Short answer
Design critique evaluates design work against goals and evidence, then gives specific feedback that guides revision. It makes the reasoning, strengths, risks, and next design decisions visible without rating the person presenting the work.
About Design critique
Evaluates design work against goals and evidence, then gives specific feedback that guides revision. The competency covers framing the review, examining decisions, distinguishing evidence from preference, and agreeing on useful next steps.
Use this competency for
- Roles expected to review design work and give feedback that changes a design decision.
- Roles accountable for facilitating evidence-based critique within or across design teams.
Do not use this competency for
- Roles that attend design reviews only to receive information and are not expected to evaluate the work.
Important distinctions
User research
Design critique evaluates work against goals and available evidence. User research produces new evidence about people, needs, and behavior.
Visual design
Design critique is the practice of evaluating and guiding revision. Visual design is the craft of creating composition, hierarchy, type, and color decisions.
Expectations by level
IC1
Individual contributor 1
Participates in a defined critique with guidance, asks for the goal and constraints, describes observed design effects, and gives feedback tied to the work rather than personal preference.
Observable behaviors
- Restates the design goal before evaluating an option.
- Points to a specific element, state, or flow when describing a concern.
- Separates an observed issue from a suggestion for how to address it.
Examples
- Notes that two actions have equal emphasis despite the stated priority, then asks which should lead.
- Explains that an error state lacks a recovery action instead of saying the screen feels wrong.
IC2
Individual contributor 2
Independently evaluates work across a product area, weighs goals, evidence, and constraints, gives prioritized feedback, and presents own work with clear questions and documented decisions.
Observable behaviors
- Identifies which feedback affects the stated goal and which can wait.
- Explains the evidence or design principle behind a concern and names uncertainty.
- Frames a critique request with context, constraints, explored options, and the decision needed.
Examples
- Prioritizes a broken task path over optional visual refinements and records the decision after review.
- Presents two flow options and asks reviewers to focus on recovery from an interrupted task.
IC3
Individual contributor 3
Leads critique for ambiguous or cross-team work, creates conditions for focused evaluation, resolves conflicting feedback through goals and evidence, and improves how teams turn critique into decisions.
Observable behaviors
- Sets a critique frame that names the decision, relevant evidence, constraints, and feedback boundaries.
- Synthesizes conflicting comments into tradeoffs the design owner can decide.
- Establishes follow-up practices that preserve decisions and prevent repeated unresolved feedback.
Examples
- Facilitates a review where three teams disagree, grouping comments by task outcome and surfacing the decision owner.
- Changes the critique format after reviews repeatedly produce late opinions without actionable next steps.