Opinions on Critiquing or Giving Constructive Feedback
Giving honest, pointed and constructive feedback is crucial.
A true professional gracefully welcomes feedback as he/she wants to do a superb job that makes the client look good (as well as meet the project objectives).
Designers think in colours and styles and audience, and they pull inspiration both from current design trends and hopefully an overflowing pool of visual ideas.
Some tips for giving constructive feedback:
• Use your creativity
• Provide as much rich and detailed information as possible
• Provide insight to the positive aspects of their work, and tell them specifically what you like
• Supply helpful comments
• Communicate your ideas
• Give high-level concrete feedback
• Accept recommendations
Just as important as how you give your feedback is how you take your designer's feedback. They want to create something special for you. Having proper discussions face to face or over the phone are far more constructive than sending comments back and forth through email.
Having a measure of self-confidence is important.
Most of the point of a critique is to be critical of flaws, and to point out things that need work.
If you begin a review with a positive comment, and end it with a positive feeling, you can generally cram a lot of advice in the middle without hurting a designer's feelings.
Mention just a few key things as this will allow the designer, who knows more about what they were trying to accomplish than you do, to judge for themselves, and it will be clear that you aren't trying to dictate their vision.
It is safe to assume that the harsher the review, the higher the standard that you are being compared to. This isn't something to treat lightly. In fact, you should feel flattered, because any reviewer who takes the time to compare you to that high standard probably believes you can achieve exactly that.
My experience throughout the years is simple, just be honest.
Winston Churchill once said: “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
List of websites found on giving constructive feedback to designers.
List of websites found on giving constructive feedback to designers.
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