24. 10. 2020

-this lesson was originally made for a discord server-
the graphics in this chapter have detorariated quality due to wattpad's fault

Hey guys, I know I don't usually update this book on the tips and tricks part, but today's lesson is kinda essential for me to share with you guys. It will be mostly focused on one of the most important things that you, not just as a designer, should know about- Criticism.

Why did I choose this random out-of-nowhere topic? Well, a few days back, one of my friends got her first commission crushed to the ground, just because of one damn criticism in her wattpad account. So imagine, how powerful a single criticism can be. It can either make you, or break you- and nowadays it seems "break you" type of critism is more on the "trend" than the "make you" one.

Before i move on, I want u guys to know that this topic is not targetted at anyone specifically, but if it bothers you, you should know there's still time to stop doing the wrong thing. 

Starting with the topic, there are two types of criticism:

1) "Make you" or Constructive criticism

2) "Break you" or Destructive criticism

See what happens nowadays is, people mostly focus on the mistakes in other's work, and they alert the owner of that work about the mistake, saying they're "just helping them improve". Now here's the thing: you aren't "helping them improve", rather breaking the small amount of confidence they even had on that piece of work. Especially as a designer, we usually categorize most of the graphics as "average" (not "amazing", or "whoaa" unless others say it), so when someone points a mistake in your work, it hurts. You spend all those hours, and people could only see that one mistake? Ouch, right?

Look guys, you all are fabulous designers, young and aspiring, so don't imagine yourself as some royal 100-years-of-experience dude who can criticize someone else's hardwork like that. Stop looking for faults in others when you know you might have them yourself. That's one reason why you shouldn't do it, and the second reason would be: its downright annoying. Like seriously, you work your ass off working on that, and all people can comment is "that text looks weird" or stuff? Grow up, peeps!

That, my friends, is what we call as "destructive criticism". You never know what that person might be going through: maybe she's already lacking confidence in her graphic? maybe she had a bad day and was expecting people to make her feel better? maybe she's really new at this stuff and wanted people to acknowledge her work? or maybe she, like my friend, was going through a hard time financially and when she finally gets a commission request- boom, its all ruined with one tiny criticism.

So unless you're a 100-years-of-experience-and-living-with-the-queen-of-england type of person or you know what the other person is thinking and going through in life, DONT BREAK THEIR HEARTS. Chances are, they'll probably take it personally and lose the 0.001% confidence they had in their work, or they'll ignore it and you'll be the one making a fool out of yourself. Both has been known to happen.

Now there's another, and a better, type of criticism- which is the Constructive criticism. This is more of a "helping to improve" sort of method. It basically focuses on both the positives and negatives of the work, and in place of pointing out the mistakes, it gives you an alternate solution.

For example: instead of saying, "I dont like the text" or "the text is kinda off" (or similar stuff), it gives you an alternate resolution for that like, "Hi, your graphic is amazing but I believe 'Cinzel' font would look better instead of that font". See? doesnt that sound polite...almost?

However, sometimes, many people don't want criticism at all. Maybe someone prepared a graphic with manipulated text that took days to finish for a commission, but then someone says the font could have been better with another alternative? Well, OUCH TO THE CORE. 

So when should you use criticism? When is the right time and what is the right way to make an honest critique? Well, here's some points for that:

▸ Ask before doing so. Its always, ALWAYS, the most generous way to approach people with a critique. Before randomly commenting, "the space looks weird on top of that model" (destructive) or "it looks cool, but you can add some flowers on top of that model" (constructive), just think about if that person actually wants to hear your opinion. So before just rushing off without a second thought, ASK IF THEY'D LIKE SOME HONEST CRITICISM. 

Example: "Hi, I like your graphic, but would you like some honest criticism about it?" (constructive + asking = MORE POLITE)

And remember, if they say "no", don't force or troll them about it. After all, its their piece of work, they should be the one decide if they want to hear your opinions or not. Respect if they say no, it wont kill you to acknowledge their decision.

▸ If you're asked to do so. People will usually tag you or personally message you if they want some criticism from you. If they do so, go ahead and share your opinions...in a constructive manner.

▸ If you're a judge. Yeah, okay, there's a lot of graphic contests going on everywhere, and the chances are, someone probably offered you to be one of the judges in some contest. In that case, my friend, you shall go forward and speak what you may (in a civilized manner).

▸ If its related to one of the topics you're (being a mentor) teaching about in some learning spree like the one this lesson was particularly made for. Dont randomly go on commenting on people's work that wasnt under your lesson or isnt included in the homework that you gave. For example, in my last class there, we learned how to change the eye color naturally in PS, and I gave some lesson-related homeworks which most of the guys had submitted (they did great btw!) in the #completedgraphics channel. So its kinda like my right to make reviews about their homework, cuz one, those peeps pinge me (which is good) and two, cuz its a topic they're learning from me. But if its some other work that they made, which isnt related to the homeworks i gave, then I have no right to simply go and criticize it. In that case, if i want to make a critique, i'll ask them first instead of simply rambling about it. 

Doesnt that sound better than hearing the worse points of your graphic without your say in it?

Well, that's it for now i believe. These are some points you should never forget when you notice something you want to criticize upon.

Did this tip help you? 
Let me know in the comments, and don't forget to vote!