Design Critiques (Crits)

Design critiques, crits for short, is an informal time to give/get feedback on any work in progress. Crits are meant for designers only, this is not meant to exclude other disciplines, we’ll hold Feature Team Design Reviews for broader audiences.

The goal of the crits

Understand the work your peers have done and help guide them towards a decision/solution they feel confident about.

What to share

Crits are a great way for designers to share ideas in a safe and judgment-free space. You don’t need to prepare ahead of time or have a formal agenda, the crit is meant to be short and sweet and to share work in progress. You can share work at any stage of the process.

Design crit structure

• No more than 6 designers in attendance

  • For now, we can keep it to the entire team. Then scale back as we grow.

• Crits are held twice a week

  • Tuesday and Thursday

  • One time slot to accommodate the Eastern hemisphere

  • One time slot to accommodate the Western hemisphere

• 50 minutes, with 2 25-minute slots

  • Slot 1 [25 min]: Name

  • Slot 2 [25 min]: Name

• All crits should be recorded so those unable to attend can review asynchronously

Presenting designs

• Always start with ‘what’ you need feedback on

  •  This helps to set the context for the other designers

• After setting the context, ask if anyone has any clarifying questions

  •  This will allow you to clear up any misunderstandings

• Start presenting your work to the team

• Dive into the feedback from your peers

  • Live design/updates are encouraged to flesh out ideas quickly 

Things to avoid

If you’re not presenting a design, it’s recommended to avoid doing the following:

• Please avoid cross-talking to help keep the conversation focused

• If you’re not presenting, it’s best to practice active listening and wait for the presenter to finish before jumping in and asking questions

• Unproductive feedback, make sure you’re proving constructive and actionable feedback with clear intentions

Ask questions

You’re strongly encouraged to ask questions. It helps to spark new ideas and uncover missed solutions. Here are a few recommended questions to get things started:

1. What were the main reasons you chose this direction…

2. Have you thought about…