Real critique has become a lost skill among collaborative teams today. Critique is intended to help teams strengthen their designs, products, and services, rather than be used to assert authority or push agendas under the guise of "feedback." In this practical guide, authors Adam Connor and Aaron Irizarry teach you techniques, tools, and a framework for helping members of your design team give and receive critique.
Using firsthand stories and lessons from prominent figures in the design community, this book examines the good, the bad, and the ugly of feedback. You’ll come away with tips, actionable insights, activities, and a cheat sheet for practicing critique as a part of your collaborative process.
This book covers:
Best practices (and anti-patterns) for giving and receiving critique
Cultural aspects that influence your ability to critique constructively
When, how much, and how often to use critique in the creative process
Facilitation techniques for making critiques timely and more effective
Strategies for dealing with difficult people and challenging situations
Chapter 1 Understanding Critique
Conversations Matter
The Problem with Asking for “Feedback”
Why Critique Is So Important
Critique as a Life Skill
Incorporating Critique and Moving Forward
Wrapping Up
Chapter 2 What Critique Looks Like
The Two Sides of Critique and the Importance of Intent
Giving Critique
Receiving Critique
Critique, Conversation, and Questions
Wrapping Up
Chapter 3 Culture and Critique
Creating a Conducive Organizational Culture
Incremental Versus Iterative Processes: What They Mean and Why They Matter
Setting the Foundation for Critique
Personal Barriers to Critique
Practicing Critique
Critiquing with Distributed Teams and Remote Team Members
Wrapping Up
Chapter 4 Making Critique a Part of Your Process
Creating Opportunities for Critique
Things to Keep in Mind
Standalone Critiques
Collaborative Activities
Conducting Design Reviews
Wrapping Up
Chapter 5 Facilitating Critique
Understanding the Rules of Critique
The “I Like...” or “I Don’t Like...” Rule
Preparing for and Kicking Off a Critique
Tools and Techniques for Effective Facilitation
Collecting Critique and Doing Something with It
Wrapping Up
Chapter 6 Critiquing with Difficult People and Challenging Situations
Dealing with Difficult People
Coping with Challenging Situations
Wrapping Up
Chapter 7 Summary: Critique Is at the Core of Great Collaboration
Adam Connor is an Experienced Design Director with Mad*Pow based in Portsmouth, NH. Focusing on the design of digital products and services, Adam combines a background in Computer Science, Film and Illustration with 10+ years as an experience designer to produce efficient and effective solutions. Adam is also an accomplished illustrator and public speaker.
Aaron Irizarry is Director of User Experience for Nasdaq Product Design and has been building online products for startups and large corporations for over 10 years. Aaron is also a public speaker and consults with companies providing design studio and collaborative critique workshops to help their product teams and stakeholders/managers improve the discussion around product design. Aaron is heavily involved in the design community where he helps organize meetups and conferences.
I love that the book gives you a framework for giving critique that is simple to follow.
Very thoughtful how the authors have broken critique to it's basic when, when, how, where, etc. This helped to bring up the simple notion of "WHEN to give critique". Feeling out when it's not too early to give feedback and when it's too late.
I would have like more examples, but even without them, I think I can apply the teachings effectively.
9/11/2015
4.0
Great for newcomers, good for a refresher too
By Dustin
from Chicago, IL
About Me Designer, Educator, Maker
Pros
Accurate
Easy to understand
Helpful examples
Cons
Best Uses
Expert
Intermediate
Comments about oreilly Discussing Design:
This book would really do well for someone new to establishing a culture of proper design critique in their practice, and even for those of us who have been in the industry a number of years this is a good combination of refresher and update. I say 'update' since the old-school methods of critique just don't elicit the best results, and there are some great methods and guidance in this book.
