The team would discuss and debate. We’d offer up new ideas to explore in the spirit of making the experience better. We’d bring up similar examples to learn from. We’d connect the dots on projects that different designers were working on. At its best, critique was honest, creative, and deeply collaborative. At the end, the presenter would emerge with a list of clear next steps. We’d move on to the next designer, and the process would repeat until everyone had a chance to present and get feedback.