Critique Me: Exploring How Creators Publicly Request Feedback in an Online Critique Community

Abstract

Creative workers frequently turn to online critique communities for feedback on their work. While past research has focused primarily on how to yield better feedback from providers, less is known about the strategies feedback seekers use to engage providers and request feedback. We present two studies to explore the feedback exchange dynamics between feedback requesters and providers in the subreddit community, r/design\-critiques. In Study 1, we interviewed 12 community members and found that while creators have strategies to request feedback, they expressed uncertainty about whether and how to include details about the design context, personal background, and specific feedback needs. In Study 2, through a mixed-method analysis, we identified how specific request strategies impact the quantity and quality of community feedback, and found several key, but undervalued strategies: signaling as a novice, critiquing one's own design, and providing design variants. These strategies led to better community response, but were rarely used. We offer design implications around how to leverage these insights to improve online feedback exchange