Three Kinds of Feedback

There are three forms of feedback, all of which vary in their degree of usefulness to us in the design process.

Understanding these three kinds of feedback can help us understand the conversations we have with our teams and improve our own ability to react to and use feedback to strengthen our designs.

Reaction-Based

Feedback

Direction-Based

Feedback

Critique

REACTION-BASED

FEEDBACK

This type of feedback tends to be emotional or visceral. It happens quickly and instinctively. This type of feedback is often filled with passion. It’s driven by someone’s personal expectations, desires, and values. Essentially, it’s a gut reaction.

DIRECTION-BASED

FEEDBACK

Typically begins with an instruction or suggestion. In many cases that’s also where it ends. In this form of feedback, the individual providing it is often looking for ways to bring the design more in line with their own expectations of what the solution should be.

CRITIQUE

Critique isn’t about that instant reaction we might feel when seeing something, or about how we would change someone’s design to better solve an issue. Critique is a form of analysis that uses critical thinking to determine whether a design is expected to achieve its desired objectives.

The Characteristics of Bad Critique

What causes a critique to be “bad” is usually a set of behaviors or characteristics exhibited by those involved.

Selfish

Untimely

Incomplete

Preferential

SELFISH

Driven by the critic’s personal goals and come at the expense of the team or other individuals, specifically the designer of whatever is being discussed. In extreme cases, selfish critique comes from the motivation of the giver to not only be heard and attract attention, but also to be recognized as smarter or superior.

UNTIMELY

For the receiver to really listen, process, and make use of critique, she needs to be in the proper mindset. When critique is uninvited, it can lead to defensiveness, communication breakdowns, and often paints the person giving the critique as a “know it all.”

INCOMPLETE

For critiques to become valuable, they need to be followed by an explanation as to “why” the giver is having that reaction or foresees a certain outcome.

PREFERENTIAL

That’s when designs are torn apart not because a particular aspect isn’t working toward its objective, but rather because it doesn’t match exactly what the critique giver “likes.”

Best Practices for Giving Critique

Productive critique has the ability to strengthen relationships and collaboration, improve productivity, and lead to better designs.

Lead

with questions

Use

a filter

Talk about strenghts

Think about perspective

LEAD WITH QUESTIONS

By asking questions you give yourself more information on which to base your analysis and give stronger, actionable feedback. It can also show the designer that you’re genuinely interested in his work, and the thinking behind it, which can make discussing the project easier.

USE A FILTER

Hold on to your initial reactions, investigate them, and discuss them in the proper context. Ask the presenters additional questions if necessary to help you understand your reaction. Does the reaction relate to the objectives of the product, the audience for it, or any particular best practices that should be followed?

TALK ABOUT STRENGHTS

When we talk about aspects of a product or design that are working, there is the potential for the designer to examine those areas and abstract concepts or elements from them that could be used to strengthen other areas of the design that might not be working as well.

THINK ABOUT PERSPECTIVE

When you examine an aspect of the design and comparing your perspective to what you think the user’s might be, you’re off to a good start. From there you might find that one is clearly more appropriate than the other, or perhaps it might be best to bring both up in the discussion.

Receiving Critique Poorly

When engaging in critique, there are patterns that go against critique best practices and can hinder the critique process.



Asking for feedback

without listening

Asking for feedback

for praise or validation

Not asking for

feedback at all

ASKING FOR FEEDBACK

WITHOUT LISTENING

Asking for critique at a time when we don’t really want it or can’t do something with it leads to unproductive discussions. By not listening to our teammates, we miss valuable insights that can help improve our designs.

ASKING FOR FEEDBACK FOR VALIDATION

Whether we’re designing alone or as part of a team, it’s not unusual to want to be recognized for our creations. But it should not become our motivation for asking for feedback.

NOT ASKING FOR

FEEDBACK AT ALL

If we don’t take the initiative to ask for critique or feedback in a way that helps us understand and improve upon our ideas then we’ll miss a huge opportunity. We can’t assume that just because no one comes to us that we’ve designed the perfect solution.

Best Practices for Receiving Critique

Receiving critique in a way that is productive goes beyond just asking for it and then sitting back to let others give you their thoughts.

Remember the

purpose

Listen and think before responding

Return to the foundation

Participate

REMEMBER

THE PURPOSE

Critique is about understanding and improvement, not judgment. There is no such thing as a perfect solution. There is always room for improvement. A goal of a critique is to help identify where those opportunities are. Critique isn’t about pass or fail. It is a reflection used to inform a next step.

LISTEN AND THINK BEFORE RESPONDING

When receiving critique, it’s important that we work toward preventing any natural tendencies to form rebuttals and instead focus on listening to people’s entire thoughts.

PARTICIPATE

One of the best things a designer can do during a critique is to become a critic themselves. Being able to shift our mindset from thinking creatively to being analytical about what we’re designing is a key design skill.