No one likes to be critiqued, but everyone is a critic.

As a design practitioner and teacher of design, I am involved continually in the analysis and evaluation of design. I critique my students’ work in the classroom and I critique my own work in the studio. My clients critique my work. I critique the work of other designers. Judges critique our work when we submit it to design contests. Our clients’ customers critique our clients based on our designs.

Critique is a normal and necessary part of the design process, yet I find that people don’t like to formally critique a work and they don’t like to have their work critiqued. How can we improve upon anything unless we critique? How can we innovate without evaluation and appraisal? How do we establish value in something unless we assess it?

Critique is simply an assessment, appraisal or evaluation of something. When we critique something we are analyzing it. We do this all the time in the normal course of a day: We critique each other’s driving, style, attitude, favorite movie, political position, religion, job performance, home run average and habits. We each have an opinion about what is good, better, best, bad and ugly.

I think that students and practicing designers don’t enjoy being critiqued because they understand criticism to be destructive or mean-spirited. Or they take it personally, as if it’s them, not the work, being evaluated. Or they don’t want to be wrong. Most critique tends toward negativity.

Criticism is often disguised as critique. They are not they same thing. Criticism involves disapproval of a work based on perceived or obvious faults and shortcomings. There’s a thin line between the two ideas that’s easily crossed. Critique should be objective, honest and useful. Criticism is most often subjective and destructive. Its intent is to tear something down. On the other hand, critique tests for weaknesses for the purpose of improvement and excellence. Criticism accuses; critique edifies.

In reality, critique should be neutral. It should not be feared as much as it is. It should be performed in order to asses what is right with a work and where it can be strengthened.

For critique to be neutral it should be based on established objective guidelines. For a design work, this is fairly simple. We look at the work and its outcome on the basis of the intended goals for the work, since all design has a purpose to it. Are the aesthetic principles supporting the function of the design? Are color, balance, rhythm, harmony, spatial relationships and value all working together to enable the design to accomplish its intended outcome?

If design is not whimsical but purposeful, critique of design should also be purposeful and not based on personal opinion. The kind of response that is, “I think it’s a good design because it reminds me of…” is not an objective criteria. Values, purpose, specifications, etc. are a much more just basis for evaluation. If critique is based on objective criteria it cannot be dismissed with the excuse that it’s just one person’s opinion and therefore invalid.

When all is said and done, honest feedback is better than warm fuzzy feedback. Critique should be honest, just, and balanced between strengths and weaknesses. It should serve to build up the designer (or student) and empower them forward into creative maturity and greater success.

I had the opportunity to sketch some of my students while they took the midterm in my color theory class. This was a quick sketch, drawn in about 8 minutes.

Initial reaction to my design for the 2007 edition of the New Journal of Student Research Abstracts: “Spectacular!.” This came from Dr. Steven B. Oppenheimer, CSUN biology professor, who originally conceived of the Journal in the mid-1990s.

The Journal is published by Van Nuys Airport (City of Los Angeles Department of Airports) and is sponsored jointly with California State University, Northridge. It is distributed to middle and high schools throughout Southern California. This year’s edition was twice a big a last year’s which I also designed, and which, by the way, received an Excellence in Marketing & Communications award from the Airports Council International – North America.

Having mentored so many students over the past 20 years (wow, has it been that long?), I’ve learned that their success as students and ultimately as designers depends as much on them as it does on me. Here are some tips gleaned from both observation and experience for making the grade:

The teacher is there because you are there. It may appear that you are there to jump at the teacher’s beck and call, but you should consider that training for when you will jump at your client’s beck and call. It’s you who paid the tuition and takes the time to show up and do the assignments. Remember, every teacher was once a student. It’s hard to put anything over on them.

Listen to what your fellow students are saying in class. Students talk a lot outside of the classroom. But what they say during class, the questions they ask, the reponses they give and what they say about their work and yours during crits can be invaluable to you. Don’t miss it.

Invest in a camera. Make it a good one – with f-stops. If you can, get a digital SLR, and a tripod. And then document, document, document. One thing I learned as a student at Art Center was to take lots of shots of my work. If you’re spending all that time, and all that money on tuition, supplies and materials, document the work that results with a good quality, high-megapixel camera. Sorry, camera phone are not worth it. You’re your photos backed up on CDs, and also print them out and glue them into your design journal (sketchbook). While you’re at it, document your design and fabrication processes, not just the results. If you work in 3-D, take pictures of a project from several different view points.

Keep a design journal. This would look like a sketchbook. Put your ideas, doodles, sketches and comments in it. Document your projects in it. Record notes and ideas. Do you concept work in it. It is a great substitute for the paper napkin, and everything you’re thinking and seeing is all contained in one easy-to-carry place. Draw. Draw. Draw some more.

The computer is a tool. Use a pencil instead and you’re still a designer. Having a computer, even if it’s a Macintosh, does not make you a designer.

Don’t work for the grade. The reason you have chosen to be in school is because you want to succeed as a designer of some sort. If your first question for any teacher is “What does it take to get an A in this class?” you’re missing the point entirely. That would be like asking aclient, “How much will you pay me?” before their job is even defined. Pay attention, do the work, put in the extra effort, and the grade will follow.

Plan your time. Build in margin for the unexpected. Studio classes require an amount of time spent outside the classroom in research, preparation and execution. Time is required. Identify your time-wasters and get rid of them.

Use inspiration. Then make sure it remains inspiration. In other words, don’t copy. It’s unethical.

Be creative but solve the problem. Design is not for the purpose of self-expression. If your goal is to express yourself, go be a fine artist or a tagger. Designers create for reasons not their own, mostly.

Get everything on the course aupply list and learn how to use it. You can’t substitute a Leatherman™ for an x-acto™. Use the right tool for the job. It’s safer that way.