The Critique

What is it?

Critique is not a dirty word! In the design & art worlds, critiques are used as a structured way to give and receive feedback on work in development. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet as a group, share your discoveries and creations, and use the feedback of your peers to make decisions about ideas you will take forward in to Unit 4. 

How to Prepare

Prototype & Mockups: After developing a range of potential directions for your work to go in, prepare low-fidelity mockups for 1-2 of your best fleshed-out concepts that best meet the requirements as set out in the brief. 

You may present these as physical prints & objects alongside 1 page of notes to accompany each Communication Need OR create a very brief digital presentation of slides with digital mockups and notes.

These notes should address:

Using Design Concepts to Justify Design Decisions

Use the conceptions of good design from our study this year to justify the design work you are presenting. Consider Dieter Rams' 10 Principles of Good Design, and other conceptions of good design we have studied. 

Use the language of Design Elements and Principles to discuss how your design work addresses your target audience/s and communication needs. 

Use the language of Human Centred Design to discuss how your research (interviews, surveys, observations) helped to inform your design decisions. 

 Plan for Feedback

Prepare a range of specific areas you would like to receive feedback for.
Focus on things you are unsure of, areas of the designs that need advice for refinement, and areas of the designs that may need to align with the Brief more strongly. 

Use Design Thinking structures and terminology to seek this feedback

SWOT - PMI - Star Star Wish, POOCH etc. 
Ask for specific feedback about Good Design Principles, Design Elements & Principles, Visual Language, etc. 

Create a means to receive feedback: Online Survey (Google or Microdoft Forms), Paper Survey Form, Post-it notes & questions. 

Leave time for Q&A

Respond to Feedback

Document feedback in the folio, annotate for what is useful, what will be actioned, and what might be able to be disregarded. Reflect on the human-centred aspects of this stage of the process, and what insights were able to be gained.