A crit of design crits
A ‘crit’ - or design critique - is a fundamental part of any content design process. But how do you manage excellent design crits, that work for everyone on your team?
By Eva Dyer
Eva Dyer is an experienced content designer with a background in leading teams and content projects across the public and private sectors.
How to get the most out of design critiques
Reviewing work is a key part of the user-centred design process, and at the heart of this are design critiques - commonly known as ‘crits’.
A crit involves a group of designers regularly reviewing and providing constructive feedback on one another’s work.
Crits can be approached in many ways, but they all involve a designer presenting what they’ve been working on and the group discussing it.
Set the scene
Crits typically begin with a content designer setting the scene about what they want to discuss and the parameters that they’re working within.
They may start by looking at the user needs driving the work and what they are aiming to achieve. This initial discussion will also see them set out what, if any, constraints they are facing and what design standards or guidelines they must adhere to.
The designer should also state what they hope to achieve from the crit, this may include things such as how to overcome any blockers that they are facing or checking the consistency of their work with the rest of the service.
The crit itself will include discussions about:
Usability - what were the results from user research, and how have these informed the design and met user needs?
Rules - does the project meet accessibility, design, and content style guides and if not, is there a good reason?
Objectives - does the work meet the project’s aims or, is it on course to do so?
Solutions - what problem needs to be solved, and what has been the impact of design decisions?
Discuss, dissect and decide
For crits to be effective they need to be constructive. Only honest feedback, suggestions and ideas should be given.
The sessions should be about the work, not the individual. It’s not an assessment of how things are done, more what the result is.
Crits also need to:
Be tailored to the project and designers involved. This can be online, face-to-face or a combination of both.
Use a range of accessible and relevant tools such as virtual whiteboards or a prototype.
Be inclusive so that all designers have an opportunity to attend, present their work and give and receive feedback.
Make a negative a positive
Much like the designs under review there can be positives and negatives to crits.
On the positive side:
Designers can gain invaluable suggestions and feedback at crits which help them improve their work.
They can boost co-working within the design team and offer an objective view of the designs being critiqued and help identify strengths and weaknesses.
Crits also keep everyone's minds on the work and help the designer stay focused on the goal in hand.
Negatives to watch out for:
It may be hard to keep the criticism about the work and not the designer - especially if there are differences of opinion.
Group dynamics can lead to the team offering similar comments and opinions which can stifle creativity, objectivity, and critical thinking.
Feedback can be conflicting, which can make it hard to decide which comments are useful, and which to follow if there are different points of view.
People may not attend if the sessions go on too long or lack focus.
Tips for running good, productive crits
A design colleague from another team or a lead designer could run the sessions. This can ensure a good range of perspectives is included.
Time-box sessions, so that the team can discuss everything without the crit being too long and becoming counterproductive.
Keep a feedback log and review it after the session when it’s easier to see which ideas are useful and feasible.
Bring in ideas from other fields that can achieve the same aim. In print media, for example, journalists’ stories are looked at first by a subeditor, chief subeditor then a revise editor. So, it's a bit like a multi-stage peer review.
Mix it up with smaller, more focused sessions such as a 2i (peer review by another content designer). The designer reviewing the work uses a checklist (including tone of voice, design guidelines and SEO) and rates their colleague’s design against it. Peer reviews can involve more than 2 people, but the objective is to have an experienced designer who can assess the designs and make suggestions about how to improve.
Mix it up!
Whichever type of crit you choose it’s sure to be helpful. Go for a mix of review types and have them at key points within the design process.
Iterate, improve, and always keep the user in mind.
Want to embed good design crit practices in your content team?