Design Criticism for Everyone

• Design Criticism - A Guide to Improving Collaboration & Communication to Achieve Your Goals

  • I know many people find the word review to be negatively nuanced, but “critique” in this book is a positive concept.

• There are three types of feedback: reactive, directive, and critical.

  • Recommend a critique type, pointing out the problems with the first two.
  • The first two feedbacks will be addressed in Chapter 6.

• Reaction type

  • Emotionally driven.
  • Motivated by personal expectations, desires, and values
  • Intuitive
  • cope
    • Be more specific.
    • Talk about “why” and “how.”

• directed

  • Advice, suggestions, “I would do this.”
  • Specific change orders alone do not tell us why.
    • For what purpose are you making that change?
    • If you could also explain why, I’d know what kind of problem you’re trying to tackle.
    • problem-solving (negative nuance, counterproductive, out of place).
    • → Chapter 5, “Avoiding Problem Solving” (below)
  • cope
    • What problem are you trying to solve?

• critical type - critical thinking ( critical thinking ) - Determine if the objectives will be met.

  • Keys to Good Critique
    • It reveals concrete what “aspect or judgment” (X) of the design is being analyzed.
    • Relates X to “objectives or best practices” (Y)
    • Explains whether X supports Y or not and why

Avoid problem solving

• Purpose of critique = analysis of the presented design
• Someone will propose new changes.
  • = the person switched from critical thinking to creative thinking.
  • = participants’ focus on their objectives was impaired
    • Do not mix hot and cold water.
• cope
  • For those who make suggestions without explaining their objectives: what is the problem? What is the relationship to the purpose of the design?
    • If you can relate to the issues the proposer has in mind, we’ll hold off for another meeting.
  • When all participants believe the problem needs to be solved.
    • Defer the critique and do the problem solving.
    • OK as long as they are not mixed.

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