CONSTRUCTIVE– serving a useful purpose; tending to build up
CRITICISM– Adjective: The act of passing judgement as to the merits of anything.
Many among us do not understand the real definition of Constructive Criticism. In fact criticism helps provide us with new perspective and opens our eyes to things we may have overlooked or never considered.
Whether it is a peer review of your work or performance review, constructive criticism is a balance of positive and negative feedback. It is a valuable tool in the workplace that allows individuals to learn and grow. Quite often people don’t realize what a great resource it can be because the truth is, feedback and criticism can help all of us succeed in the workplace and in life.
Unlike critique or destructive criticism, which is meant to be harsh and devaluing the work of an individual, constructive criticism includes timely and specific negative feedback with useful strategies for skill improvement, support and encouragement.
In an environment where people are able to share feedback and constructive criticism, everyone is a winner! Creating a transparent, collaborative atmosphere at work, in a business meeting or anywhere outside gives us all the opportunities to become better people. Most importantly, an open environment like this allows us to be proactive and share our input without putting people’s personal feelings in jeopardy.
So what does Constructive Criticism for design look like? More than ever have we heard of clients, or even our subordinates, mentioning these words, “Make it pop”. This could mean anything from ‘increasing the amount of contrast’ to ‘create more depth’, ‘give it a sense of motion’ or even ‘make that font bold’. There isn’t really a specific course of action to be taken. It can be difficult for creatives to distant themselves from their work, especially when it is something they have a passion for. This can make it difficult to take any type of criticism, constructive or not. In that case, try to maintain perspective, and think about what it takes to get your best work and whether or not you honestly feel there is room for improvement, and if you could benefit from an outside opinion.
