Here's how you can navigate feedback and criticism on your design work.

For a designers, there are broadly 2 sets of cohorts who will consume designs: 1. Internal stakeholders within the org who will review and offer feedback 2. Customers who will actually use the design to fulfill their tasks I would suggest you take the feedback from the org seriously but always pivot final decision to what customers will find easy to use. Try to get direct customer feedback for your design options either through usability feedback or A/B tests. Include them in your design presentation to back up your options. Please remember it is the customer's preference that will ultimately prevail (irrespective of what we or the org like or dislike)

In my opinion, design is a process of constant improvement. However, not all feedback is created equal. Some feedback may be more constructive than others. It’s important to focus on feedback that is specific and actionable. For instance, "This design is too cluttered" is not as helpful as feedback like "The design would be more effective if you removed the unnecessary elements on the left side of the page." The latter gives a clear direction for improvement. It's crucial to remember that criticism and feedback provide opportunities for growth and improvement. If needed, ask clarifying questions and try to understand the perspective of the person giving the feedback.

For Designers and Managers/Stakeholders For Designers: one important advice I can offer is to distance yourself from your designs. When receiving feedback from your team or management, remember that it’s about the design, not you. Your design is not your child; it is a subjective solution to a problem or task and can be revised or reformulated. Also, for Managers/Stakeholders: stop labeling a design as "bad" or "ugly," as it contains zero information. Provide specific feedback on why the design may not align with business goals or lack competitiveness. Giving detailed feedback will make your critique more constructive.

Firstly- seek critique, not criticism. Know what feedback is actually additive to your process. To make the most of feedback it is of utmost importance to be agile and responsive. It's about your awareness of what works and what doesn't. Projects may begin with an initial goal, but don't get married to the initial idea. As time progresses you may discover yourself to have new information, insights or constraints reveal itself. These factors should shape the direction of your solution. Be firm about the problem you want to solve for. Be adaptive with 'how' it is being solved.

When receiving feedback, seeking clarity is crucial to fully understand the critique. In my experience, asking specific questions about the feedback can uncover the underlying issues and provide actionable insights. For example, if feedback mentions "confusing navigation," I would ask which part specifically is confusing and why. This approach ensures that any changes made are targeted and effective. Clear communication with stakeholders helps in grasping the intent behind the feedback, enabling precise and impactful design improvements.

Les commentaires tout comme en communication demandent une attention à comprendre l'autre et de mieux connaitre ses intentions. Parfois la lecture trop rapide peut donner une réponses hâtive et d'être à côté de la cible. Le meilleur moyen est de reprendre un dialogue afin de mieux comprendre et parfois reprendre le droit chemin d'un dialogue. Souvent les idées fusent très vite et n'atteignent pas forcément tous la cible.

By asking for specific details and examples, you gain actionable insights into which elements of your design need improvement and why. This clear understanding allows you to make informed decisions, improving your design based on precise and relevant feedback, ultimately leading to a better final product and more effective communication with stakeholders.

Clarity is your key to navigating it productively. Ask questions to truly understand the feedback. Instead of assuming negatively, seek specifics. What aspects are unclear? Do the suggestions align with the project goals? By clarifying the intent behind the feedback, you can transform it into actionable advice. This also passes a message to the feedback giver that you truly respect their time for this valuable feedback and they feel more engaged. This open and curious approach helps you identify areas for improvement and ensures everyone is on the same page, leading to stringer design solutions.

Constructive feedback is invaluable, but it's essential to understand the specific insights and suggestions being offered. By asking clarifying questions, you can gain a deeper understanding of the feedback, ensuring that you can address the concerns effectively and make informed design decisions. This not only helps in refining your work but also demonstrates your commitment to excellence and continuous learning.

It's crucial to prioritize the input you receive based on its source and relevance. Feedback from users or stakeholders who deeply understand your target audience is especially valuable. Identifying recurring themes can highlight issues that need urgent attention. By prioritizing such feedback, you can focus on making the most impactful changes to your design, ensuring it resonates well with your audience. This strategic approach ensures your design evolves effectively and efficiently.

