Discussing Design

Marc Notes: Real critique has become a lost skill among collaborative teams today. Critique is intended to help teams strengthen their designs, products and services, rather than be used to assert authority or push agendas under the guise of 'feedback.' In this practical guide, authors Adam Connor and Aaron Irizarry teach you techniques, tools and a framework for helping members of your design team give and receive critique. Table of Contents: Foreword; Preface; The Lost Skill of Critique; What This Book Is About; Why We Wrote This Book; Who Should Read This Book; Terms We Use; How This Book Is Organized; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: Understanding Critique; 1.1 Conversations Matter; 1.2 The Problem with Asking for Feedback; 1.3 Why Critique Is So Important; 1.4 Critique as a Life Skill; 1.5 Incorporating Critique and Moving Forward; 1.6 Wrapping Up; Chapter 2: What Critique Looks Like; 2.1 The Two Sides of Critique and the Importance of Intent; 2.2 Giving Critique; 2.3 Receiving Critique; 2.4 Critique, Conversation, and Questions; 2.5 Wrapping Up; Chapter 3: Culture and Critique; 3.1 Creating a Conducive Organizational Culture; 3.2 Incremental Versus Iterative Processes: What They Mean and Why They Matter; 3.3 Setting the Foundation for Critique; 3.4 Personal Barriers to Critique; 3.5 Practicing Critique; 3.6 Critiquing with Distributed Teams and Remote Team Members; 3.7 Wrapping Up; Chapter 4: Making Critique a Part of Your Process; 4.1 Creating Opportunities for Critique; 4.2 Things to Keep in Mind; 4.3 Standalone Critiques; 4.4 Collaborative Activities; 4.5 Conducting Design Reviews; 4.6 Wrapping Up; Chapter 5: Facilitating Critique; 5.1 Understanding the Rules of Critique; 5.2 The I Like... or I Don t Like... Rule; 5.3 Preparing for and Kicking Off a Critique; 5.4 Tools and Techniques for Effective Facilitation; 5.5 Collecting Critique and Doing Something with It; 5.6 Wrapping Up; Chapter 6: Critiquing with Difficult People and Challenging Situations; 6.1 Dealing with Difficult People; 6.2 Coping with Challenging Situations; 6.3 Wrapping Up; Chapter 7: Summary: Critique Is at the Core of Great Collaboration; 7.1 Moving Beyond Feedback; 7.2 Adopting Critique; 7.3 Coping with Difficult Situations; 7.4 Dive In; The 10 Bad Habits That Hurt Critique; Introduction; About the Authors; O squo(r): Discussing Design;"Biographical Note: Adam Connor is an Experienced Design Director with Mad*Pow based in Portsmouth, NH. Focusing on the design of digital products and services, Adam combines a background in Computer Science, Film and Illustration with 10+ years as an experience designer to produce efficient and effective solutions. Adam is also an accomplished illustrator and public speaker.

Contributor Bio:  Connor, Adam Adam Connor is an Experienced Design Director with Mad*Pow based in Portsmouth, NH. Focusing on the design of digital products and services, Adam combines a background in Computer Science, Film and Illustration with 10+ years as an experience designer to produce efficient and effective solutions. Adam is also an accomplished illustrator and public speaker. Contributor Bio:  Irizarry, Aaron Aaron Irizarry is Director of User Experience for Nasdaq Product Design and has been building online products for startups and large corporations for over 10 years. Aaron is also a public speaker and consults with companies providing design studio and collaborative critique workshops to help their product teams and stakeholders/managers improve the discussion around product design. Aaron is heavily involved in the design community where he helps organize meetups and conferences.