How to Structure a Design Critique: A Practical Guide for Design Leaders
For design leaders, running effective critiques is more than a team ritual—it’s a leadership tool. A well-structured critique sharpens design quality, improves decision-making, and builds team trust. A poorly run one, on the other hand, can derail morale, waste time, and create resistance to sharing work.
The difference isn’t just in facilitation style. It’s in how you intentionally combine psychological safety with a repeatable structure. Here’s a practical framework you can use with your teams.
1. Start with Ground Rules
Before diving into the work, set expectations. Critique is about evaluating the work, not the designer. As a leader, it’s on you to model and enforce this.
Some ground rules to reinforce:
- Assume good intent: Feedback is meant to make the work stronger.
- Balance participation: Make space for quieter voices, not just the most senior or outspoken.
- No solutions too early: Focus on problems and insights before jumping to fixes.
A few minutes upfront will save hours of tension later.
2. Insist on Preparation
Unstructured sessions often spiral into subjective opinion. To avoid this, require presenters to share key details beforehand:
- Context: What problem are we solving? Who is the user?
- Stage: Early exploration, mid-fidelity iteration, or near-final?
- Feedback goals: What input is most useful at this stage?
When participants know what lens to apply, their feedback is sharper, relevant, and actionable.
3. Use a Repeatable Structure
A consistent format keeps critiques predictable and productive. Here’s a structure you can apply immediately:
- Presentation (5–10 min)
Designer shares context, stage, and goals. Keep it concise. - Clarifying Questions (5 min)
Participants ask factual questions only. This prevents critique based on misunderstandings. - Feedback Round (15–20 min)
Use structured prompts such as:Encourage feedback tied to user needs, research, and design principles—not just opinion.- I like… → What’s working well
- I wish… → What could be stronger
- What if…? → Hypothetical alternatives to explore
- Discussion & Synthesis (10 min)
Facilitator highlights patterns and aligns on key decisions. - Next Steps (5 min)
Agree on what the designer will take forward and what’s out of scope.
This rhythm balances exploration with focus and ensures no session ends without clarity.
4. Define Roles
Clarity around roles removes friction:
- Facilitator: Guides flow, enforces time, ensures balanced voices.
- Presenter: Shares context and requests specific feedback.
- Participants: Provide constructive input, tied to the goals.
- Note-taker (optional): Captures decisions and feedback themes.
This division creates accountability and avoids confusion mid-session.
5. Close the Loop
Feedback loses value if it disappears into a black hole. After each critique:
- Share a written summary of takeaways.
- Clarify which feedback will be acted on (and which won’t).
- Bring updates back to a future critique to show progress.
This builds trust and shows the team their contributions matter.
6. Lead with Safety, Not Comfort
Remember: psychological safety doesn’t mean avoiding hard feedback. It means creating a space where respectful challenge is welcome, mistakes are part of the process, and people feel safe showing unfinished work.
Your role as a leader is to model this balance: set high standards for critique, but also make it clear that vulnerability is not penalized.
Final Thoughts for Design Leaders
Design critiques are one of the simplest levers you have to improve both team culture and design quality. When structured well, they:
- Elevate the work beyond individual bias.
- Create alignment across disciplines.
- Build a team culture where learning and growth are the norm.
As a design leader, your job isn’t just to protect time for critique—it’s to make sure the time creates impact.
YOU! 🫵
If you’re a design leader wondering whether your critiques are working—or if your team could benefit from an outside perspective—get in touch with designscritique.com we offer design audits and expert second opinions on your process, critiques, and output.
It’s a fast, effective way to spot blind spots, strengthen your design rituals, and give you confidence that your team’s design practice is set up for success.