Stop 07 · Usability & Heuristic EvaluationTopics · 8/8

Design Critique Skills

In short

'Looks nice' helps nobody. 'The price is hard to find because it's the same size as the description' helps a lot. Good critique is a skill you can practise, giving and receiving.

Giving and receiving specific, constructive, principle-based feedback rather than vague reactions ('I don't love this') — a core collaborative skill practiced constantly in real design teams.

The jaadu, as a cricket coach, shows a young batter how to step forward in the nets.

Think of it like this

The cricket coach in the nets

A good coach doesn't say 'bad shot'. He says 'your front foot isn't reaching the ball, so you're edging it'. Specific, tied to the goal, and something you can fix in the next over. That's what useful design feedback sounds like.

Watch it happen

A useful critique conversation

Designer

Reviewer

Goal: faster checkout

1/5The designer starts with context: who it's for and what the screen must achieve.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Be specific

Point to the exact element and say what happens for the user. 'This label' beats 'the design'.

Tie it to the goal

Judge against what the screen is meant to do, not your personal taste.

Ask before you tell

'What made you choose this?' often reveals a reason you didn't know about.

Receive it calmly

Feedback is about the work, not you. Listen, ask questions, and decide later what to act on.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Saying 'I don't like the blue'.

Do this instead

Say 'The blue link and blue heading look the same, so people may tap the heading.'

Oops

Defending every point the moment it's raised.

Do this instead

Write it down and say thanks. Explain your reasoning only if it helps the discussion.

Your mission

Rewrite vague feedback

~15 min

Quick check

Which piece of feedback is most useful?

Go deeper

1Practice the 'I noticed / I wonder / what if' feedback framing on a real design.
2Give feedback on a peer's work (or a public design) citing a specific principle or heuristic.
3Learn to separate must-fix feedback from personal taste explicitly when you give it.