What is Critique - annotated

WHATISCRITIQUE?*

*and more importantly, why should I care?

One of the interesting and unique techniques that designers use in professional practice is design critique.

But what the heck is it? And why should you care?

FEEDBACKCritique is part

EVALUATIONAnd part

It’s at the heart of design, art and architecture

and is often institutionalized

as its own ritualistic tradition

within these organizations.

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four types of critique...

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DESK CRITIQUE

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DESK CRITIQUE

PIN UP CRITIQUE

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DESK CRITIQUE

JURIES & REVIEWS

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OPEN HOUSE

DESK CRITIQUE

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Everyone who goes to art school, design school, or architecture school learns how to critique.

But everyone learns how to do it differently.

And you can end up with conflicting critique practices.

There are definitely some commonalities.

TO MAKE IT* BETTER

*the work

(the aim is essentially the same)

YOU ARE NOT THE WORK

(and there is a golden rule)

So you might be wondering, ok, what does this have to do with business?

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Well, do you ever have people working on a project that they feel this way about?

Maybe they’re shy, or not sure of their work. Or maybe they’re trying to prove themselves.

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And they get stuck.

Really stuck.

That’s when having some kind of institutionalized practice like critique helps a lot!

It gives people permission to be imperfect, to have works-in-progress, and most of all, to ask for help.

It gives them a guide to get them through it and move their project forward.

EXPLAIN HOW YOU GOT THERE

SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM YOUR WORK

OBSERVE & LISTEN

SAY THE IMPORTANT STUFF FIRST

START WITH THE POSITIVE

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BEGINNING MID-STREAM END

It can take place at any point in a project.

US THEM

And you can also use it with clients, if you are working together.

YOU ARE NOT THE WORK

You just have to remember the golden rule, and make the expectations clear.

Nathan Sawaya, Art of the Brick

It’s really important that everyone is on the same page, or it can feel like this.

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