Design Language

California Institute of the Arts/Coursera

Criticism

Example of valid and effective forms of criticism:

“This poster has a strong visual hierarchy that is clearly articulated in the design. The visual emphasis on the poster’s title—“There is no Planet B”—clearly communicates its primary message: climate change awareness.”

Why?

It points to specific evidence in the design that supports the rating.

It’s not enough to just say the visual hierarchy is strong. To help a designer move a work forward, you need to articulate what elements of the work are contributing to that rating or assessment.

It includes a quantitative rating (“strong”) for a specific criteria (“visual hierarchy”).

Examples of not valid and ineffective criticism:

"This work is bland and boring" - This comment would be considered ineffective because it’s not sufficiently detailed and ultimately is an opinion.

“I don’t like it." - Personal taste shouldn’t figure into critique. Likewise, an affirmative statement, such as “I like it!” or “It’s good!” ultimately doesn’t help a designer move their work forward eithe

"The image reminds me of a painting that my grandmother had hanging over the sofa in her living room.” - Statements that rely on personal anecdote are ultimately subjective. The goal is to provide clear, detailed and objective feedback to a designer. Also, it is highly likely no one else has seen your grandmother's painting.

Lexicon: a vocabulary of specific terms that are  shared by designers and used to  describe and analyze design work

Critique Framework: Category framework x Rating (Strong/Fair/Weak)

FUNCTION

• Strong / Clear: The function, job, or intent of this design is clear.
• Fair / Understandable: The function, job, or intent of this design is somewhat evident, but not completely clear or thought out.
• Weak / Unclear: The function, job, or intent of this design is not identifiable or understandable.

AUDIENCE

• Strong / Clear: The work addresses its intended audience and potentially addresses overlapping, related audiences as well.
• Fair / Understandable: The work addresses its intended audience only and/or it could do a better job addressing its intended audience.
• Weak / Unclear: The work does not have a clear audience and/or it does not clearly or appropriately address its intended audience.

HIERARCHY

• Strong / Clear: There is a clear visual hierarchy in this design.
• Fair / Understandable: There is a visual hierarchy, but it is not functional. For example, it may be confusing or emphasize the wrong content.
• Weak / Unclear: The visual hierarchy is unclear. The first, second, third reads are not identifiable and/or do not make sense based on the content or idea.

COMPOSITION

• Strong / Clear: The composition seems well-organized, intentional, and creates visual interest.
• Fair / Understandable: The composition has elements that seem organized, but may be too fragmented, lacking direction, too flat, not visually interesting, etc.
• Weak / Unclear: The composition seems disorganized and arbitrary.

VISUAL CONTRAST

• Strong / Clear: Elements of visual contrast seem controlled, relevant to the content, and create visual interest.
• Fair / Understandable: Elements of visual contrast may seem arbitrary or of little relevance to the content or lacking in visual interest.
• Weak / Unclear: Elements of visual contrast seem arbitrary, of no relevance to the content, or lacking in visual interest. The work does not seem contemporary.

ADDITIONAL CONTRASTS (Assess all that apply: scale, weight, texture, line, value, color)

• Strong / Clear: This additional element of contrast is strong. It is used successfully.
• Fair / Understandable: This additional element of visual contrast needs adjustment or improvement.
• Weak / Unclear: This additional element of contrast is not as functional or successful as intended.

MEANING

• Strong / Clear: The concept or main theme is clearly communicated through the use of imagery, typography, use of media, and content.
• Fair / Understandable: The concept is identifiable but is not effectively communicated through use of imagery, typography, use of media, and content.
• Weak / Unclear: The concept is not clear. Use of imagery, typography, use of media, and content seem arbitrary or unrelated to the concept or main theme.

NARRATIVE / SEQUENCE

• Strong / Clear: A narrative is intentionally used to clearly represent a concept or idea through a visual story or series of images. Or a non-narrative sequence is intentionally used to establish a mood or sense of style.
• Fair / Understandable: The series of images seems to have a general theme but does not communicate an idea or point of view. It is confusing because it is neither clearly narrative nor a sequence.
• Weak / Unclear: The series of images seems unrelated to the concept, theme, or subject matter