Design Critiques Structure

This page will outline the purpose of design critiques in the UXD team and how to run them!

Why have design critiques?

Design critiques are a key part of about every design culture and is a tool that can leverage the unique input of each team member to raise the collective quality of each piece of work. It tackles four main goals: unblocking problems and generating ideas, elevating quality, encouraging consistency, and sharing context. A safe space for exploration and feedback is created to help the designer/presenter with whatever they want insight on- it’s completely up to them! For the presenter, showing drafts and collecting opinions could be crucial to the rest of the process. The rest of the design team simply needs to commit to being open and available for support. Furthermore, it could boost the overall morale of the team and help each designer improve their technical and communication skills.

What’s the Difference Between Sparring and Design Critiques?

Who’s responsible for what during a design critique?

There are a few key roles you can take on during a critique!

Facillitator	Responsible for guiding the discussion, asking questions, directing comments back to the goals of the design Should be either the UXD Team Lead or Project Manager
Presenter	Quite literally what it’s name entails - you’ll be presenting the project / feature to the rest of the critique participants Should be the person responsible for the project or of the specific feature being presented
Critiquer	Offers informed thoughts and perspectives on the project
Note Taker	Document the design critique, transcribe important points for both the presenter and the team

How do you run a critique?

Some questions to think about

Reference Links/Additional Information:

How we do design critiques at Figma | Figma Blog Design Critiques: Encourage a Positive Culture to Improve Products