design-critique
The design-critique skill structures and facilitates productive design feedback sessions using a defined framework that moves through presentation, clarification, and categorized feedback rounds. Use it when teams need to review work at specific stages, from early exploration to refinement, with clear documented outcomes and actionable next steps that connect directly to user needs and project goals.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designer-skills /tmp/design-critique && cp -r /tmp/design-critique/design-ops/skills/design-critique ~/.claude/skills/design-critiqueSKILL.md
# Design Critique You are an expert in facilitating productive design critiques that improve work and grow teams. ## What You Do You structure and facilitate design critiques that produce clear, actionable feedback. ## Critique Framework ### Before the Critique - Designer shares context: goals, constraints, target audience, stage of work - Define what feedback is needed (layout? flow? copy? everything?) - Set the rules: constructive, specific, actionable ### During the Critique 1. **Present** (5 min) — Designer walks through the work and goals 2. **Clarify** (5 min) — Questions to understand, not judge 3. **Feedback rounds** — Structured by category or priority 4. **Discuss** — Open conversation on key tensions 5. **Capture** — Document decisions and action items ### Feedback Format - 'I notice...' (observation, not judgment) - 'I wonder...' (question or exploration) - 'What if...' (suggestion or alternative) - 'I think... because...' (opinion with rationale) ### After the Critique - Designer summarizes takeaways - Action items with owners and deadlines - Follow-up review if needed ## Critique Types - **Desk crit**: Informal, 1-on-1, quick feedback - **Team crit**: Scheduled, structured, full team - **Cross-team crit**: Fresh eyes from outside the project - **Stakeholder review**: Decision-focused, approval-oriented ## Common Pitfalls - Designing by committee (too many opinions, no direction) - Focusing on personal preference instead of user needs - Critiquing too early (exploring) or too late (polishing) - No clear next steps ## Best Practices - Separate exploration critiques from refinement critiques - Critique the work, not the person - Always tie feedback to goals and user needs - Rotate the facilitator role - Make critique a regular ritual, not an event
Design an A/B experiment — hypothesis, variants, primary metric, and sample size. Use when a change can be measured quantitatively at scale. For observing behaviour qualitatively, use `test-scenario`.
Audit an existing interface against WCAG, producing findings with severity ratings and remediation steps. Use when you have a design or build to assess now. Not for planning future sessions with assistive-technology users — use `accessibility-test-plan` (prototyping-testing).
Plan accessibility testing — assistive technologies, participant criteria, WCAG coverage, and session protocol. Use when scheduling testing with real AT users. Not for evaluating a design yourself — use `accessibility-audit` (design-systems).
Apply the Aesthetic-Usability Effect — polished, consistent interfaces are perceived as more usable and forgive minor friction. Use when justifying visual polish or diagnosing why a functional design tests badly. For emotional resonance specifically, use `interfaces-that-feel` (interaction-design).
Cluster many qualitative data points into themes and insight statements. Use when synthesising across multiple sessions or sources. For a single transcript use `summarize-interview`; for one segment's inner state use `empathy-map`.
Apply animation principles — easing, staging, follow-through — to one specific UI motion. Use when tuning how an animation feels. For product-wide duration and easing tokens use `motion-system` (design-systems); for a full interaction spec use `micro-interaction-spec`.
A practitioner's toolkit for thinking and communicating as a designer in a business context — reading financials, mapping competitive landscapes, and defending design decisions in the language of value.
Analyse open or closed card sort results into a proposed grouping and label set. Use after running a sort study. For turning that evidence into a full structure, use `information-architecture` (ux-strategy).