There are three kinds of feedback you can get: 1. Feedback from your team and self-critique. It is often important to engage in healthy debate and positive critique of each others work to create a refined, well-rounded output 2. Feedback from people who have nothing to do with the design. You should listen to every critique but understand that not all feedback is supposed to be implemented. It is still about the user. So filtering out the noise becomes important in this scenario. 3. User feedback. The MOST important feedback there is. It doesn’t matter what your perspective is, what your assumptions were. Design is a cyclic process and is only successful when it’s user centric. Listen to the users and listen carefully.

Prioritizing feedback is vital in the design process. Not all feedback carries the same weight; it’s important to consider the source. Input from end-users and key stakeholders who understand the target audience should be given more importance. Additionally, identifying common themes in feedback can highlight critical areas that need attention. For instance, if multiple users report difficulties with a particular feature, it signals a need for immediate improvement. Focusing on the most impactful feedback ensures that design changes significantly enhance user experience.

Not all feedback is created equal. To navigate design critiques effectively, prioritize input based on its source and relevance. Feedback from stakeholders directly involved in the project's success (clients, users) carries more weight than casual comments. Consider the person's design exercise - feedback from an experienced designer may offer valuable insights compared to someone unfamiliar with design principles. Finally, evaluate if the feedback aligns with the project's goals. By prioritizing input based on factors, you can focus on the most relevant suggestions to truly elevate your design.

Before opening the discussion up for everyone to share feedback, be sure to articulate what sort of feedback you’re hoping to receive. This helps filter some of the range of possible thoughts you’ll hear ahead of time AND helps you create a default priority filter when you review. Are you looking for aesthetic feedback? Are you looking for usability feedback? Are you looking for how well your designs deliver on a specific requirement or around a specific constraint? There are often only so many changes we can make once we’ve found a “best for now” solution, so be sure to incorporate that when considering what feedback to prioritize.

Rapid iteration allows you to test and refine ideas promptly, addressing any issues or suggestions from the feedback. This iterative cycle—receiving critique, making adjustments, and seeking further feedback—facilitates continuous improvement, leading to a more polished and effective final product.

Rapid iteration is a cornerstone of effective design refinement. Once feedback is understood, it’s crucial to act quickly, making necessary adjustments and experimenting with new solutions. This approach allows for the swift testing of ideas and gathering further feedback. In my projects, I often use rapid prototyping and user testing to validate changes. This cycle of feedback and iteration leads to a more polished and user-friendly final product, ensuring that the design continually evolves to meet user needs.

When facing design feedback, speed is your ally. Embrace rapid iteration to effectively test and incorporate suggestions. Focus on creating low-fidelity versions or mockups that allow for quick changes. This lets you explore multiple solutions based on the feedback and see them, in action. By iterating quickly, you can validate the effectiveness and suggestions and identify any unintended consequences before investing significant time in perfecting the design. The key here is to collect all the design feedback as much as possible. This agile approach keeps the feedback loop active, leading to a design that effectively addresses the concerns raised.

Similar to another post I wrote. this requires the growth mindset. The ability to take criticism is important as it allows us to grow. Not all criticism needs to be taken and not all will be constructive. Being able to filter through all the needs of the stakeholders will help to iterate quickly.

After receiving feedback, outline the proposed adjustments and share your logic with stakeholders. Use visual aids or prototypes to demonstrate how the changes address concerns. Keep an open dialogue to ensure clarity and alignment. This transparent communication process not only shows your responsiveness to feedback but also fosters trust and collaboration within the team.

Communicating the changes made based on feedback is an integral part of the design process. It demonstrates that feedback has been valued and acted upon, fostering trust and collaboration. Explaining the rationale behind design alterations and how they address specific critiques can help stakeholders understand the improvements. This transparency not only strengthens relationships but also invites further constructive feedback, creating a collaborative environment that enhances the overall design quality.

