
 

Similar a Design without critique is like a flower without water (WebExpo 2013 version)

I don't like your design
I don't like your designI don't like your design
I don't like your designPetr Stedry
 
Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]
Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]
Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]Aaron Irizarry
 
A conversation about Design thinking
A conversation about Design thinkingA conversation about Design thinking
A conversation about Design thinkingAbhinav Soni
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
 Discussing Design: The Art of Critique Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of CritiqueAaron Irizarry
 
Critique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better Feedback
Critique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better FeedbackCritique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better Feedback
Critique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better FeedbackAaron Irizarry
 
Nasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial Center
Nasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial CenterNasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial Center
Nasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial CenterChris Avore
 
Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...
Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...
Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...Stephanie Beath
 
SXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing Users
SXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing UsersSXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing Users
SXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing UsersSteve Portigal
 
Discuss Design Without Losing Your Mind
Discuss Design Without Losing Your MindDiscuss Design Without Losing Your Mind
Discuss Design Without Losing Your MindAdam Connor
 
UX London Redux - Dan Saffer
UX London Redux - Dan SafferUX London Redux - Dan Saffer
UX London Redux - Dan Saffercpetzny
 
Getting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experience
Getting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experienceGetting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experience
Getting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experiencePhil Barrett
 
The elements of product success for designers and developers
The elements of product success for designers and developersThe elements of product success for designers and developers
The elements of product success for designers and developersNick Myers
 
Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?
Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?
Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?Amir Khella
 
Design critique - how can I make this better?
Design critique - how can I make this better?Design critique - how can I make this better?
Design critique - how can I make this better?Cameron Rogers
 
Connecting the dots
Connecting the dotsConnecting the dots
Connecting the dotsJuanjoGrasa
 
Designing beautiful & effective sites for non profits
Designing beautiful & effective sites for non profitsDesigning beautiful & effective sites for non profits
Designing beautiful & effective sites for non profitsEve Simon
 
Designing for Customer needs: A UX Perspective
Designing for Customer needs: A UX PerspectiveDesigning for Customer needs: A UX Perspective
Designing for Customer needs: A UX PerspectiveRichard O'Brien
 

Similar a Design without critique is like a flower without water (WebExpo 2013 version) (20)

I don't like your design
I don't like your designI don't like your design
I don't like your design
 
Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]
Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]
Discussing Design Without Losing your Mind [Code and Creativity 10/7]
 
A conversation about Design thinking
A conversation about Design thinkingA conversation about Design thinking
A conversation about Design thinking
 
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
 Discussing Design: The Art of Critique Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
Discussing Design: The Art of Critique
 
Critique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better Feedback
Critique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better FeedbackCritique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better Feedback
Critique and The Design Process: Facilitating Better Feedback
 
Design Feedback for Everyone
Design Feedback for EveryoneDesign Feedback for Everyone
Design Feedback for Everyone
 
Nasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial Center
Nasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial CenterNasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial Center
Nasdaq Pro/Design Masterclass at the Entrepreneurial Center
 
Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...
Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...
Design thinking myths - valuing terrible ideas doesn’t mean all ideas are sam...
 
The Art of Developmental Feedback
The Art of Developmental FeedbackThe Art of Developmental Feedback
The Art of Developmental Feedback
 
SXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing Users
SXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing UsersSXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing Users
SXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing Users
 
Discuss Design Without Losing Your Mind
Discuss Design Without Losing Your MindDiscuss Design Without Losing Your Mind
Discuss Design Without Losing Your Mind
 
UX London Redux - Dan Saffer
UX London Redux - Dan SafferUX London Redux - Dan Saffer
UX London Redux - Dan Saffer
 
Getting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experience
Getting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experienceGetting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experience
Getting into UX: How to take your first steps to a career in user experience
 
The elements of product success for designers and developers
The elements of product success for designers and developersThe elements of product success for designers and developers
The elements of product success for designers and developers
 
Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?
Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?
Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?
 
Design critique - how can I make this better?
Design critique - how can I make this better?Design critique - how can I make this better?
Design critique - how can I make this better?
 
Connecting the dots
Connecting the dotsConnecting the dots
Connecting the dots
 
Designing beautiful & effective sites for non profits
Designing beautiful & effective sites for non profitsDesigning beautiful & effective sites for non profits
Designing beautiful & effective sites for non profits
 
What is design critique?
What is design critique?What is design critique?
What is design critique?
 
