A Reminder About Using the Departments

[Prof. Sky Alton]

We wanted to post a quick reminder about how to use the art and library departments comment/rating features. This is in light of some recent issues that have come up.
The departments are intended to be a supportive space for people to exhibit their skills and receive practical advice. So when giving feedback, please keep it polite and constructive. While pointing out grounds for improvement is encouraged, do so respectfully and in detail so that a person knows exactly how they should look to improve.
Wherever possible, critique should be framed as a suggestion that someone can act on. For instance rather than “I didn’t like the font.” You could say “Unfortunately, I found the font hard to read.”, that way they know to try out simpler/cleaner fonts next time. Rather than “I don’t like the colours.” You could say “for me, the bright colour scheme doesn’t really match the overall theme of the piece. Perhaps try a more muted pallet?”.
The same is true if you like a submission or aspects of it - tell them exactly what they did well. That way, they know what to keep doing.
You should aim to rate submissions fairly and with the person's feelings in mind. If you feel something is so lacking in effort or off-topic as to warrant a rating of 1 or 2, you should speak to a Department Head before rating. If your rating is felt to be unjustly low, the department heads may remove it.
Your rating must match the tone of your comment. If you leave a positive comment but a low rating, the department heads may choose to remove it.
Remember, if you genuinely don’t like a submission but can’t think of a specific and compassionate way to help someone improve it, you don’t need to comment/rate it.
We recently updated the handbook to offer further clarification on this. Please read through the relevant chapter.
These guidelines have been set by the Head Office. If a department head reaches out to talk to you about a comment/rating you left, don’t lash out at them – they’re simply doing the job they’ve been asked to do. If you feel you’ve been treated unfairly or wish to discuss the guidelines, reach out to us directly at headoffice@hol.org.uk.