How to feedback to your designer
When your designer shows your their ideas for your work you might love what has been created for you and not want any changes. Brilliant! But to be honest, that’s rare. 9.9 times out of 10 you’ll want to respond with some form of feedback.
It could be that the proposed design is not what you hoped for or you’d simply like some of the copy and images changing. By giving feedback you are making sure that the work is how you want it, increasing your confidence in it and its overall success.
All designers should expect and welcome feedback and you should never be afraid to offer it… providing you follow these tips:
Be kind
Designers have thick skins, often honed over many years of getting harsh feedback from bosses but receiving blunt and unkind feedback can still sting. You may be disappointed that your designer hasn’t nailed the brief straight away but design is a process that can take time and discussion to get right.
Think about the tone you’d like to receive feedback in. If we work together with kindness, we’ll work better. Feedback doesn’t have to be what is wrong with the work, it's just as important to feedback on what is working.
Be specific
Providing feedback like ‘It’s naff’ or ‘It’s not right but I can’t put my finger on why’ does not provide your designer with a clear instruction of the change to make. All they’ll know is it’s wrong but not why. Instead explain as clearly as possible what aspects of the designs you like and what is not working for you, also why they are not working. You could even go one step further and explain the change you’d like to see.
Providing detailed and constructive feedback will save you both time and will potentially also save you money. If a project goes through more rounds of amends then has been quoted for because your feedback was not clear enough, your designer would be entitled to ask for an additional payment for their time.
Say it in writing
In a world where there are so many ways to communicate it’s possible to supply feedback in lots of different ways. My preferred ways to receive feedback are in an email or an annotated pdf*. It is clearer and cuts down on confusion, mistakes and additional amends. Feedback provided over a phone call or online chat should always be followed up with an email summarising the requested changes.
Supplying feedback in writing means you both have something to refer back to and check against.
*If you don’t know how to annotate a pdf adobe have written this handy article.
Discuss it
It’s in our interest to do the best work we can for you and sometimes that will involve discussing your feedback to make sure we’re taking the right action to achieve the results you want. I frequently question feedback or suggest alternatives, if I don’t agree with what has been suggested BUT I respect that this work is for you and ultimately, you have the final say.
Leanne’s Co is the design department for organisations without one.
I take a collaborative approach to how I work with you, involving you and asking for your feedback. In fact, the more feedback and discussion we have the better, as it means you’re fully involved in the process, and understand and believe in the concept which ultimately increases its success. Get in touch and we can have a chat.