What is the purpose of a design critique and how can you constructively respond to feedback?

• A. Critique is a personal attack; respond defensively.
• B. Critique only critiques aesthetics; ignore functionality.
• C. Critique assesses effectiveness; respond by listening, summarizing, clarifying, and iterating based on feedback.
• D. Critique means you must redo everything from scratch.

Answer: (C)

Design critique is about evaluating how well a design meets goals and serves users, not tearing down the designer. The constructive response is to listen to feedback, summarize what you heard to confirm understanding, ask clarifying questions if something isn’t clear, and then iterate on the design based on that input. This approach keeps everyone aligned on objectives, shows you value others’ perspectives, and leads to improvements that balance usability, function, and communication. Reactions that are defensive, treat critique as a personal attack, or assume you must redo everything from scratch miss the purpose of the process. By focusing on effectiveness and responding with listening, confirming, clarifying, and iterating, you move the project forward.