Design Criticism 8 Things to Grow using Postive & Negative criticism

Why? Taking design criticism is very important. Being a designer, when it comes to the field of creativity, hundreds and hundreds of feedbacks will come to you. People will tell you this concept is good. I didn't like this. Nobody likes this. Who takes to, who likes to take this black color? Who likes this kind of a graphics? Who likes this kind of a handle design, Right? People do randomly comment and as a designer we need to understand the differentiation between which is a constructive feedback and which is a, what do you call it? BS feedback, which normally people give. If you are able to maturely see that with more clarity, let me tell you guys, you will become an extraordinary person. You will transform yourself. According to a survey by InVision, you know InVision is a great company for design. 80% of the designers believe that feedback from other team is very crucial for their purpose. See guys, design community is already feeling that. A study by McKinsey & Co. Found strong culture of constructive feedback are 4.6 times more likely to be the top performers in their industry. So you need to really understand why it is important. Take a lot of notes. Let's dive into the strategies of understanding the criticism. Being a creative designer, the very important aspect of a creativity is first understanding the nature of that. See, there are two types of criticism, positive and negative. Let me tell you positive. Okay, first see guys, if you are, if you are seeing some feedback as an improvement point, or let's say if somebody is building on top of your skills what you have, definitely you need to take it as a strength and improve it. Okay? People will tell you, hey, this concept looks good. You should not stop there. You have to ask them why it is really making it good. Can you little bit be more specific so then people will add on top of it. See, this is called positive what you call criticism, which people really do do it. Let me tell you, there is another side also. You need to also give a positive criticism for any concept or anybody who, whom you're really reviewing or if you're giving a feedback for that design, whatever is your giving to the universe, you will get it back. Guys, it's very simple. You cannot be just keeping your mouth shut and everybody will come and give you a feedback. You should be also one to contribute and give lot of ideas or criticism and both. Whatever you feel like honestly giving a feedback, you give it. Same will happen in a reciprocation when you show a lot of ideas to them. Okay? So you need to understand this. Now let's understand negative criticism. See guys, a lot of people throw random comments on you see, it's not a personal attack. Don't take it in your personal note. They are not criticizing your ability, they are criticizing that concept is not good. Or maybe this colors is not good. So you need to examine that. If somebody gives you a negative criticism again, you need to ask the question. Can you be little more specific? What do you exactly mean? Can you repeat this? Because the moment when you ask a question politely, you should not become rude. This is where problem really happens for designers. They get a lot of ego and become a big problem in that scenario. Because they would have spent hours and hours of time to perfecting that concept. People will randomly come and say, hey, this doesn't look modern. This looks like old, old style. This doesn't look edgy. People really get shattered, right? Because the hours of efforts is getting shattered. So you need to just ask a question. Because unmature designers really get emotional and create a scene or a problem. But mature designers really pass. Ask them. See guys, if they are really genuine in their feedback, they will definitely point out which areas you have made that mistake. Definitely you can improve it. If people are commenting randomly, they will not answer your question. They will simply say, no, no. I just feel like that. I'm telling you, ignore these people. These people are time wasters. Leave them. You need to really understand the importance of the negative criticism where you can build on top of it. The third is when you have the criticism thing, you should have a development mindset. See, definitely if you have a growth mindset, it fosters your improvement in your career very continuously. You need to have a learning process. Always learn from different mentors or peers or any subordinates or any coaching institute, wherever you join. That doesn't matter. But you need to have a very good growth mindset continuously. Because if you are in a learning mindset, you will take feedback for each criticism, whatever is put on you. If you are not learning, if you closed your learning process after you completed the college, you will have a big problem, guys. Because each and every year design is getting updated in an even more faster way. AI is taking even more faster leap to make sure the technology is advancing. Even in six months, subjects are getting obsolete. It's a very good mindset that you need to have. Or else what you will do is you will be in a different track, people will give you something relevant which is in the trend and you will feel, no, this doesn't work. Who told you this is coming? No, no, no, I'm not agreeing to that. Stop. You will develop a problem that's why you need to be in that learning path. And the next important part is, the fourth important element is reframe your criticism as a feedback. See, distinguish between criticism and feedback. You need to understand that if people are giving feedback, that's different. People are criticizing, that's a different thing, right? I'll tell you with a real example. Like let's say if people are giving you feedback. Like let's say I feel really good about this. Yeah, this is fine. This is good. Yeah, it's fine. Criticism is something. Hey know what? If this particular concept is going into a user like this, it will create much more faster transaction rates. It will convert much more conversion rates in the website. It will improve the click through rates. If you specifically add this kind of a button or this kind of element, or this kind of a motivation or this kind of a habit pattern, user will recognize faster. If somebody is giving you this, this is called criticism. It can happen negatively also. But this is how the criticism and feedback looks. Focusing on that is a valuable material. Guys, people don't understand this. People do a very surface level. The acha feedback is given, somebody is giving you some good bad comment. Haha, it's good. Then we'll go to the next concept. No, understand the difference between it and take an insight out of it always. You will have a very good actionable insight after a criticism or a feedback if you're able to do it. Okay. The fifth important element is discerning constructive criticism. See, you need to understand and identify a specific actionable point in that criticism. As I told in the earlier point. So distinguishing that personal opinions from the objective feedback and how it contributes to design improvement, you should first able to discern it properly. If you are able to make it as a design improvement from that feedback or the criticism, then and only you are really taking and making sure that action point is getting oriented. Or else you will just like that get into an argument and a fight. Nothing will happen for both of the parties, right? Either way, if