Art and design definitions submitted by Nan Pendarvis
Critique Notes A 40k PDF describing a step by step process for written crits.
Note on writing about artists that you been asked to review
Participation reminder
AlisonBarrowsoncritiques

GUIDELINES ON WRITING AN EFFECTIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITIQUE:

On your critique responses, the questions given in the thread are not just a laundry list of items that need to be answered. They are meant to guide you in your responses somewhat, but please expand on them with your own thoughts and opinions concerning the work you are reviewing. Your analysis should include the topics covered in the questions, but should go deeper into the work as well. Here are some tips to help guide you through your critique responses each week:

Start by describing the work - Make a list of all the things you see in the work without making any kind of judgment about the work. It is important to get a careful, non-judgmental observation before beginning your analysis. This step should simply be a description of what you see in the design.

Continue by analyzing the work - Pay close attention to what design principles have been used. How is the composition organized using rhythm, balance, movement, proportion, variety, emphasis, and unity? This step should be a description of what you see in the design conceptually and should address the design topics for the week.

Then begin interpreting the work - Explain or tell the meaning or mood of the work. What is your personal reaction to this design? How does it make you feel? What did you learn from the design? Think creatively and imaginatively at this stage. Base your interpretation on your observations in the first two steps.

Conclude with your judgment of the work - Decide in what ways the work is successful or how it could be improved. Base judgments on your observations of the work and its success in applying the appropriate design principles towards its intended function. It is important during this step to be constructive and phrase your comments in a respectful manner. Any criticism needs to be balanced both with suggestions for improvement and other positive observations. That way everyone can improve their work as we progress.

Critiquing is a process that serves both the person receiving the comments as well as the person making the comments. Those receiving the comments get valuable insight into how their work is viewed by their peers. In addition, the person making the comments learns how to think critically about another’s work, which translates into the ability to think more critically about his or her own work. So the critique process is an important element of this course and should be given the appropriate level of thought and consideration.

When critiquing the final designs, please be sure to place your critique response assignment in the Critique thread rather than posting a reply to the design you are referencing. It makes it much easier to find your work this way. Also, it is a good idea to compile all of your critique responses into a single post. Just be sure to indicate which design you are analyzing in each case

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Everyone needs to go back each day and respond to people that are posting to you

below is a decent response that shows that Dana has been analyzing Kelli's work. It's not supposed to be a doctoral thesis each time you post - just several sentences, a paragraph several times during the week where you communicate to someone in an analytical manner.

Note that a 78 (C+) goes to a B+ with just 10 points - and 10 points is easy to get with some participation.

"Hi Kelli, I think the designed turned out well since your are struggling like myself. You went the extra mile by incorporating filters and color and fancy fonts. I like the added feature of the foot prints, or paw prints! The one thing that caught my eye is the r in korner is very close to the bottom, almost falling off the page. I think you chose an appropriate font for Yeehaw Kitty, but I don't think I like the curlz font being right next to it. I do however like the vertical display of Kitty Korner, but I am a little confused by both titles. I am having a hard time critiquing since I did a bad job on my project. I like how you used blue on the newsletter, it definitely gets my attention. I am hoping to get a better understanding of creating a good display. I think you did a good job though since it caught my attention." Dana

Here is another good one - only 62 words but still pretty good in the information it gives us-

"Brandys thumbnails show good alignment. Her text and images could be broken up a little better so they would be easier to read in the thumbnails. Her margins look good. The computer draft shows that she added more than just photo’s and paragraphs to her layout. The circles in the layout make it more interesting too. Overall Brandy did an excellent job."

another

"Overall the image is very well done. I like mixture of overlapping and the different orientations of the boxes. My favorite is the “cheese box” on the top left. The pair of boxes on the top right make me think of a mother box and her baby riding the “guideline” current. The pair on the bottom right resembles two boxes racing each other. Keep up the creativity." Jamil