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Great design feedback is like riding a train: when it’s on the right track, it can easily get you to your destination on time.
Difficult design feedback is like getting hit by a train: it hurts.
96% of employees think getting feedback is a good thing. However, that feedback has to be meaningful to be effective; 80% of employees say receiving meaningful feedback makes them more engaged.
Here’s the kicker—feedback that makes employees feel criticized, demotivated, or disappointed leads to much less engagement in the workplace.
All that to say, leaving good feedback is crucial—especially for those in the creative industries. A big part of careers in visual, graphic, or web design is being able to take feedback and apply it to the next version of a project. However, when design feedback is difficult to work with, it can be draining.
To mitigate the negative effects of poor design feedback, below are some of our most actionable tips for giving, asking for, and dealing with design feedback.
Design feedback is like a compass: it guides the creative process, incrementally moving a product or project closer to a final state that reflects the stakeholder’s original vision.
Here are some other benefits of design feedback:
Here are a few ways to give design feedback that won’t cause a designer's head to spin.
When delivering design feedback, express your words like potential ideas rather than final solutions. This can make for better creative collaboration with the designer, rather than just making them feel like a task rabbit.
Bad Example:
“This photo you’ve chosen doesn’t represent the tone of the campaign at all.”
Good Example:
“I’m wondering how well this photo matches the campaign’s tone. Is there another one that might resonate more?”
Ambiguous design feedback can lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary revisions. To avoid this, be as specific and clear as possible when providing feedback. Clear, actionable feedback helps designers understand your concerns and address them effectively.
Bad Example:
"I don't like this layout."
Good Example:
"The text in the header seems too crowded, which makes it hard to read. Can we try increasing the spacing or using a larger font?"
It's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of a design, but effective design feedback focuses on the overall objective rather than the specific execution details. Keep the project goals in mind and provide feedback that aligns with those goals. This approach ensures that feedback remains aligned with the project's purpose and helps the designer make decisions that support the overall vision.
Bad Example:
“This icon just doesn’t pop for me. Find another.”
Good Example:
"The icon should make it clear that this button leads to the help section. Do you think a question mark might be more intuitive?"
If you’re a designer wondering how to get the most out of your feedback, take these strategies into account.
You can establish a healthier culture of feedback on your team by asking open-ended questions and signaling that you’re willing to consider the opinions of others. Avoid self-promoting questions and ask more vulnerable questions.
Bad Example:
“This typeface is working really well for the headline, right?”
Good Example:
“How do you think I could take this headline to the next level?”
To obtain constructive design feedback, it’s important to ask specific questions that direct the focus to areas where you need the most input. Vague requests can lead to broad and unfocused feedback. Instead, pose targeted questions. Specific questions help your reviewers understand what aspects you’re particularly interested in and provide more relevant and actionable feedback.
Bad Example:
"What do you think?"
Good Example:
“How does the color scheme align with the brand's identity?"
Or
"Does the navigation structure make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for?"
Asking for constructive design feedback is especially tough when your clients or stakeholders don’t have an easy way to give it.
That’s where Punchlist comes in.
With Punchlist’s design feedback tool, it’s easy for guests to point, click, and leave actionable feedback on any project deliverable you have.
Here’s how Punchlst makes design collaboration easy for your clients and stakeholders:
Start your 30-day free trial with Punchlist’s design feedback tool to see how much better your client and stakeholder design feedback will be.
Let’s look at six proven strategies that can help you overcome difficult design feedback and get your project back on track.
1. Take Time to Decompress
Your initial reaction to an unanticipated barrage of difficult design feedback depends on your personality. You might crumple into a ball or begin blaming others for what happened. Others might prepare to strike back at the individual with their own choice of words.
But stop for a moment. Your first reaction will not be your best one.
This is not to say that you’ll enter a state of bliss during this pause. It’s okay for reactions to roil inside you as you process the difficult feedback. What matters is that you’re keeping these emotions to yourself for the moment and maintaining professional boundaries.
If needed, draft a message to yourself to get the emotional reaction out of your head. Abraham Lincoln famously wrote these “hot letters” and stuffed them in a specific drawer, hoping to never send them. Then once you get it out of your system, you can think through a more logical response.
2. Reassess the Feedback
Now that your knee-jerk reactions have come and gone, you’ll be closer to discerning the true meaning of the design feedback. Perhaps you initially misinterpreted some of it. Upon further review, you may even notice that the issue is more with the phrasing of the feedback than its actual content.