Designing for Customer needs: A UX Perspective
Designing for Customer needs: A UX PerspectiveDesigning for Customer needs: A UX Perspective
Designing for Customer needs: A UX Perspective
 

Más de Petr Stedry

Design Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longer
Design Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longerDesign Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longer
Design Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longerPetr Stedry
 
Staň se UXákem i TY!!!
Staň se UXákem i TY!!!Staň se UXákem i TY!!!
Staň se UXákem i TY!!!Petr Stedry
 
Future of UX Education (#uxce15)
Future of UX Education (#uxce15)Future of UX Education (#uxce15)
Future of UX Education (#uxce15)Petr Stedry
 
Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?
Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?
Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?Petr Stedry
 
Designing Life Experience
Designing Life ExperienceDesigning Life Experience
Designing Life ExperiencePetr Stedry
 
Žijeme s uživateli
Žijeme s uživateliŽijeme s uživateli
Žijeme s uživateliPetr Stedry
 
Design studio workshop
Design studio workshopDesign studio workshop
Design studio workshopPetr Stedry
 
Neptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníků
Neptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníkůNeptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníků
Neptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníkůPetr Stedry
 
Design tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experience
Design tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experienceDesign tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experience
Design tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experiencePetr Stedry
 
Design Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitku
Design Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitkuDesign Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitku
Design Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitkuPetr Stedry
 

Más de Petr Stedry (10)

Design Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longer
Design Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longerDesign Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longer
Design Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longer
 
Staň se UXákem i TY!!!
Staň se UXákem i TY!!!Staň se UXákem i TY!!!
Staň se UXákem i TY!!!
 
Future of UX Education (#uxce15)
Future of UX Education (#uxce15)Future of UX Education (#uxce15)
Future of UX Education (#uxce15)
 
Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?
Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?
Jak poznám dobrýho designéra, když ho chci najmout do týmu?
 
Designing Life Experience
Designing Life ExperienceDesigning Life Experience
Designing Life Experience
 
Žijeme s uživateli
Žijeme s uživateliŽijeme s uživateli
Žijeme s uživateli
 
Design studio workshop
Design studio workshopDesign studio workshop
Design studio workshop
 
Neptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníků
Neptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníkůNeptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníků
Neptejte se "Jak se vám líbí náš web", měřte pocity svých návštěvníků
 
Design tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experience
Design tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experienceDesign tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experience
Design tenets: One Step closer to a pixel perfect experience
 
Design Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitku
Design Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitkuDesign Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitku
Design Tenets - O krok blíž k lepšímu uživatelskému prožitku
 

Último

Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.comCreate Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.comjakyjhon00
 
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptxWCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptxHasan S
 
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...khushisharma298853
 
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024Ted Drake
 
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPTHow to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPTThink 360 Studio
 
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design SuccessUI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design SuccessThink 360 Studio
 
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024mikailaoh
 
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024Alan Dix
 
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa LetšosaModels of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosaannemarleenolthof1
 
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkillHigh-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkillCre8iveskill
 
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...Ed Orozco
 
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teamsDesigning for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teamsBlock Party
 
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara RakovskaAMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara RakovskaBarusRa
 
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdfLRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdfHctorFranciscoSnchez1
 
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOLMath Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOLkenzukiri
 
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdfUnlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdfIBM
 
Construction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before ConstructionConstruction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before ConstructionResDraft
 
Embroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazineEmbroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazineRivanEleraki
 

Último (18)

Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.comCreate Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
Create Funeral Invites Online @ feedvu.com
 
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptxWCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
WCM Branding Agency | 210519 - Portfolio Review (F&B) -s.pptx
 
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
Khushi sharma undergraduate portfolio...
 
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
Introduce Trauma-Informed Design to Your Organization - CSUN ATC 2024
 
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPTHow to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
How to use Ai for UX UI Design | ChatGPT
 
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design SuccessUI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
UI UX Process for SaaS Product Design Success
 
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
UX Conference on UX Research Trends in 2024
 
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
The future of UX design support tools - talk Paris March 2024
 
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa LetšosaModels of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
Models of Disability - an overview by Marno Retief & Rantoa Letšosa
 
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkillHigh-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
High-Quality Faux Embroidery Services | Cre8iveSkill
 
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
Design mental models for managing large-scale dbt projects. March 21, 2024 in...
 
