Critique the work, not the person

Why this rule exists

A design critique is one of the most valuable tools a team has and one of the easiest to poison. When feedback drifts from the work to the worker, when why did you and this is bad replace the design does not yet and what if it, people stop sharing early, stop taking risks, and start defending instead of improving. The whole value of critique depends on a simple separation: the design on the wall is not the designer, and a problem with the design is not an accusation against them. Held well, critique is a group of people pointing at a shared artifact and making it better together; held badly, it is a performance of judgment that teaches everyone to hide. This applies whether you are giving feedback or receiving it: to give it, aim at the work and be specific; to receive it, remember they are talking about the pixels, not about you. The discipline of critiquing the work, not the person, is what keeps the feedback flowing that every good design depends on.