Years ago, it was normal for teams to gather in a meeting room or collaboration space and present work in front of their colleagues.

The facilitator should also record the design critique session so that you can reference it later on. Sometimes, I find myself struggling to digest all the feedback in real-time. By recording the session, I don’t have to worry about trying to remember everything all at once or even taking notes during the session. I can easily review what has been said and play back the recording multiple times after the critique is over.

Here are some tips to help you effectively present your work and receive feedback during a design critique.

1. Provide context

It’s important to get everyone on the same level of understanding before jumping into your design share. Here are some questions I ask myself when providing context.

Remember, your audience may not be familiar with your work or what discussions have been had around the problem.

Focus areas

Not all design critiques have to be centred around mockups and prototypes. They can help you gather feedback at any phase of the design process.

My team has adopted the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop, which is centred around establishing a continuous cycle of product development, gathering data and improving based on the results.

Depending on the phase you’re currently on, you might be exploring initial concepts or conducting user interviews. Design critiques present a great opportunity to get feedback on your interview script or research methods.

No matter where you are in the feedback loop, identify what you are looking to get feedback on so that participants can focus on the right areas.