Are you afraid to share your designs for a design critique?

 

Yes, sometimes we feel uncomfortable sharing our designs with others for a design critiques. But trust me, when we make design critique a part of our design process, it gives us a lot of different design perspectives. It helps me grow as a designer, gives me new insight and approaches to design, and also it gives me confidence and skills. 

And I hope you will too. :)

So, what is a design critique?

A design critique in UX (also often called a "design crit") is a structured, collaborative meeting where designers present their work-in-progress to peers and stakeholders to get feedback aimed at improving the design.

Before we start, please make the sure the designer feel safe: The mindset

What it means: The facilitator and team must actively create a psychologically safe environment. The critique is a analysis of the work, not the person. The goal is to help the designer and the project succeed.

Why it works: Design is personal. When designers feel safe, they are more likely to show unfinished, vulnerable work early, which is when feedback is most valuable.

Why do you need design critique?

The main goal is to identify and solve UX problems before the design is handed off for development or launched to users. It's a form of quality control and collective problem-solving.

• Uncover Blind Spots: The designer is often too close to their work. Fresh eyes can spot usability issues, inconsistencies, or flawed logic they may have missed.

• Generate New Ideas: Critique sparks conversation that can lead to innovative solutions and alternative approaches.

• Align the Team: It ensures everyone (designers, PMs, developers, researchers) has a shared understanding of the design direction and the problems being solved.

• Improve Designer Skills: It's a powerful learning tool where designers learn to give and receive feedback effectively, strengthening their critical thinking and communication skills.

What Makes a UX Design Critique Different?

It's not a presentation, a status update, a design review or a brainstorming session. It is distinctly:

• Focused on Goals and Users: Feedback is grounded in "Does this achieve our stated goal?" and "How would a user interact with this?"

• About the Work, Not the Person: The discussion critiques the design artifacts, not the designer's skills or taste.

• Constructive, Not Destructive: The aim is to build up and improve, not to tear down.

Question to focus on when preparing for presentation:

• Who are you designing for?

• What problem you are trying to solve?

• How are your designs solving or not solving these problems?

• Where in the design process are you?

• What aspects of your designs are you seeking feedback on?

How the reviewers give feedback?

• Do the reviewers share the reasoning behind their feedback?

• Do the reviewers focus on problems with the designs instead of offering solutions?

• Do the reviewers connect their feedback to objectives of the design critique session?

Now, how to set up a successful design critique?

1. The Setup (Before the Meeting)

• Clear Presenter: The designer who owns the work.

• A Facilitator: Someone (often a lead or senior designer) to keep the conversation on track and enforce the rules.

• The Right Attendees: A mix of peers (other designers), cross-functional partners (Product Managers, Engineers), and sometimes UX Researchers.

• Shared Context or Set clear goals: Start with a "Why": Before showing any designs, the presenter must clearly articulate the problem they are trying to solve and the goals of the project. This frames the entire critique around solving the right problem, not just making the design "look nice."
  
  It prevents feedback from being based on personal taste. Instead of "I don't like that colour," a critiquer might say, "Given the goal of making the primary action stand out, I'm not sure this colour provides enough contrast."
  
  The presenter sends materials in advance with a clear brief:

• The Problem Statement: What user problem are we solving? 

• The Project Goals & Success Metrics: What are we trying to achieve? (e.g., "Increase checkout completion by 15%")

• The Target User: Who are we designing for?

• Specific Areas or goals for Feedback: What does the presenter need help with? (e.g., "I'm unsure about the information hierarchy on this screen" or "Is the navigation intuitive?").

2. The Process (During the Meeting)

• Presenter Sets the Stage (5 mins): They quickly recap the problem, goals, and where they need help. They do not walk through every pixel.

• Silent Review (5-10 mins): Attendees review the designs (on a screen or Figma file) without talking. They jot down initial thoughts. This prevents groupthink.
  
  Or, present your designs:  Present your design to get the feedback. Mentioned at what stage your design is in.

• Gather Feedback (20-40 mins): This is the core of the session. It should follow a structure, often using a framework like:
  
  Use "I Like, I Wish, What If" framework
  
  "I like..." (What is working well?) - This puts the presenter at ease.
  
  "I wish..." (What could be improved?) - This feels less like a personal attack.
  
  "What if..." (Exploratory ideas, framed as questions) - This is the only place for "solutions," but they must be framed as exploratory questions, not directives (e.g., "What if we explored ways to make the hierarchy clearer?").
  
  It provides a safe, predictable format that everyone can follow, ensuring feedback is both positive and critical without being destructive.

• The "No Solutions" Rule (Jake Knappe's Rule): Critiquers state the problem they perceive ("I'm worried users won't understand this icon" or "You should make the button blue and put it over here") rather than prescribing a solution ("You should use a label" or "I'm worried the current call-to-action isn't prominent enough and users might miss it").
  
  This empowers the designer to find the best solution.

• No "Yeah, But...": The presenter is not allowed to respond defensively to feedback during the critique session. Their job is to listen, take notes, and absorb. They can ask clarifying questions (e.g., "Can you tell me more about why you think the flow is confusing?"), but they cannot explain or defend their choices in the moment.
  
  
  This stops the critique from becoming a debate. It allows all feedback to be heard fully and prevents the presenter from unintentionally shutting down valuable, dissenting opinions.

• Presenter Listens: The presenter's main job is to listen, take notes, and ask clarifying questions—not to defend or explain their work on the spot.

3. The Outcome (After the Meeting)

• Synthesized Feedback: The presenter reviews all the notes and feedback.
• Action Plan: They collect the feedbacks received. And they decide which feedback to act on, which to discard, and create a plan for the next iteration. They can take heuristics principles into considerations while making decisions.
• Follow-up: The presenter shares what they learned and how the feedback influenced the next version of the design, closing the loop with the participants.

Summary & Key Takeaways

Jake Knappe's rules transform a design critique from a free-for-all opinion session into a structured, problem-solving workshop. The core principles are:

• Focus on the "Why": Anchor everything in the user problem and project goals.
• Critique the Problem, Not the Person: Foster safety and separate the designer from the design.
• Identify Problems, Not Prescribe Solutions: Empower the designer to own the solution.
• Structure Prevents Chaos: Roles and frameworks create a productive and respectful environment.

By following these rules, teams can ensure their design critiques are a powerful engine for improving product quality and developing stronger designers.

Tips: 

• Try preparing your invitees ahead of time with a quick introduction before the meeting.
• Invite only the people that you need to or how your team works.
• Bookmark feedback that isn't relevant right now and come back to it as a group at a later time.

Here's how you present your design for critique.

And here's how you analyse the feedback you received.

Here are some resources I collected and got the references, and also where you can explore more on design critique:

• Design Critiques: Encourage a Positive Culture to Improve Products
• From Figma's design team: How to run a design critique
• Design Feedback in Action | Google UX Design Certificate
• 9-rules-for-running-a-productive-design-critique
• How to Give a Professional Design Critique (Step by Step)
• Design critiques (Interaction design foundation)
• Design critique ≠ design review — here’s why

Thank you for stopping by. :)