User Experience Design tips#2

💡SQUACK Design Critique Framework

It’s nearly impossible to design a solid product in a vacuum — you always need feedback from others. Yet, giving and receiving feedback are often the most challenging parts of the design process. Without a clear framework, design review sessions can easily devolve into unproductive noise or, worse, feel like a lynching.

SQUACK, proposed by UX coach Julie Jensen (https://lnkd.in/dCA8CTHc

is a structured framework that helps provide constructive and organized design feedback.

Each letter represents a specific type of comment:

🟠 S (Suggestion)Personal ideas or preferences that may not be backed by data but offer alternative approaches.

🟠 Q (Question)Points of confusion or requests for clarification (e.g., “Why did you decide to use this component in the first place?”).

🟠 U (User Signal)Feedback grounded in data, user research, or real user behavior. It’s objective feedback, not subjective opinions.

🟠 A (Accident)Minor mistakes like typos, alignment issues, or numerical errors can cause friction or misunderstanding.

🟠 C (Critical)Major concerns that present risks (business, usability, technical). These require further attention or redesign.

🟠 K (Kudos)Praise for successful elements or well-executed design choices. This is important for morale and motivation.

✅ Benefits of using SQUACK

Design critique session participants can use initials (e.g., S, Q, C) to label their comments and even combine types (e.g., “Q+S”) when providing feedback. This helps improve clarity & context and leads to better outcomes:

✔ Helps categorize feedback into distinct categories and separate subjective opinions from facts.

✔ Makes critique sessions more inclusive, especially for quieter participants.

✔ Encourages actionable and balanced feedback (not just what’s wrong with design but also what’s good about it).

🖼️ SQUACK example by Ya-Ching