What do you do if your design is criticized?

Swallow your ego, listen and try not to be offended. Don't double down or go on the defensive, you can never win someone over my telling them they're wrong. Ask them to fully explain their critique. If it's fair and there is real substance you should be grateful for the feedback. If not, you have given yourself a moment to reflect on what they're saying and to provide a calm and measured response, which can simply be: "It sounds like <said issue> is a high priority, so we'll take that away and look at it further."

If your design is criticized, approach it with an open mind, viewing it as an opportunity for growth. Listen attentively to the critique, seeking to understand the underlying concerns. Evaluate the feedback objectively, separating personal attachment from professional judgment. Consider how the criticism aligns with your design goals and objectives. Use it as a catalyst for improvement, refining your design based on constructive insights. Finally, maintain confidence in your abilities while remaining humble and receptive to continuous learning and refinement.

Have an open mind and embrace different perspectives, welcome diverse opinions however hard that might be. It’s far to easy in todays world to become polarised or only hear what you want to hear. We all know that’s divisive. Challenge yourself to empathise, ask questions in return, this will lead to dialogue, through which you have a powerful tool for positive change. Design is no different. The more you can listen the richer and more meaningful your work will become Design beyond bricks and mortar, designing for people means having challenging conversations. After all life without criticism wouldn’t be life at all :)

There will lot many times, were not all your ideas are appreciated. And there will be lot many criticism. The first step is to be prepared for criticism. Be open minded, build ourselves to not be offended, keep our ego aside and LISTEN ATTENTIVELY. Criticism doesn't mean you are wrong and they are right. It only means every person has different opinion, and its our duty to hear them out, engage ourselves with the feedbacks without being defensive By taking positive insights from it, you can improve your design, built a better output. Consider how you can align your design with the criticism. Treat every piece of criticism as a step to grow higher and as a learning opportunity to build a successful partnership.

First things first... Know your audience. Given that the feedback is coming from a good place and in good faith, allow as much of it to come and take note. Remembering my time as an architecture student, Crits were meant to go totally wrong, and being left totally beaten and my confidence extracted from my body. Finally, remember that it is NOT your concept. You are working for somebody else, therefore it is their concept being criticised. Remove all ownership from it before any presentation.

Sometime, we do feel detach from the person who has criticize our work. But the foremost thing to do is, not to take the criticism in a negative manner and maintain professionalism. We should keep aside all our emotions, and respond to the person with whole heartedly. Remember, criticism is for the work, and not to be taken personal. By staying calm and composed, you demonstrate your positive traits and also your maturity as a designer and your commitment to the project. Remember this help you evolve as a person and as a designer. This approach will help focusing on the outcomes rather than unproductive arguments.

Every criticism you receive, its necessary for you to access them positively. Take a step back, and analyze it fairly. Validate the criticism you have received, and look how it aligns with your design visions and goals you have for that space. Some criticism are based on the clients personal taste, choices and visions. Other criticism can actually help you to improve your ideas and designs. Those can really be good for your professional growth. If always better to have a deep analysis, and distinguish between which type of feedback can lead to better outcomes. Analyzing criticism fairly and being unjudged towards the person who criticize you, will not only help to grow potentially, but will also help to maintain unbiased relationship.

Be mindful that prior phase sign-offs are still prone to communication fall-outs. Be they verbal, written, and/or graphic of either the project's design or designer-client contractual relationship (e.g. they did not grasp the scope or consequences of a design change post sign-off). Thus, very helpful to clarify all contexts before diving deep upon specifics.

Every criticism is valid because every perspective is valid. It’s important to engage in dialogue to understand where that criticism is coming from and see if that thinking can benefit you moving forward. It’s too easy to dismiss criticism immediately, but there is always an opportunity to learn from it.