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Critiques

CRITIQUE CHECKLIST
CRITIQUING YOUR CLASSMATES' WORK
REACTING TO YOUR CLASSMATES CRITIQUES’ OF YOUR WORK

CRITIQUING YOUR CLASSMATES’ WORK
Critiquing your classmates’ work can be difficult. You need to balance the nurturing that builds trust with the candor that could destroy it. Here are some tips:

• Start with something positive to help your classmate recognize and build on strengths. Even if the piece needs a lot of work, there’s something good you can point out—the nugget of a great idea, a thorough understanding of the material, good use of color.

• Remember that you’re here to help each another improve. It doesn’t help your classmate if you see problems but don’t mention them because you’re afraid of hurt feelings. Most students would rather hear about a problem from a friendly, supportive classmate than hand in work with problems and hear about them (with a poor grade!) from me.

Photo courtesy of Bill Shaw The unusual-looking Galapagos batfish tends to waddle around on the sea floor, preying on crustaceans and small fish.

• Critique the project, not the producer. Instead of “You’re not very good at typography,” try “The typography doesn’t really work for me because . . . .” Instead of saying “Your colors are lousy,” try “The color combination gets in the way of your message.”

• Be specific. Instead of saying, “The navigation needs work,” try to figure out what’s wrong. Perhaps you could suggest different wording or a different order.

• Don’t overwhelm your classmate with too much to fix. Concentrate on a few important aspects that would make the site even better.

• Use humor if that’s your style, but don’t say anything that can be construed as making fun.

• Imagine yourself on the receiving end of the comment. If this were your work, what would be helpful to you? How would you want people to provide you with constructive criticism?

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REACTING TO YOUR CLASSMATES CRITIQUES’ OF YOUR WORK
Sometimes it’s difficult to have others critique your work, even if they have the best of intentions. Here are some tips to help you react in a positive way:

• Remember that your classmates are trying to help you become a better Web producer and make your site stronger, clearer and more effective.

• Listen to praise with the same intensity you listen to criticism. Often students obsess over critical comments and fail to hear all the good things said about their work. We can be our own worst critics and harshest detractors. Shut off that filter that says, “They don’t really mean that,” and accept sincere praise at face value.

Photo courtesy of Bill Shaw Clothed in polka dots, the spotted sharpnose puffer can swell to almost twice its normal size when threatened.

• Put yourself in the critic’s shoes. Remember when you’ve struggled to respond to someone else’s work without hurting feelings or being “too nice.”

• We’re all different: What one person finds confusing, another might find crystal clear. It’s ultimately your work, and you have to decide which feedback to act upon and which to ignore.

• Remember that a criticism of one piece of work is not an indictment of you as a Web producer nor a critique of your worth as a person. It’s simply a response to what you created on one occasion.

• Keep track of the kinds of feedback you receive over and over. Do your classmates often suggest changes in navigation? Do your colors usually seem to need work? Do people frequently tell you about misspelled words or grammatical errors? Use these observations to identify patterns of problems and strengths, then try to address the problems by referring to books or asking for advice.

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CRITIQUE CHECKLIST

1. Description
Describe the work in detail—the content (intended message), medium (specific elements used) and the form (arrangement of elements and format, composition, use of images and/or multimedia, overall layout and design). At this point do NOT evaluate how well or why elements are used.

• What’s the specific content? Is it persuasive? Entertaining? Informative?

• Is the content primarily text? Images? Sound? Video? Maps?

• How do the specific elements (typography, colors, multimedia, etc.) relate to each other?

• How have design elements been used—color, line, shape, arrangement of elements and format, composition, use of images and/or multimedia, overall layout and design?

Courtesy of Bill ShawBlennies and other colorful tropical fish inhabit the waters off the Galapagos.

2. Interpretation
Examine why you think choices were made and how they contribute to make the work comprehensible and meaningful.

• What do you think your classmate intended?

• Why are the physical properties of the work appropriate?

• Who’s the target audience? How does the design relate to viewers? You can define the audience by demographics (age, income, education, gender, marital status, income, occupation) and/or psychographics (lifestyle, habits, interests, political or religious beliefs, attitudes).

3. Evaluation
Evaluate the success or failure based on your knowledge of design, usability, navigation and target audience.

• Is the site arranged logically? Is it easy to find your way around?

• Is the design effective? Does it enhance the storytelling?

• Are multimedia elements used effectively to enhance the story line?

• What will you remember from this site in two weeks?

• What’s the biggest strength?

• What’s the biggest problem?

• What would make this even better?