A Guide on Giving Your Designer Useful Feedback
If your designer looks at you in despair every time you give them feedback, this article is for you.
If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably experienced this scenario or something very similar:
You’re at work and need another cup of coffee. In order to get your beverage, you have to walk by a designer’s desk, and when you do, they stop you with an outstretched hand and ask for some quick feedback on a design. They give you a brief description of the use-case and what the design is intended to do.
You look at their monitor for a solid 10 seconds and then say a combination of the following:
- I don’t like the colour
- You should make it POP more
- The footer should stand out from the design but blend into the overall design
When you look at your designer again, you’re surprised to see a defeated expression on their face and you think, Didn’t I do as they asked? I thought my feedback was great. I’m not even a designer, why ask me?
Let’s break this down real quick:
Firstly, you not being a designer is EXACTLY why they asked you. The point of getting feedback from non-designers is to better understand the user experience and issues that only a non-designer’s eye can catch.
When a designer asks for feedback, they want you to look at it from the perspective of a potential user. Because when a designer looks at anything, they tend to take in the more technical details of the design, rather than simply the user experience. It’s hard for them to separate the two, and that’s where the non-designers come in.
When it comes to the actual feedback itself, learning the difference between great and not-so-great feedback is key.
Design is subjective, so preferences are going to be different from one individual to the next. A designer knows this when they speak with you, and that unique perspective will add to the data they are collecting positively, but it’s important to keep a few things in mind when providing your feedback, that have been listed down below
Before we dive into that, it’s important to keep in mind that asking your designer more questions is always a good move. If you’re unsure about what the design is meant to do, what the end goal is, who the design is meant for, just ask. It’ll help you formulate much better feedback.
Specific
As mentioned before, saying ‘Make it POP’ is vague. It’s more of a gut feeling statement than anything else, but that doesn’t help your designer. Look at the design more carefully and try to narrow in on the elements you thing deserve more attention. As a user of the design, what would be your priority? What would make you more likely to engage with the design? Is there any part of the design that you don’t understand, that confuses you?
Actionable
It isn’t your job to assign action steps to your designer. However, offering suggestions like “What if the CTA button were bigger?”, “What if the background were lighter?”, “How about a quick animation here?” gives your designer some options to try out. Think of it as a mini-brainstorming session.
Constructive
Good feedback doesn’t look to tear a design down. It isn’t about picking what you dislike on a personal basis. Good feedback offers context, user-centric data, and clear thoughts about why something is or isn’t working. Good feedback is non-biased and not personal.
For example, instead of saying “I hate this colour” which is both a personal choice and a strong way to phrase feedback, you could say “This colour is a bit dark, maybe you could consider a lighter one?”
Straightforward
You don’t have to sugar coat your feedback. Getting straight to the point reduces the amount of time spent going in circles about a particular design element. Being straightforward and articulating your thoughts well offers the designer great insights about how to improve something. It is all about being both candid and constructive.
Bonus: Throw Ideas Out There
This is a bit of an extra step and is dedicated to all the non-designers out there that have a bit of a creative spirit- A great idea is built upon many smaller ideas, and these smaller ideas come from everywhere (this article might motivate you to be more forthcoming with all your ideas)
Don’t be afraid to offers ideas and options to your designer. They may not use every single one in the final design, but it’s more than likely that your idea will help build the final design.
Learning how to provide useful feedback is an evolving artform. Feedback that works for one creative may not be perfect for another, but the idea is to constantly evaluate how your feedback is received and to grow from there.
And to all the creatives reading this — please feel free to share your experiences and any advice in the comment section below!
Thank you for reading!
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