Getting feedback as a product designer
Sharpen your craft as a product designer by mastering the art of feedback. Learn effective strategies to get comfortable with feedback, structure your design reviews, and reflect on your feedback sources in this insightful guide.
Design feedback anti-patterns and how to defeat them
In this article, learn how to give effective design feedback that is constructive, actionable, and kind. The article identifies common bad patterns in design feedback, including unclear objectives, lack of goals, absence of vulnerability and safety, unproductive feedback, and more. It also provides tips for building a story that is concise, accessible, and informative, and how to review design work effectively. As a designer, you can teach others how to read screens and offer feedback constructively, making the feedback process more valuable and meaningful for all.
How to give feedback on a design you know nothing about
In this article, I cover the risks of product designers critiquing shipped work without considering the context in which the product was developed. They argue that such analysis can be naive and arrogant, and offer tips for designers to engage with products in a more mature and thoughtful way.
Engaging multiple stakeholders with the dots and cards design critique
The dots and cards design critique is a meeting format that enables designers to engage multiple stakeholders in a project, particularly those who may have trouble agreeing with each other because they rarely meet together. Using dot stickers, index cards, sharpie markers, and printed designs, the stakeholders silently review the designs and provide feedback by putting dots on the areas they have questions or comments on and writing their thoughts on index cards. The format offers benefits, such as encouraging active participation, hot spotting problem areas, and engaging different learning styles, resulting in stakeholders taking ownership over the outcome of their feedback.
Ultra-lean user testing with Amazon Turk and Google Forms
Amazon Turk is a platform that connects businesses, known as Requesters, with independent contractors, known as Workers, who complete Human Intelligence Tasks (HITs) in exchange for payment. Workers are primarily US citizens who pick up tasks at rates they feel are worth their time. Requesters can use Turk to conduct split tests, ask straightforward questionnaires, or conduct other user research to help them understand how their audience interacts with their products. While Amazon Turk may not be perfect, it can be a great tool to approach lean UX, reducing the cost and friction of user testing.