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teamsDesigning for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
Designing for privacy: 3 essential UX habits for product teams
 
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara RakovskaAMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
AMBER GRAIN EMBROIDERY | Growing folklore elements | Barbara Rakovska
 
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdfLRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications-AASHTO (2014).pdf
 
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOLMath Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
Math Group 3 Presentation OLOLOLOLILOOLLOLOL
 
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdfUnlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
Unlocking Conversion_ The Art of Turning Visitors into Loyal Customers.pdf
 
Construction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before ConstructionConstruction Documents Checklist before Construction
Construction Documents Checklist before Construction
 
Embroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazineEmbroidery design from embroidery magazine
Embroidery design from embroidery magazine
 

Design without critique is like a flower without water (WebExpo 2013 version)

  • 1. Design without critique is like a flower without water Petr Stedry, UX Designer My name is Petr Stedry, I work as a UX Designer for GoodData a Business Intelligence cloud platform. Today I would like to help you improve your designs through critique.
  • 2. Imagine your child is 5 years old and learning to write on his own.
  • 3. Says “DRINKING REGIME” And one day he shows you this. What will be your reaction? What kind of feedback will you give him?
  • 4. A) Wow! That's fantastic. Will you praise him for his good skills? Saying something like ... Wow! That’s fantastic! You are really good at writing.
  • 5. A) Wow! That's fantastic. B) Good job! Or will your feedback be more specific like this? Good Job! The letters are well spaced and straight. But look, the N and Z are flipped. And you are missing a space between the words.
  • 6. A) Wow! That's fantastic. B) Good job! Who thinks A is a better response? Who thinks B is better?
  • 7. Who thought A was better? Actually A is what most people do to their kids. They want them to feel good. Offering only praise. Glancing over the errors without mention.
  • 8. Who thought B is better? But B is a much better feedback for the child as it can use it to improve his skills. Let’s talk about ways to use the same approach for your designs. And not only designs. If you want to improve, critique will help you in many situations.
  • 9. And not only with your design. Critique is a life skill.
  • 10. Critique What is it? Why should I care? So what is critique? And why does it matter?
  • 11. No, I don’t want you to read a wikipedia page. That wouldn't help you understand. Let's look at an example. Or rather a counter example.
  • 12. You are probably familiar with one setting, where critique usually does not occur. Design review meetings. You know them, right?
  • 13. You would want them to be more like supermarket. You get in with a design and get out with a list of things to be improved. And everyone one is happy! No?
  • 14. Usually the design review meetings are more like a gallery. You bring the art and the stakeholders either like it or don’t. Or worse. They are trying to offer improvement suggestions.
  • 15. To get to the list of things that work and those that don’t you need to perform systematic and detailed analysis of the design. And that’s critique. It is about critical thinking. Challenging the status quo and not blindly accepting the world as it is. Thinking like Sherlock Holmes.
  • 16. Argument Argument Argument Argument Argument Argument At the heart of critique is an argument. But not all arguments are equally powerful.
  • 17. Personal opinions – the “likes” and “dislikes” – are the weakest arguments as they are based only on emotions. You can agree or disagree with them depending on how much they match your opinion. But that will not make them useful beyond expressing your feelings.
  • 18. < Opinion Strong Argument > You can imagine the strength of arguments on a scale like this. With opinions being off the scale on the left and strong arguments no one argues about on the right. A little bit stronger than opinions are arguments based on inductive reasoning, consensus or analogies. “That horizontal menu worked well on that site, so it will work on our too.” Arguments like this are pretty common and quite weak.
  • 19. < Opinion Strong Argument > A strong argument – in design – is based on direct observation, results of usability testing or other forms of research. You can read research papers online for free! And it’s a great idea to spend as much time in usability tests as possible. It doesn’t need to be your site or app that’s tested. The observations you’ll make will be worth it.
  • 20. Preparing for critique To get most of the critique session, you should prepare yourself in advance. There are a few things you can do.
  • 21. Accept that your design is not perfect Start with accepting that your design is not perfect. I have a story to tell you ... A long time ago, I was a JAVA programmer. My job was to design and implement an optimal technical solution to a problem.
  • 22. O (n²) In programing it is quite easy to measure what approach is best. I got taught at school how to compute the asymptotic time complexity of an algorithm. Those were times. Everything seemed so simple.