Je demande souvent d'apporter une critique sur mes commentaires, cours et aussi idées. Il y a aussi l'éducation des mots et de leur définition. Nombreuses personnes pensent qu'une critique est trop souvent négative alors qu'elle peut être positive et constructive. La culture de l'échec doit être aussi dans la conduit du changement car elle permet de construire le succès.

In my view, best practices can be followed to effectively communicate changes. This also helps reduce the same feedback given again and again. 1. Clearly explain the rationale behind the changes. Show how they address the feedback and align with project goals. 2. Utilize visuals like mockups or annotated screenshots to showcase the changes and their impact. This makes it easier for everyone to understand the modifications. 3. Briefly revisit the initial design and the feedback received to jog everyone's memory and ensure they see the connection. 4. Encourage further questions and discussion. By addressing concerns and demonstrating your willingness to refine the design, you foster collaboration and trust.

Reflecting on feedback and the design process is essential for continuous growth. After implementing changes, I consider what was learned and how it can be applied to future projects. This reflection helps identify recurring issues or blind spots in my design thinking, allowing me to anticipate and address similar challenges in future work. Incorporating 'Retrospectives' enhances this reflection. Retros review what went well, what didn’t, and areas for improvement. They provide multiple perspectives, fostering comprehensive understanding and continuous learning. Documenting insights from retros develops actionable plans, ensuring each project benefits from past experiences, improving both individual growth and team cohesion.

Throughout any project you should Lee a high-level summary of work accomplished or focused on from day-to-day (or week-to-week, depending on timeline and scope). Adding critique and review notes to this document alongside a snapshot of what the design looked like at the time of the review will help making building a case study easy at the end—or just help with retros. When you later revisit this catalog you’ll see exactly how the designs progressed with feedback and how you implemented certain types of criticism, which is valuable for any portfolio. The ability to communicate your working method is an invaluable trait of a good design leader.

Post mortems after critical feedback is quite important. Assume you have to kill the design based on feedback, list out all assumptions that were taken prior to the design phase and compare against the feedback you received. If your assumptions changed, redo the design based on feedback or challenge the critical feedback you received.

One thing that will always be helpful in any career is a growth mindset. This requires the skills of reflect and grow. In my experience, it has helped to take on challenges, not problems. This mindset requires positivity and to be able to take criticism. Never stop growing!

Strategies to navigate feedback and criticism on your design work: - Stay Objective: Separate personal identity from design work. - Seek Feedback from Multiple Sources: Gather diverse perspectives - Distinguish Between Opinion and Fact: Prioritize objective facts - Use Feedback as a Learning Opportunity: Investigate design principles. - Develop a Growth Plan: Set goals to address areas for improvement. By incorporating these strategies, you can effectively navigate feedback and criticism, leading to growth and improvement in your design work. Remember to stay open-minded, objective, and focused on learning and growth.

Cultivate critical thinking and reflection. A simple model to integrate multiple disciplines and strategies, helps develop new insights, and leads to a rich visual vocabulary. Start with discussions on looking and seeing, creating a design rubric for reflecting on your work. Focus on four themes: FORM (appearance), CRAFT (creation), CONTEXT (function, audience, interaction), CONTENT (ideas). Consider meaning in various contexts. For example, looking at an apple as a sign through different lenses—historical, environmental, economic, and personal—reveals diverse interpretations, encouraging deeper understanding. This framework helps appreciate the complexity of meaning, fostering critical thinking and reflection.

Something else to consider is collaborating is key to any critical project or job role. One person does not design an entire space shuttle, rather thousands of people work to make that happen. A design is worthless without the people that build it and a space shuttle is worthless without the goals of the people that are paying for it.

An example of navigating feedback and criticism, let's say a team member suggests a new app feature isn't user-friendly. You listen without interrupting and remain open to their perspective, considering they might have valid points. By asking specific questions to understand what aspects they find confusing or difficult. Focus on improving the feature rather than feeling personally criticized. Use the feedback and rely on data to refine the user interface, making it more intuitive and user-friendly.