Design Critique

Use this when a team needs to review designs collaboratively and you want to facilitate a productive critique -- not a free-for-all of opinions. Produces a facilitation plan with roles, time-boxed rounds, and an actionable synthesis of feedback.

Related skills: Use /design-review for individual (non-facilitated) design evaluation. Pair with /facilitation-guide for general facilitation techniques. Follow up with /usability-findings if the critique surfaces testable hypotheses.

Process

Step 1: Gather inputs

Ask the user to provide:

1. What's being critiqued? -- design mockups, prototype, or live product feature
2. Designer's intent -- what problem does this design solve? What constraints shaped it?
3. Specific feedback requested -- what does the designer want help with? (Layout, flow, copy, accessibility, visual hierarchy, interaction model)
4. Participants -- who's in the room? (Designers, engineers, PMs, stakeholders)
5. Time available -- how long is the session? (Recommended: 30-45 minutes per design)
6. Format -- synchronous (live session) or asynchronous (written feedback)?

Step 2: Set up the critique structure

For synchronous sessions:

## Design Critique Plan -- {{feature/design name}}

### Roles
- **Presenter:** (designer) -- presents the design, states intent and constraints, listens during feedback rounds
- **Facilitator:** (you or designated person) -- keeps time, enforces rules, synthesizes at end
- **Critics:** (everyone else) -- provide structured feedback

### Ground rules
1. **Feedback is about the design, not the designer.** "This layout might confuse users because..." not "You should have..."
2. **Start with the designer's question.** Respond to what they asked, not what you'd do differently.
3. **Observations before solutions.** Describe the problem before jumping to fixes.
4. **One speaker at a time.** No side conversations.
5. **"I like / I wish / What if"** framework for structuring individual comments.

### Agenda ({{total time}})
1. **Context** (3 min) -- Presenter explains the problem, user, constraints, and what feedback they want
2. **Silent review** (3 min) -- Everyone studies the design quietly and writes notes
3. **Clarifying questions** (3 min) -- Questions about intent or constraints only, no feedback yet
4. **Feedback round 1: Observations** (8 min) -- "I notice..." statements about what the design does well and where friction exists
5. **Feedback round 2: Suggestions** (8 min) -- "What if..." and "I wish..." statements with specific alternatives
6. **Designer response** (3 min) -- Presenter reflects back what they heard, asks follow-ups
7. **Synthesis** (2 min) -- Facilitator summarizes top themes and action items

For asynchronous critiques:

## Async Critique Template

**Design:** (link to Figma/prototype)
**Designer's question:** (what feedback they want)
**Constraints:** (what can't change and why)

### Your feedback (copy this template)
**What works well:** (specific observations)
**Where I see friction:** (describe the problem, not the solution)
**Suggestions:** (specific alternatives, with reasoning)
**Questions:** (anything unclear about intent or constraints)

**Deadline for feedback:** {{date}}

Step 3: Synthesize feedback

After the critique (or after async feedback is collected), produce:

## Critique Synthesis -- {{design name}}

### Consensus feedback (multiple people raised this)
| # | Observation | Raised by | Suggested direction |
|---|------------|-----------|-------------------|
| 1 | (theme) | (count/names) | (emerging solution direction) |

### Divergent feedback (disagreement among critics)
| Topic | View A | View B | Designer's call |
|-------|--------|--------|----------------|
| (topic) | (perspective) | (perspective) | (what the designer decides) |

### Action items
| # | Action | Owner | Priority |
|---|--------|-------|----------|
| 1 | (specific change) | (who) | Must-do / Should-do / Consider |

### Parking lot (out of scope for this critique)
- (Ideas that surfaced but belong in a different discussion)

Step 4: Close

Ask the presenter:

• Does this synthesis capture what you heard?
• Are the action items clear enough to act on?
• Do you need a follow-up critique after revisions?

Output location

Present the critique plan and synthesis as formatted text in the conversation. The synthesis can be attached to the design file or story in the project tracker.