When I started reading "Discussing Design: Improving Communication & Collaboration Through Critique," I wasn't sure this book was necessary. It seemed to be merely a compilation of group communication principles (plus some user experience design techniques) covered in many other resources. By the time I finished reading, I'd changed my mind. This tutorial on communication and collaboration methods does contain some familiar concepts. However, it's tailored to meet the distinctive needs of designers (and those who work with designers) in environments where "getting feedback" is a common workplace expectation (or a desired outcome), but acquiring meaningful, useful information that truly enhances and advances a project can be difficult to accomplish.
In the opening pages of their book, authors Adam Connor and Aaron Irizarry define "critique" as "analysis that helps us understand what is working and what isn't [in products or ideas for products] and whether we are on the right track toward reaching our goals." They explain that good critique is related to specific aspects of a product or a decision, is aligned with project objectives or best practices, and is a way to examine how and why the objectives are or aren't being supported in the most current version of the product. They contrast useful critique with feedback that is simply a quick gut reaction, or a way that people reveal their own (often biased) vision for the product or idea being discussed. They confront directly the art/design school stereotype of critique, in which work by a novice is figuratively (or possibly literally) "ripped apart" by a senior designer.
The first chapter, "Understanding Critique," also examines benefits that "real" critique brings to workplace teams: building opportunities to develop shared vocabularies and advance collaborative decision-making among people with disparate backgrounds and responsibilities. In addition, "real" critique assists the iterative (and often time-sensitive) work processes favored by many design-oriented organizations.
Chapter 2, "What Critique Looks Like," explains in detail how to give and receive critique, including recognizing and promoting the mindset needed for critique, along with examples of applying specific techniques like "lead with questions" and "don't assume" (instead find out the constraints that might have affected design decisions).
Chapter 3, "Culture and Critique," acknowledges that applying good critique skills is not easy in some organizational settings. The chapter provides useful, workable approaches to dealing with organizational politics and entrenched processes that can inhibit meaningful collaboration on product improvements.
Chapter 4, "Making Critique a Part of Your Process," continues the explanation of how to integrate critique into organizational settings, and examines three distinct opportunities for critique: in meetings or discussions focused solely on critique, in activities focused on generating and selecting ideas, and in formal review meetings intended to gain "sign off" for a product.
Chapter 5, "Facilitating Critique," provides guidelines for setting up a critique session and keeping it focused and useful.
Chapter 6, "Critiquing with Difficult People and Challenging Situations," revisits situations that lead to "communication miscues, conflict, and frustration" and gives additional examples of techniques and strategies for dealing with and resolving these challenges.
Chapter 7 summarizes all of the key points from previous chapters, and then encourages the reader to "Go forth, create, critique, and collaborate."
An appendix on "The 10 Bad Habits that Hurt Critique" provides tips for avoiding or eliminating behaviors (while facilitating or participating in critique) that "put hurdles in the way of good communication."
Throughout the book, personal testimonials (some from the authors and some from other designers and executives) are used to elaborate on and give concrete examples of the general principles under discussion. Other examples are provided through cartoon-style illustrations as well as photos and screen shots.
Structurally, the book contains numerous brief summaries of Central Ideas, each displayed in a visually distinctive way. Also, every chapter ends with a longer summary of all of that chapter's central ideas. These document design techniques make it easy for the reader to skim the entire text and quickly locate key points (although on first reading, the frequent summaries also add redundancy-- which the authors acknowledge periodically).
Early in "Discussing Design," the authors assert that critique is not just a set of communication techniques to be used in design-focused work processes; it's a life skill that can be used to apply fundamental principles of critical thinking to "any activity or thing you want to improve." I'm not yet convinced that I want to apply Connor and Irizarry's formal analysis process to every element of my life that could benefit from revisions-- but I'll gladly recommend this book to the designers I work with (graphic designers, product designers, and web designers/developers; raw beginners as well as seasoned veterans) and to others I know who work with designers. The book "Discussing Design" builds a strong case and demonstrates a usable model for improving design-related conversation and collaboration.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the authors
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more
Frequently bought together
This item: Discussing Design: Improving Communication and Collaboration through Critique
$23.99
Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 17
Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).
+
$25.64
Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 17
In Stock
+
$22.31
Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 17
Only 19 left in stock (more on the way).
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the brand
-
Sharing the knowledge of experts
O'Reilly's mission is to change the world by sharing the knowledge of innovators. For over 40 years, we've inspired companies and individuals to do new things (and do them better) by providing the skills and understanding that are necessary for success.
Our customers are hungry to build the innovations that propel the world forward. And we help them do just that.
-
Your partner in learning
-
Bestsellers
-
Software Development
-
Programming Languages
-
AI / Machine Learning
-
Data Science
-
Data, Databases and more
-
Cloud Services
-
Business
-
Finance
-
Blockchain / Cryptocurrency
-
Security
-
Cookbooks
-
Head First series
-
97 Things series
-
Lean series
From the Publisher
Articulating Design Decisions
|
Discussing Design
|
Storytelling in Design
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Reviews |
334
|
124
|
57
|
| Price | $49.65 | $23.99 | $35.26 |
| Further Related Titles | Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience | Improving Communication and Collaboration through Critique | Principles and Tools for Defining, Designing, and Selling Multi-Device Design Projects |
This book is fantastic, I recommend everyone read it
This book is fantastic, I recommend everyone read it, this isn't only for designers. I mean anyone who will ever be asked or feels compelling to want to give "feedback" on a design or anything really should read this book. Adam Connor and Aaron Irizarry did an exceptional job describing different faces of critique, defining what it actually is and "where" comes from. This book shows how and when to give critique, how and when to take it, yes there is a time and place for it. Discussing Design teaches how to improve communication through critique (literally), how to deal with different types of personalities in difficult situations, how to recognise and deal with selfish and preferential feedback. I can't say enough good things about this book.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2016
- Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2023
- Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2015
Top reviews from other countries
-
- BobReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2016
Lack productive crits? Read this
- NathanReviewed in Germany on March 12, 2023
great principles for design critique also for the life
it sheds light on our current team design critique sessions, and enpowered the better team communication:Nathangreat principles for design critique also for the life
Reviewed in Germany on March 12, 2023
- how to provide and receive critiques,
- how to cope with difficult people,
- what principle we should keep
- what methods (4 charette, 6 hats, design studio etc.) we can apply to the daily business
Among all the tips, I found these particularly mind-blowing:
- avoid problem-solving (analytic thinking instead of creative thinking)
- don't rush to make decisions
- always keep consensus on the design objective
These can also be the life hack, not only used in design.
-----
There are some typos in the book:
page 81, page 56, page 176
Images in this review
