It’s nearly impossible to improve a design without feedback from others. It’s no surprise that design critique is one of the most valuable and common exercises product teams practice when building new products.
Despite the negative connotation the word “critique” may carry, the purpose of design critique isn’t to put designers on the spot. Instead, it’s about determining whether a design meets its objectives — for users and the business.
In this article, I’ll share a general 4-step framework I use when conducting a design critique.
1. Product Purpose & Business Goals Alignment
Before diving into the design, take a step back and zoom out. Start by understanding the why behind the product:
🧠 User Needs
Focus on who the product is designed for — the target audience. Find answers to the following questions:
- Who is the target audience for this product?
- What user problem does this product solve for them?
- What’s the core value proposition for users?
- How do users measure the effectiveness of the product?
- What alternatives might users turn to if this product didn’t exist?
💼 Business Goals
Just because people use something doesn’t mean they’re willing to pay for it. Thats why you need to identify business goals alignment.
Find answers to the following questions:
- What is the business trying to achieve with this product?
- How does this product impact the bottom line (revenue, retention, etc.)?
- How does the business measure success (e.g., conversion rate, engagement, lifetime value)?
- What is the monetization strategy?
- Are there key business KPIs or metrics tied to this product?
By the end of this step, you should be able to clearly outline the value the app provides to both the user and the business.
2. Identify Goal & Define Scope of Critique
Without a clearly defined scope, critiques can easily become unfocused. Clarify the purpose from the very beginning:
🎯 Establish the Critique’s Objective
The purpose of the critique should be defined upfront.
- Why was this critique requested?
- What specific part of the product is being critiqued?
- Are we reviewing a feature, flow, visual treatment, or overall UX?
- Is the goal to improve a specific metric (e.g., signup conversion)?
🧾 Clarify Stakeholder Expectations
- What does the product team plan to do with the feedback?
- Are they looking for validation, iteration ideas, or fundamental changes?
- What is the timeline or urgency for this feedback?
🧪 Practical Tip
One technique I use is walking through a realistic user task. I put myself in the user’s shoes and attempt to complete a specific task using the product. This helps me better understand the user and the nuances of the flow they go through.
3. Functional & Visual Language
Critique isn’t about personal taste — it’s not about whether you like a product or not. It’s about whether the design effectively supports its intended goals.
Once I know what the app is all about and have narrowed down the specific scope for the critique, I can dive into the actual app’s design. Some critiquers tend to think in terms of UX and UI when they conduct critiques, but I prefer to use a different kind of category—language. Just like we use natural language to communicate with each other, the apps we design also use a language to communicate with their users.
Here are integral parts of visual & functional language:
🧭 Onboarding
- Is the first-time user experience intuitive and welcoming?
- Is there parts in onboarding that feel overwhelming?
- Does onboarding set expectations clearly?
- Does it communicate core value (what the app is all about) quickly and effectively?
🔀 Navigation
No matter how good your product is, poor navigation will drive users away.
- Can users easily understand where they are in the app?
- Is it easy to move between sections?
- Are patterns consistent and predictable?
- Are important actions easy to find?
- Can users recover from navigation mistakes?
🎨 Visual & Functional Consistency
- Are design elements (fonts, colors, buttons) used consistently?
- Are interaction patterns conventional to the platform you design for?
- Is there a clear design system or component library in place?
📐 Visual Hierarchy
- Is important information prioritized visually?
- Are users drawn to the right elements first?
- Are there competing focal points on individual pages/screens?
- Could layout changes improve scannability or clarity?
🧩 Interaction Design
- Are interactions clear and responsive?
- Do transitions and animations support usability?
- Are affordances (e.g., buttons, clickable elements) obvious?
- Are microinteractions (e.g., hover states, loading feedback) helpful?
⚠️ Error Handling
- Are errors communicated clearly?
- Are users told what went wrong and how to fix it?
- Do error messages use friendly tone?
- Can users easily recover from common issues?
⚙️ Technical Constraints
Technical constraints can have a major impact on the solution. When conducting a design critique, learn about the technical constraints the team faced upfront. This will help you understand the rationale behind individual design decisions.
- What technical limitations influenced this design?
- Was there a workaround for known constraints?
- What would you have done differently with unlimited resources?
- What are the trade-offs between design intention and technical feasibility?
Put yourself in the designer’s shoes. Try to understand not just what decisions were made, but why.
🧪 Practical Tip
When analyzing the visual and functional language of a product, use the Pyramid of User Needs. This pyramid is a great framework for design critique — it helps you assess where a product stands in the hierarchy and what needs improvement before progressing to the next layer.
- Functional — Does it work?
- Reliable — Can I trust it to work consistently?
- Usable — Is it easy to use?
- Pleasurable — Is it enjoyable?
4. Emotional Reactions
Design is a tricky subject. Each of us has different tastes and preferences. When we evaluate certain design decisions, we can be both rational and emotional. However, when conducting a design critique, try your best to remain rational. If you have an emotional reaction to a certain aspect of the design (e.g., ‘Yikes, I don’t like this color!’), pause for a moment and try to understand why you feel that way.
Critique is not about what you like or dislike — it’s about whether the design effectively solves problems.
Final Tips: How to Deliver Feedback
- Be specific about what’s working and what’s not.
- Stay objective, and tie feedback to goals, not opinions.
- Where possible, back up points with research findings.
- Offer suggestions, not mandates.
- Keep the tone collaborative, not critical.
Design Critique: Framework was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.