Tips for designers to handle design criticism
First half of the whole story
Designers should be able to handle all kinds of feedback, whether it’s positive or negative. I recently had a tough handoff meeting with developers and product managers where they asked a lot of questions and made some critical comments about my design.
That meeting was a real eye-opener, being my first with all the developers and product managers for such a major project. Not gonna lie, the feedback hit hard, and I felt pretty beat up afterward. I took some time to let the feelings go, and I’m starting to see it as a learning experience about how to handle feedback better and stand up for my designs when it’s called for.
So, here are some tips for you to get ready for design critique sessions or handoff meeting!
Get all the design decisions ready
Before my first handoff meeting, my manager reminded me to be ready for a bunch of questions. Not only to expect all those feedback but also prepare to defense myself by telling them the pain points from the users or my thinking process.
Developers often ask questions like, “Why not do it this way?” or “Is this easier than that?” They might not always see the reasoning behind your design choices. Chances are, you’ve asked these questions yourself while designing. That’s why it’s important to explain your final design choice by sharing your design journey and concerns about alternative designs.
Let them explain until you actually understand what they’re talking about
While explaining the design process, another helpful way to take the feedback is to understand what developers are saying.
One of the toughest parts of the handoff for me was keeping up with the technical words, especially when they dove into coding terms I wasn’t familiar with. I found that asking for explanations whenever something went over my head really helped me stay in the loop.
Sometimes you might hesitate to ask to avoid interrupting or feeling embarrassed. But pretending you know what they’re saying is definitely the wrong choice. Letting go the term that you don’t know might lead to a bigger misunderstanding down the line. It’s like a snowball effect, getting bigger as it rolls.
So, never hesitate to ask for explanation in order to handle the questions and defense yourself!
Ask if they have any suggestions
You don’t have to tackle problems alone. When developers push back on your design, try asking for their advice. You could say something like, “That’s an interesting point! Do you have any suggestions based on your concern?” This way, you not only understand their perspective but also get a backup solution. It might not be the perfect choice, hence the term “backup,” but it’s definitely a viable option.
If the developers don’t have any suggestions, stick with your design, and then it’s up to them to make it work (sorry, developers!). But as designers, we should always keep exploring new solutions to solve these problems!
Summary
Here are some tips for handling and responding to feedback, especially from developers. Hope this article is helpful for you! The next article will focus on dealing with frustration mentally, so stay tuned!