  • 23. I began to move from programming to design in 2004 when I was working as a contractor for Skoda Auto, the car manufacturer. I carried on the skills I had learned. When the requirements arrived, I tried really hard to produce the optimal user interface. When the negative comments came, I was mostly defending my "optimal" solution, looking for arguments to support it.
  • 24. Accepting critique seemed like admitting failure. Failure to design the optimal solution on my own.
  • 25. Wrong 50 % Right 50 % Don't be like that past me. Don't blindly defend your solution.
  • 26. Wrong 50 % Right 50 % Accept, that you might be right just 50% of the time. Use critique to uncover what is good and what it wrong in your design.
  • 27. Set your expectations In order to be able to accept the critique, you also need to set your expectations.
  • 28. Do you need a hug? If the answer is “Yes” then go to your or mother. She loves you and will hug you if you ask for it.
  • 29. Or post your work on Behancé. This screenshot shows the typical type of feedback you will receive. Isn’t that the digital equivalent of a hug?
  • 30. Or did you just want to show off your supreme design skillz? Why not. Nothing wrong with that. But it won’t work as a critique session.
  • 31. It's not about your ego. It's about improving the design, remember? Only call for critique if you want your design improved. This has to be your main motivation.
  • 32. Prepare the design For you the design is probably "your child". You nurtured it for several days, weeks or maybe even months. It IS hard to accept critique. The design needs to be prepared.
  • 33. The bond between you and your design is strong. An there’s something called the IKEA effect. It says the strength of the relationship between you and the design depends on the amount of labor you put in.
  • 34. You can also observe this phenomenon when you have kids. Your feelings for them are so strong because of the extraordinary amount of work you put into raising them. In design though, there is one easy way to minimize its effect. Start with critique as soon as possible.
  • 35. Forget long hours in Photoshop or Axure to polish a design. Whenever you can, critique pencil sketches created in a few minutes. You will be much less attached to them.
  • 36. Share the context For other people to be able to critique your design effectively, they need to know what you know …
  • 37. Without this information, they cannot objectively evaluate the quality of the design. It would be the same as if you were wandering around city on a foggy day, unable to see most of its beauty and flaws. And someone would ask you: “How do you find this city?”. You would be unable to answer.
  • 38. So share Personas, Scenarios and any other user research you’ve based your work on. It is important, that this information is not only presented, but also well understood by all participants of the session.
  • 39. But you do not want the critics to follow you in your footsteps. Just show them where you intended to go - what were your design goals and constraints.
  • 40. A-ha! You need them to form their own opinion! They need to experience that “a–ha” moment.
  • 41. It’s hard not to explain your design decisions! And it needs practice. But if you avoid that, the critique session will go much more smoothly.
  • 42. The critique session So you’ve prepared the design, set your expectations and provided the context. And the critique session starts.
  • 43. People participating in the session might not know about critique. So you will need to moderate. Following these tips will help you get the most of it.
  • 44. Be specific Are you trying to get feedback on something specific? Then say what it is. Do you want to hear arguments about the paper on the package or the ribbon?
  • 45. If people get too far from what you want criticised, nudge them back to the topic. Keep the target in sights or you lose the battle :) as they say.
  • 46. +– Critique usually starts with negative feedback, at least where I come from. That’s why it is perceived as something bad ... ... as nitpicking. But do not stop there, critique is impartial analysis. Try to discover what is good as well as what is bad about a design.
  • 47. Positive feedback tells you what should be kept and improved. Negative feedback tells you what needs to be simplified, changed or removed. Always strive to achieve a balance between negative and positive feedback. Nothing in design is all wrong or perfect.
  • 48. There is a nice iterative colaborative design method called the Design Studio that uses critique at its core.
  • 49. Who heard about Design Studio? I am curious. Who heard about Design Studio?
  • 50. Who tried Design Studio? Is there anyone who had the chance to try it with clients or colleagues? If you haven’t heard about it or tried it out yet it’s the perfect training ground for critique.
  • 51. I like ... I don’t like ... When trying to criticise the sketches of their peers at the workshop, many people start with "I like", "I dislike". Those are opinions, remember? The weakest arguments, that completely disregard the target group the design is created for. The design was not created for your eyes only!
  • 52. BAN Ban "I like"! Ban the emotional response. Encourage people to refer to the personas, target groups or whatever resemblance of the customer you have. Banning the emotional response will help you to create a design, with the people in mind. There’s also another reason to keep the discussion impersonal.
