Specific: Identifies a particular strength/weakness (not speaking in generalities).
Language appropriate: Uses language understood by the audience.
Practical/action-oriented: There is something to do or think about.
Timely: The type of feedback given makes sense for the stage of work.
Ineffective critique is...
Absolute: Providing no potential direction for solving the problem.
Not contextualized: Speaking your own opinion without stating so.
Not clarified: Talks to work without understanding what it is about.
Uninvited: Given without being requested or expected.
Needlessly vulgar: Swearing unnecessarily.
Why critique matters
Effective critique can:
Motivate and inspire
Reinforce existing strengths
Remedy errors
Help reflection and learning
Critique context
Before giving critique, it is always important that you understand what the project is, and where it is at. This helps ensure your feedback will be timely and purposeful.
We will be taking the 'I like/I wish' approach for today's critique: Please start each critique with either 'I like' or 'I wish'.
Any questions?
Design Thinking
Last week
Define
Research
Ideate
Choose
Try
Learn (and repeat)
Design Thinking
This week
Define
Research
Ideate
Choose
Try
Learn (and repeat)
Bauhaus
The 1920's to 30's
ITC Bauhaus Typeface
Form Follows Function
The Bauhaus program
How to choose ideas
Getting good at picking ideas to further refine requires an understanding of the purpose of the design, the principles that define good content structure, and critique.
Design principles
What are some of the things a point can represent?
What are some of the things a line can represent?
What are some of the things a plane (not the air kind) can represent?
The Visual Form
Consider what does the visual form afford us that other forms — i.e. auditory, tactile — do not?
Good content structure
Good content structure helps direct and guide a viewer through the content actively. We are going to recap a number of design fundamentals that help us build better structures.
Sequence of cognition
A simplified overview for the purposes of our class:
First is shape.
Second is colour.
We will discuss colour later in the term.
Third is form.
Gestalt
Next in our order of cognition
A psychological theory that our minds self-organize disparate elements into a unified whole. Can you see the 'shape' in this picture?
Building Relationships
Gestalt theory offers us tools for building meaningful visual relationships. Design borrows from science and art to create form and function.
