Design critique

Design critique makes us better. The way peer review moves science forward, critique takes our design further. Here are our thoughts and tips on how we shape strong critique sessions together in the team:

Quality as ritual

Critique is our most important tool for raising the quality of our work. A safe, productive space in which we talk openly connects us as a team and reduces risk. The critique round is a standing appointment: we always bring work and we live openness ourselves.

Every voice counts

Every opinion counts, regardless of experience or role. We are a diverse team: product designers, content designers, user researchers or technical writers, everyone is in. We look after an atmosphere in which gut feeling and intuition are welcome and no one has to pretend.

A strong feedback culture

Critique can feel like “the wall” in art school: everyone lays their work open, but it is never about personal attacks, it is about constructive feedback. We take on difficult responses too, thank them and reflect on them together. Discussion and dialogue sit at the centre.

The scale of critique

Not every critique helps equally. We use a simple scale (drawn from Paul Graham’s Disagreement Hierarchy) to keep feedback at the core of the work. Not at the person or the tone.

• Level 0: Insult. “This is rubbish.” Helps no one.

• Level 1: Person. “The designer has no idea.” Attacks people, not the work.

• Level 2: Tone only. “That sounds arrogant.” Says little about the idea.

• Level 3: Contradiction. “No, not like that.” Hard to use without a reason.

• Level 4: Contradiction with a reason. “This does not work like that, because the audience needs X.” First level that actually moves things on.

• Level 5: Refute a concrete place. Name a clear passage or decision and explain why it does not carry.

• Level 6: The core. Summarise the central claim of the direction and push back with aim. That is the strongest form of critique: at the actual point, with substance.

The higher on the scale, the more usable the feedback, and the less personal it becomes. The aim is not to be right. The aim is to make the work sharper.

Open exchange

Everything can come to the critique round, from the first draft to the finished design. We keep the context short and clear, so we can concentrate on what matters. Comments outside the focus are allowed and often helpful.

Sharpening taste together

Our taste grows with experience. The more we see and live: design, art, music. The better we can give feedback. We train our gut and our eye, so we can move forward together.