Discussing Design: Improving Communication and Collaboration Through Critique

Real critique has become a lost skill among collaborative teams today. Critique is intended to help teams strengthen their designs, products, and services, rather than be used to assert authority or push agendas under the guise of feedback. In this practical guide, authors Adam Connor and Aaron Irizarry teach you techniques, tools, and a framework for helping members of your design team give and receive critique.

Using firsthand stories and lessons from prominent figures in the design community, this book examines the good, the bad, and the ugly of feedback. Youâ ll come away with tips, actionable insights, activities, and a cheat sheet for practicing critique as a part of your collaborative process.

This book covers:

• Best practices (and anti-patterns) for giving and receiving critique
• Cultural aspects that influence your ability to critique constructively
• When, how much, and how often to use critique in the creative process
• Facilitation techniques for making critiques timely and more effective
• Strategies for dealing with difficult people and challenging situations

Adam Connor is an Experienced Design Director with Mad*Pow based in Portsmouth, NH. Focusing on the design of digital products and services, Adam combines a background in Computer Science, Film and Illustration with 10+ years as an experience designer to produce efficient and effective solutions. Adam is also an accomplished illustrator and public speaker.

Aaron Irizarry is Director of User Experience for Nasdaq Product Design and has been building online products for startups and large corporations for over 10 years. Aaron is also a public speaker and consults with companies providing design studio and collaborative critique workshops to help their product teams and stakeholders/managers improve the discussion around product design. Aaron is heavily involved in the design community where he helps organize meetups and conferences.