{"id":123,"date":"2021-02-19T14:40:25","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T14:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/?p=123"},"modified":"2024-07-23T18:50:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T18:50:53","slug":"tips-to-ace-your-design-critique-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/tips-to-ace-your-design-critique-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips to Ace Your Design Critique Panel"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Top Presentation Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/strategic-design\/\">Furman MASD<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><em>MASD Students encounter critique panels at the conclusion of each semester.\u00a0 The following is a list of the top advice we give our students!<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>1) Prepare Your Pitch Deck<\/h3>\n<p>The deck is the panel\u2019s window into your designer brain. Make sure it\u2019s worth looking at.\u00a0 A well-made deck can make or break your presentation.\u00a0 Remember that time is limited and consider how this might impact what you need to include or toss out. Your presentation doesn\u2019t just display your portfolio work, it IS your portfolio work.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/designing-the-perfect-pitch-deck\/\">Learn how to build the perfect pitch deck<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>DO<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Learn a little about who will be in your design critique panel<\/li>\n<li>If you have 35 images, consider cutting to 25<\/li>\n<li>Only include what is impactful<\/li>\n<li>Make sure your sepllnig si corrcet\u2013 in your work, in your deck, or in your app.<\/li>\n<li>Use colors or design elements that let your work stand out and presentation elements fade into the background.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DON&#8217;T<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t use white. It is blinding in contrast on projection.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t use a lot of type, especially on a black background. It\u2019s too hard to read.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t use too many slides. Be prepared to get &#8216;the gong,&#8217; at the exact cutoff time. There is NO running over allowed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2) Position Yourself for Success<\/h3>\n<p>Ultimately, the panelists are here to see you.\u00a0 YOU are the final product of this design program and how you present says a lot about you. Preparing yourself for the presentation is essential and can make the process go much more smoothly, give you confidence, and help you stand out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Eat well<\/li>\n<li>Practice and memorize your script.<\/li>\n<li>Grab your best smile on the way to the zoom screen. Always be smiling. Happiness is an attitude. It\u2019s contagious!<\/li>\n<li>Let your curiosity and excitement show by using passion in your voice.<\/li>\n<li>Remember to breathe.<\/li>\n<li>Make eye contact or, if presenting online, look DIRECTLY at the little green dot on your computer. If need be put your computer on a couple books to even you out your head-to eye-to dot, so you have a better position<\/li>\n<li>Greet the panelists by engaging them in a kind, courteous, and respectful manner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DON&#8217;T<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t drink too much coffee on the day-of<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t use slang words or filler words such as &#8220;and&#8217;s,&#8221; &#8220;um\u2019s\u2026&#8221; or &#8220;ah\u2019s&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t let things going wrong slow you up. Just take a breath and keep going<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t speak in a monotone voice. The panelists will feel your lack of excitement and may interpret it as a lack of passion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3) Present with an Objective<\/h3>\n<p>You have a very limited amount of time to get everything across, so stick with what matters. The panelists need to see that you know what you are talking about, that you are comfortable with pressure, and that you can communicate about your ideas and designs in a cohesive way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>State your big idea and define the impact beyond classroom<\/li>\n<li>Make sure everything you say or present ties back to the big idea<\/li>\n<li>Center on key points<\/li>\n<li>Keep your points moving by making believable arguments and planting seeds<\/li>\n<li>Let your excitement about the smaller aesthetics help you relish the bigger thought<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DON&#8217;T<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t say or bring anything into the conversation which doesn\u2019t forward the point<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t lose yourself in the details of your designs. You may be excited about them, but on their own they aren\u2019t profitable or helpful<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t go over your time limit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>4) Conclude with Purpose<\/h3>\n<p>Congrats! You\u2019ve done it! You finished your presentation and now you to get feedback from the panel. It\u2019s all down-hill from here, but the experience isn\u2019t over yet. This might be one of the most important parts of the presentation in that you are directly interacting with the panelists.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Be humble<\/li>\n<li>Be open to and appreciative of criticism or feedback<\/li>\n<li>Answer questions succinctly<\/li>\n<li>If you are unsure or feel locked-up when a panelist suggests something, just turn the question and ask, \u2019what would you do?\u2019<\/li>\n<li>Follow up the critique with a \u2018thank you\u2019 letter or email.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DON&#8217;T<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t waste time arguing with a panelist or defending your work from critique<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t do any more talking than you need to. Your presentation is over.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Good luck, we believe in you, and I\u2019ll see you at the next critique.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Call me if you need me (preferably not after 1 a.m.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Hank<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top Presentation Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts from the Furman MASD MASD Students encounter critique panels at the conclusion of each semester.\u00a0 The following is a list of the top advice we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":124,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,120],"tags":[51,48,49,53,54,55],"class_list":["post-123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-strategic-design","category-insight-sd","tag-advice","tag-design-critique","tag-design-panel","tag-hank-richardson","tag-presentation","tag-presenting"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":924,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123\/revisions\/924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/graduate-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}