  • 53. I don’t like your design! (in a resolute voice) "I DON'T LIKE YOUR DESIGN" How do you feel? How does this comment change your behavior? Do you want the dialog to continue?
  • 54. Probably not. You will either get passive or defend yourself. And this is exactly what are you trying to prevent during the critique session.
  • 55. You need people to feel safe. You need them to be willing to share any feedback. And when the feedback comes, you should "ack-app-cap" it.
  • 56. Acknowledge Appreciate Capture Acknowledge, appreciate an capture it. Let’s talk about why are those actions important. And how do they help you.
  • 57. This is Dan Ariely a behavioral economist. Dan and two other researchers published an interesting paper acknowledgment and its effect on the willingness to work.
  • 58. Note: The following material is from the “Beginners guide to irrational behavior” by Dan Ariely on Coursera. All rights reserved. People were given sheets of random letters and they were asked to find pairs. They got paid for each sheet.
  • 59. In the first condition, people were asked to sign the paper in the top right corner. And were asked to deposit the each sheet at a table. The person sitting at the table acknowledged this by saying “A-ha”.
  • 60. In the second condition, people delivering the sheets were completely ignored by the person at the table.
  • 61. In the third condition, the person at the table took the sheet of paper and put it into a shredder without looking at it.
  • 62. People in the “shredder” condition completed about 6.5 sheet on average.
  • 63. People in the “acknowledged” condition completed more than 9 sheets on average.
  • 64. People in the “ignored” condition completed almost the same number of sheets as in the “shredded” condition. As you see, it is quite important to acknowledge and appreciate the feedback you receive. Failure to do so will result in dramatically less feedback. The easiest way to appreciate something is to say "Thank you".
  • 65. Good point. Thanks! My own “mantra” You all have a way how to appreciate other humans. So do not forget to use it during critique sessions. My own mantra is "Good point. Thanks!". Feel free to use it too :)
  • 66. Do you think you can remember everything clearly without writing things down? You are probably right at first. You can remember for a few second or minutes ... But as time moves on, your memory will remove or twist the facts that don’t match your beliefs. And in the end it might look like your opponent actually praised your design.
  • 67. Red Green Blue That’s caused by cognitive dissonance - the state that you’re in when with information that goes against what you believe. This is a nice example of it. The text says something else than the colors. Makes you uncomfortable just looking at it, right?
  • 68. Write everything down. If you are not able to take notes during the session, ask someone to do it for you.
  • 69. Buy red and green markers and carry them with you everywhere you go. And use them as often as possible.
  • 70. Annotate the arguments directly into the design itself so the feedback stays close.
  • 71. Don’t be afraid to end the discussion Any argument also has to be presented in a way that’s understandable. And if they do understand, there is (usually) no point in repeating it. Let me tell you a story about this ... Once, I had a meeting with a client ...
  • 72. No, not like this.
  • 73. More like this. The client paid for my critical opinion on a design they got from another agency. We sat down, went from the information architecture down to each page in detail. We got to a point where he started to defend his point of view. He repeated his arguments. I waited for him to finish and said: "We both presented our arguments. You know my opinion and I will not add anything to it at this point. Let's continue with the next page." He paused for a moment and replied with: "Oh. That's professional.". And we moved on.
  • 74. Say what you have to and move on. It's pointless to repeat arguments. You’re in for the feedback not to have the last word.
  • 75. Questions? Source for all images - internet. All rights reserved. So this is it. We’re almost at the end. Let’s ask some questions and then I will sum it up.
  • 76. Prepare for critique ‣ Accept your design is not perfect ‣ Set your expectations ‣ Prepare the design ‣ Share the context To sum up ... first you should prepare for the critique ... Set your expectation, explain the context and prepare the design ... sketches work best.
  • 77. During the session ‣ Limit the scope & be specific ‣ Positive and negative feedback ‣ Ban "I like" and keep it impersonal ‣ A-A-C ‣ End when you run out of arguments So how do you use this to improve your designs?
  • 78. What are you worst at? So how do you use this knowledge to improve your designs or yourself? Think about how you approach critique. What are you worst at? Got it?
  • 79. What could you do really fast? What could you start doing really fast?
  • 80. Pick one technique in each of these two categories. And write an e-mail to the future you asking if you already achieved these two goals and how did you improve. You can use futureme.org a free service, that does exactly that - send you an e-mail at the point in time in the future of your choosing. I suggest you put it at least one year in the future so you forget that you sent it in the meantime.
  • 81. You can reach me at petr.stedry@gmail.com | @vorkronor | delicious.com/vorkronor Thank you :) And that will make you a better designer and a better person as well. Thank you!