It’s helpful at this stage to remind yourself that whatever the message of the feedback, it’s related to the project and not a personal attack. Creatives are a passionate bunch, and our work can feel like an extension of ourselves, but a healthy separation must exist if we’re to productively communicate with others.
Renowned creative director Alex Bogusky, formerly of CP+B, once spoke of an exercise where his team would put the work on the floor when presenting internally for feedback. This literal separation helps to handle any critique without getting defensive, as the creator no longer feels like it’s an extension of their being—it’s just the work.
Don’t be surprised if some wisdom bubbles to the surface as you reassess the design feedback, either. While the timing or delivery of the feedback might have felt off, you’ll be a better creative if you can empathize and think critically about the comments.
3. Assume Positive Intent
As a member of the creative team, you’ll have insight into nearly all the collective work that’s gone into a project. This proximity helps you understand the thinking behind decisions and the genius behind the ideas.
In that same vein, you don’t have insight into the intent of every piece of design feedback. Even if the feedback comes across as negative, most likely, the reviewer just wanted to help.
Put yourself in their shoes. Whether it’s the client or another stakeholder on the team, they are likely juggling a million things, just like you. Ultimately you’re all working toward the same outcome.
Embrace a “one team, one goal” mentality. You can disagree with components of the feedback, but at least be willing to give the person credit for caring about the quality of the project as much as you do.
When in doubt, have a conversation about it, or ask them to record a video explaining the nuance, so that text feedback doesn’t get misinterpreted.
4. Seek Constructive Clarity
It’s imperative that you understand the feedback completely before taking any action. Simply “getting the gist of it” often leads to confusion and more substantial delays.
Perhaps the feedback you received was vague or overly complex. This is common when stakeholders who don’t fluently speak “creative” try to weigh in on things.
You can push past these frustrating breakdowns in communication by asking for examples and trying to find common ground, rather than defensively digging deeper into your creative vernacular. Seek solutions and compromises.
Help them help you. Ask follow-up questions to get clear on the feedback, and the reasons why they’re requesting these changes.
During this conversation, you may even be able to defend certain decisions, because now you’ve moved the discussion from a yes-or-no “I don’t like that” to a more nuanced workshopping session.
5. Allow Yourself to Disagree
We’re all wrong from time to time. So if you’ve pondered the feedback, sought clarity, and still feel it’s off-base, you’re probably right. It might be so off-base that it needs to be classified as a “client feedback horror story.”
But, if the deliverer of this clunky feedback is a decision-maker, you can’t simply toss their opinions in the trash and proceed as though they’d never spoken up. You’ll need to brush up on your diplomacy skills and find some common ground.
For example, let’s say difficult feedback comes to a copywriter from a client who liked the headline of an ad but had issues with the body copy. The copywriter could emphasize the strength of the headline, which both parties agree upon, and then show how it is paid off by the current body copy.
The client might still have concerns with aspects of the copy, but at least the copywriter would be on more solid ground as they state their case and address those concerns.
6. Pick Your Battles
In the grand scheme of things, is this the hill to die on? We’ve all had those moments where we want to defend the creative work because of the long hours and passion that went into it. However, if you zoom out and realize that a client relationship is a game of chess, not checkers, there may be a better use of your brainpower
It helps to consider the overall priority level and impact of each project.
Does it make sense to go toe-to-toe with your client or teammate over a small print piece that’s distributed to 100 event guests? Or, should you instead save your conviction for the big website launch which will be seen by a million eyeballs?
Think about the potential impact, reach, and end outcome of a given project. Even though it may feel like micromanaging, you may consider letting the small things go so you can grow together in the long run.
When your team seeks design feedback proactively and shares it imaginatively, fewer roadblocks and surprises will pop up. Yes, just like communication among family members, it will still be awkward at times to share your feelings or hear someone’s concerns about your work. However, an open exchange of ideas will always lead to smoother processes and better results.
To keep an open exchange of ideas between you and your clients or internal stakeholders, turn to Punchlist.
Punchlist is the #1 design feedback tool available. We make it easy for clients and internal stakeholders to leave actionable feedback without eating into their busy day—which they’ll appreciate you for.
If you want to see how easy Punchlist is to use for you and the project decision-makers you work with, sign up for Punchlist’s 30-day free trial! We know it’ll know you out.