they are giving a good feedback and bad feedback, you need to make sure to discern meaning, separate very clearly the constructive criticism or the negative criticism for it. Okay? This is the major major important thing. The sixth element is identifying the valid points. See, in that feedback, in that criticism, try to re examine it. Understand how you can extract a feedback from that. How you can understand the patterns behind that so that people will able to get a very clear tang output out of it. Because let me give you a clarity. A lot of times people just like that record feedback, take Criticism, they forget it. What's the point? You need to understand the importance of these pain points. You need to understand why people have said why people have not said that for this concept. Why concept A receives more feedback, Concept B doesn't do so. See the patterns behind it. Make a mind mapping out of it and then you'll find a valid thing. Lot of people don't do this. Definitely not doing this, guys. Because I also learned from my mentor Brian Tracy. It's a very, very important thing when it comes to career aspect. Also, it's not only your concepts of design, it's for you. Also you can ask your manager or your subordinates about your feedback about you, about you as a person. If you are able to note it down, think about it, definitely you can become a great person. Guys, the next important step in this is seeking clarification. Major, major thing. This is where the real feedback will come. I told you, right? Asking questions. Once you read retrospect on these points, definitely seek for clarity. That's why you need to record those. This is given by so and so person. So and so feedback, so and so time and date and their contact number. Definitely you can get back. Hey, you came to our design exhibition. You said this concept was good. Can you be little bit specific? Can you ask what is the reason for this color choice? Or if they say no, you can ask them why it is not good. That is where you will start improving and enhancing. Guys, if you are not reflecting on the feedback of your customer or your design audience or any audience, you will not see the reality of this, guys. You will be staying in a cocoon. You will not really come to the reality. And that is where draw up designers really keep their concept as a concepts, not in reality because of this reason. Okay, then the seventh important point is responding positively. See, when you receive the feedback, then you have to respond them in a positive note. If they say no, no, no, it's not good, it's fine. Thank you for that. So and so, because of your negative feedback, only because of your feedback only, I improved my concept. You should say that you should not use the word negative. If you use that, it's a negative connotation. Obviously lot of people don't know this, but you as a mature designer, because you are in the design for change and you are listening to it, you need to get a clarity on that. You should never use the word negative. You should always use improvement. That is why you need to respond them positively. Even if they give good or bad feedback. That's totally Fine. And the eighth important element is maintain professionalism. See, you need to definitely be professional, Send an email, or you can congratulate them through a phone call or give a brisk handshake when you're meeting them. Live and politely address them with gratitude for their feedbacks. Maintain that relationship, get their contact, put them in the loop. See, this is how you need to maintain your professionalism. You should not be like a hanky panky guy. You should randomly go and ask a person, hey, how does this application look like? Good. Okay, thank you. Yeah. Hey, how is it good? Like this is not how you take. You should maintain that professionalism. You need to create a Google sheet or a Microsoft Forms or you need to create a template for your feedback of your design concepts or your criticism. You need to get their proper validation and congratulate and appreciate them and, and make sure you give a reward. Also, if somebody is giving you a good criticism, whether it's positive or negative, that's immaterial. What happens is people really start liking you and they definitely pay close attention to give you feedback. Lot of people don't do this. You know what, because you're bothering them too much. They'll give you some feedback, some criticism. But if you really appreciate them, make them trust you. And then if you go and ask them, they will give you a real genuine hard toe at hands. That is where you need to express your gratitude for them to thank them in a more professional way. When you are able to follow these eight steps, guys, let me tell you, you will become a great feedback collector in your design career. As I told you the two stats, right? So if you're able to do this guys, you will self what you call it, you will self reflect on the mistakes, what you're doing and the lessons what you're learning in the design field. So creating a very simulated critic scenario for people who you're working with, receiving feedback, responding to feedback. You know what? You will experience lot more richer decision making capabilities in your design if you keep that environment in that way. Always have some person to comment on you, to critique on you, your boss or subordinate. Because if you keep that environment going, you know what? You will get a very good insights for your work. You don't need lot of people from outside so you can improve that self critique ability to do that. Okay? So I think this podcast would have given you great clarity on why criticism is very important. Let me give you some good materials guys. You can listen to a podcast called the Futur by Chris. You know what this features lot of design critique and feedback and you can read an article called Art and Feedback. A list apart from provide insights into giving and receiving constructive feedback and design, you can read a book called Creative Confidence by Tom Kelly and David Kelly from ideo. This really stresses on the creative process. You can do it. Okay. So I hope this materials is also really useful. I'll be pasting it in the chat in the chat of this podcast you can listen to it. Okay. And if you need my mentorship support in improving your design aspect and giving you a criticism to improve, definitely you can choose my mentorship program guys. Because when you come to my mentorship program I help you get results in less than three months. If you are a completely different person coming from engineering background software, three months is enough for me to get you very good design job. If you're already a designer, 2x or 3x is very much possible in less than 2 months or even 2 months based on the effort you put. Because we have a very intensive program which we will make sure you are getting results. Because today in the day and age, information is not the problem. Everybody has a lot of information. Accountability is the problem. Getting proper criticism for your work is a problem and that's where people are lacking and they are not able to move forward. If you are in that zone, take my mentorship program. Send an email to dfcadesignforchangemail.com I'll be more than happy to help you. Okay, thank you so much guys. If you feel this podcast useful, give me the best rating in Apple and Spotify. Subscribe me further for this Episodes like this for design for change. Okay, thank you so much. Take care. All the best. Bye bye.