the dreaded CRITIQUE

No one likes to be critiqued. And not many people like to be the one giving the critique, either. But feedback is an essential part of the design process. It is how your identity is honed to perfectly communicate your message. The key to a successful and positive experience is knowing how and what to critique.

Nearly everyone’s initial response in looking at a design is to tell the designer what to do to make the design better. Make it green. Move it to the left. Make the words bigger. But in doing so, we end up chasing after something nebulous. Instead of stating what to change, state what is wrong: the logo is hard to read, our brand color isn’t very prominent.

Now it falls to the designer to try a variety of solutions to solve that problem, and choose the best one. This approach allows a designer to solve the problem in a way that is creative, in keeping with design principals, and considerate of the overall piece. The solution may very well be exactly what you expected, but it might also be something that would never have crossed your mind.

In the end, the critique is what makes art better.

Perhaps it isn’t so bad after all.