Design Critique

Why
Design Critiques are important because they allow the team to improve upon proposed designs

What
Design Critiques are team meetins that are held to answer a set of questions about the proposed designs

Steps

 * 1) Assign a mediator
 * 2) Mediator picks the questions and the topics of interest
 * 3) *What are the user scenarios the site is designed for?
 * 4) *What known usability/design/business issues is this design trying to solve?
 * 5) *etc.
 * 6) Mediator picks who is in the room
 * 7) *Pick people who will contribute the most to the creative design process
 * 8) *Try to forget about titles
 * 9) Mediator prepares materials for participants
 * 10) *Handouts with pictures of the designs in question
 * 11) *Prototype if available
 * 12) *Use wall space if possible, putting designs on the walls and having people walk around to compare the designs
 * 13) Good manners for a design critique
 * 14) *Start by clarifying assumptions about what is being shown for critique
 * 15) *Listen before speaking. The design critique is not an opportunity to impose opinions on others.
 * 16) *Explore alternatives. Be sure to ask questions that leads the designer down paths that may not have been explored already
 * 17) *Point out elements of the design that may conflict with the established assumptions or goals of the project
 * 18) *Avoid using statements that are absolutes. Be sure to include elements of the design in the statement. More exact points about this topic can be found at Giving and Receiving Criticism Examples of bad and good ways of stating something:
 * 19) **BAD: "This design sucks and is ugly" GOOD: "The original intent is to convey a friendly feeling, but the red and black flames aren't doing that for me"
 * 20) **BAD: "How could anyone figure that out?" GOOD: "I think there is a gap between steps 3 and 4. What assumptions are we making about how the user will be able to navigate this?"
 * 21) *Speak in context to the point of view. Establish whether you are speaking your own opinion or speaking on behalf of the users
 * 22) Collect notes on proceedings and plan out future course