What did you find interesting/important in the Podcast?
When I’m not a student or running the Creative Department where I work, I teach graphic design to university students and online. I’m quite familiar with critiques and feedback since that comes with the territory. In spite of this experience, I did find the podcast interview with Adam Conner and Aaron Irizarry very interesting and did learn a some things that I hadn’t considered before:
- There is a difference between critique, feedback and a design review. Feedback is a gut reaction. Critique is more specific and is a dialogue. It focuses on how a design is or isn’t achieving certain goals to help the designer understand the impact of design decision. Design review is about signoff and approval.
- There 2 sides to a critique- giving and receiving
- Giving critiques is about trying to understand what the designer was trying to do, how they tried to do it, and if it’s working or maybe if they have more to do to get there.
- Receiving critique is about understanding the impact of the design decisions that a designer has made so far, and where they should focus efforts going forward.
- Different types of critiques:
o Standalone (informal/ impromptu)-getting input from peers to see if the design is headed in the right direction.
o Collaborative
- To have a good critiquing session, it is important to establish clear goals
- After a critique the designer should continue to work on the design giving consideration to the information obtained from the critique
- Good idea to review goals and objectives before starting a critique session
Do you think suggestions should be allowed? Personally, I think suggestions should be allowed only if the person suggesting gives a specific reason for it:
Suggestion: Changing the background color of a Spa Website from light gray to light green
Reason: Consider trying a light green background in lieu of gray. While gray is neutral and stable, the color green is often associated with the feeling of freshness and renewal, communicating the spa experience to the intended audience).
What rules should we agree to abide by in our critiques?
- Be constructive
- Be specific
- Be respectful and professional at all times
- Do not be defensive
- Do not take the critique personally
- Be prepared to explain your design decisions work.
- Be prepared to explain your concept
List the questions that you think we should use when we do a Look and Feel Critique.
- What is the focal point of the design?
- Does the design style seem appropriate for the stated goal or purpose?
- Does the concept match the content and intended audience?
- Is the site effective in engaging the audience?
- Is the website’s interface and navigation intuitive and effective?
- Does the site use hierarchy to organize content?
- Does the typographical choices reinforce the design theme and aesthetics?
- Does the typography feel appropriate in tone?
- Details: Is the use of these particular graphic elements consistent with the goals of the project? Why? Why not?
- Problem areas: What things in this solution are not as effective as they could be? Why do you think that?
- Appeal: Is this an effective and appealing design for the context it will live in? Why? Why not?
List the resources/website links that you used to arrive at your list.