Note : i generally don't mind criticism-though when the graphic i made is like still relatively new, criticism can hurt me a little. After like 4 days the cover looks like shit to me so i take criticism easily lol.

: :

Yeah, we all know the difference between constructive and destructive criticism. The former is meant to bring the graphic artist up while the latter is meant to tear them down and yada yada.

That's not what I'm talking about today.

Today I'm gonna be talking about something that avid critics forget from time to time.

It probably will offend you, but it needs to be said :

Not everyone wants criticism.

: :

Now i know what you're thinking, you've probably come up with a bunch of bs excuses like "but praise without criticism doesn't promote growth!!!" Or "they posted their work online, they should expect criticism!!!" Or "anyone who doesn't want criticism is egotistical and narcissistic!!!"

Yeah, no.

The thing is, and hear me clearly, there are a lot of reasons why someone won't want, or give a shit about your opinion on their graphics and if they don't want it, THEN RESPECT IT!

: :

REASONS WHY ONE DOESN'T WANT CRITICISM

1. THEY JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

For many people on this app, graphic design is just a pastime thing. It's not serious, it's for fun and it's something they just want to do freely.

Don't take that fun away from them by posting a 100 page analysis

Some people wont be even reply you 😂 they will just click their teeth and move

2. THEY ARE SENSITIVE TO CRITICISM

This is wattpad, not twitter, let's try not to hurt people's feelings.

Now to you, the critic, you're just giving them a little advice on what they could have done better-and that's fucking great, I mean it.

But to them it's like you took the graphic in your hands and ripped it to fucking shreds.

People are sensitive to criticism and that's fine (let's not be dicks to them bc of it k)

3. THEY JUST DON'T CARE

Not everyone wants to know how they could've made a graphic look better-because like, they've already MADE the design. So like, you telling them how they could've done the design better is of no use to them bc they don't give a shit enough to go back and re-edit

4. THEY HAVE LOW SELF ESTEEM

y'all need to understand that people can actually REALLY get knocked down from a single criticism-and no they're not fucking drama queens, they just have the lowest self esteem ever : (

Pls love them : (

5. THEY'RE FINE WITH WHERE THEY ARE

Courtesy to BananaOctopus who wrote this reason in a comment. Some people are perfectly fine with the level they are at in designing, and aren't designing to improve but just to chill. Let's respect that too.

| HOW TO GIVE CRITICISM |

Now I'll be teaching you how to criticize properly

1. Make a criticism book or a contest

Then you can be as mean as you want bc they asked for it lmao.

2. ASK before giving criticism

Don't just drop into someone's portfolio outta nowhere before giving criticism- ASK THEM. "Hey, I love these covers and I was wondering if you accept criticism? If you don't that's fine"

TheDrowning asks me if i accept criticism on my art before giving it, because sometimes I make gift art and I don't want people criticizing those! Be like TheDrowning ! Ask before you criticize!

(Her account is BananaOctopus rn–go back up for the tag–follow her)

3. Don't criticize in graphics shop abeg

Now why tf would you do that

Imagine somebody requests for a cover and they open the chapter to the delivery and in the comments they see somebody saying how they should've done it better.

I swear if I see that I will delete the comment as it's coming 😂

who asked you 💀

Don't come and be spoiling somebody's business like that🤦

4. BE NICE OR SIMPLE, BUT NEVER SOUND DEGRADING OR ITK (i-too-know)

Some people will take it with stride, but other people will get offended. Try to avoid pet names that can irritate (eg, honey, sweetie, hun, etc) bc trust me–those can sound degrading as well. If you are more experienced in design, don't hold that fact against the other person.

: :

REMEMBER

"if one doesn't listen to critcism they won't grow"

Agreed, but not exactly true. This is graphic design-anyone can figure it out eventually by looking at other designs and tutorials and just continuously making graphics. Don't think that criticism is like the saving grace, because it really isn't.

"If you don't accept my critcism then you're egotistical"

No maybe they just think you're wrong lol

Update : No. I'm actually serious. You are allowed to think someone's criticism is wrong. Reminder that someone's criticism is their point of view, and though it's good to see a different perspective, that doesn't mean that it is the only perspective.

Your perspective matters the most.

( And your client's/judge's, if you're doing a shop or competing. Lol)

"I'm a critic and this rant offended me"

Im a critic too but over the years I've realised that ya gotta be respectful and ask, ya know?

"Milo you hypocrite there's no one meaner than you in judging contests"

😘 You signed up. You suffer the consequences.