🗣️ Too much Design Critque?
Giving great feedback is part skill, part habit, and part not making your teammates cry. Unfortunately, most design teams either:
Wing it with personal opinions ("I just don’t like this...")
Hide behind abstract critique frameworks that no one remembers
Or flood the file with generic comments like “nice” and “can we explore this?”
| “Design critique shouldn’t feel like a roast.”
It’s time for something better, sharper, and designed for designers.
That's how the GAP Framework came to be. A simple way for designers to think about, say, and improve their work every two weeks.
🧩 What does APT Feedback mean?
APT is a three-part feedback system made by designers for designers with one simple goal. Make feedback on design "clear, actionable, and creatively useful" without getting lost in the process.
A - Address now - Call out what’s broken or blocking. Critical issues that need fixing.
P - Probe more - Suggest alternatives. Ask design questions. Invite exploration.
T - Think Different - Share reflections, instincts, or inspiration. Big-picture vibes.
Tag | Meaning | When to Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
🟥 A – Address Now | Immediate fix | UX bugs, visual inconsistencies, blockers | “Alignment is off; breaks the layout.” |
🟨 P – Probe More | Explore alternative | Interaction tweaks, layout shifts, copy variants | “Could we try CTA at the top instead?” |
🟦 T – Think Different | Subjective insight | Tone, feel, brand consistency, analogies | “Feels a bit too corporate — reminds me of old MS Office.” |
🏯 What is it based on?
The idea comes from a few different ways of thinking about how to improve skills:
The polish could be any of the following:
Kaizen (a Japanese way of thinking about how to always get better) says that small changes over time can have a big effect.
Coaching for a growth mindset: every mistake is a chance to think about what you've done and get better.
Rituals from the past in Agile, but with a twist
It gets rid of the formality of IDPs (Individual Development Plans) and gives you something that is lighter, faster, and more human. We have tied GAP with team OKR's that help us meet product needs.
E.g In order to better comprehend A/B testing and watch session replays, our designers improved their amplitude skills.
👥 How GAP helped my team improve
I've been using GAP with my QuillBot extension design team for over two years.
For instance, one designer was unsure at first about cross-functional meetings. We gave them the "polish" skill of syncing daily and async updates. They did this over three cycles:
This is what happened:
Co-presented during sprint reviews
Asked questions during team meetings
Led a deep dive into UX with PMs
By the end of the quarter, they weren't just talking; they were leading conversations.
Another instance of one designer sticking to requirements and not thinking of product scale. We discussed that "product sense" needs to be polish
We took a nn/g course about product
Asked to attend and understand product roadmap sessions
Dig deep into competitors and understand capabilities and features
The designer started delivering better designs and was promoted in that cycle.
Example GAP Session
Great! After three tries, I finally got the mobile prototype to work. PM and Eng were very happy.
Awful: "When I was asked about the interaction pattern during the design critique, I froze."
Polish: "I think I need to get better at taking criticism." Like, not shutting down.
Growth Skill: Getting and acting on negative feedback.
Plan: For the next two weeks, we'll look at designs together. Try to see criticism as a way to work together.
💥 Last Thought
GAP is just very simple and clear and that's what makes it work. It gives shape to the unseen emotional work that goes into growing a design. People know they can talk about a bad week without being judged. Or a small win that doesn't make them sound like they're bragging.
|"What went well? What went wrong? "What can we make better?"
If you ask this every two weeks, you'll make your team stronger, one conversation at a time.