Design Critique
A Co-Creative technique that can be conducted during the design process to critique design while keeping in mind stakeholders, technology, context, materiality, functionality, features etc.
“Critique is an essential resource for design, both in terms of identifying problems and iterating ideas.”
Nature & context
Co-Creative, Design Technique
Resources
Sticky notes (if critiquing physically), pen/pencil, context of design, designs to critique on.
Procedure
Before: Understand the context and get a clarity on the design focus keeping in mind design's stakeholders, technology, context, materiality, functionality and features. If providing physical critiques, keep stationery handy. Learn to provide constructive critique so that it is of benefit to the designer and does not offend anyone.
During: Analyze the design carefully keeping in mind design's stakeholders, technology, context, materiality, functionality and features. Write down clear critiques with justification. Remember to be appreciative/critical in a way that will benefit the designer and not for any personal vendetta.
After: Review critique of own design and reflect on the same. Revise design (if needed) in order to improve on the issues being critiqued. If the critic is looking for justification, provide the same or if there is a gap in the fellow critics understanding the design, clarify the same.
Use Case
Class homework involving multi-species ethnography: As a part of designing for non-human species, we, as a team of two, redesigned the "Bee-robot". The other part of the homework was to critique other team's ideas while keeping in mind the design's consideration of its effect on the environment. By critiquing & receiving critiques, we were able to reflect on an issue that we never observed before i.e., of the idea of how our redesign might indirectly affect another species.
Sense Making Data
Critiques are meant to be constructive. Hence the focus should be on how relevant the critique is, in line with the design context. A decision to make a design change based on the critique has be taken only if the critique is strongly supported with a reason.