---
name: written-critique
description: "Write a structured design review that someone can act on without follow-up questions. Use when giving async design feedback, writing portfolio case studies, or documenting design decisions."
---

# Written Critique

Write feedback someone can act on without asking you to clarify.

## How to use

- `/written-critique` Apply structured critique format to design reviews in this conversation.

## Constraints

### Critique Structure
1. **Intent** (2-3 sentences): What the design is trying to do. Not what it does. What experience it's trying to create.
2. **What works** (2-3 specific decisions): Each with the principle behind it.
3. **What doesn't** (1-2 specific decisions): Each with reasoning and the impact on the user.
4. **One change** (1 recommendation): The single highest-impact change, framed as a direction not a prescription.

### Writing Rules
- MUST be specific enough that the designer can act without a follow-up conversation
- MUST separate craft feedback (alignment, consistency) from taste feedback (should this exist at all?)
- MUST reference observable decisions, not feelings
- SHOULD be under 300 words. Concise feedback gets read. Novels don't.
- NEVER rewrite the design in the feedback. Diagnose, don't prescribe.

### Anti-Patterns
- Writing a wall of text with no structure
- Mixing praise and criticism in the same sentence (pick a lane per observation)
- Giving feedback on every detail equally (prioritize what matters most)
- Being so diplomatic the feedback has no edge