Content design feedback: The good, the bad and the best
Feedback is an essential part of the content design process.
Getting it right means we all win. We’re working collaboratively. The business achieves its strategic goals. The UX team validates its designs. And the user has the best possible experience.
But bad feedback can have the opposite effect. You can end up with a jumble of content that tries to please everyone (and fails). Vague or negative feedback can lead to poor design and a poor user experience. It can also lead to friction and hurt feelings.
So how can we get it right? As a stakeholder or team member, how can you give feedback that is effective and impactful? As a content designer, how can you draw out feedback that’s meaningful and actionable?
Giving feedback
Maybe you’re the subject matter expert and the advocate for the business strategy. Or you’re from another discipline within the team — like product or development.
You’ve entrusted a content designer to bring your product to life. And now they’re playing back their designs in a content crit or review. You’re not a design expert, but you are the expert in another crucial aspect of the project. So what is the content designer looking for from you? How can you give them the most impactful feedback?
1. Don’t solutionise. Explain the problem and ask questions.
Jumping straight to a solution ignores the ‘why’.
Explain the problem. Ask ‘How might we…?’ And consider what problem the content designer is trying to solve. By asking questions, you give the content designer a chance to explain their rationale, and better understand the problem you want to solve.
By explaining the problems, you’re helping the designer to find better user-centred solutions.
2. Make the feedback specific and actionable.
Saying ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘make this copy zippier’ isn’t something the content designer can act on. They may end up second-guessing you and still not come up with exactly what you were after.
Give your feedback context. It should be action-based. Not ‘make it zippier’, but ‘I’m concerned this won’t resonate with our audience because of the vocabulary we use. How can we make it more engaging?’
3. Stay focused on the strategy and don’t make it personal.
Does your feedback aid the team to meet the business need or goals? If not, it’s probably personal and subjective. Base your opinions in logic and strategy.
And be kind. The ‘crit’ in ‘content crit’ is for ‘critique’, not ‘criticism’. You’re critiquing the content, not criticising the person.
(Let’s just say I thought about it for days when a stakeholder called a very intentional choice I’d made on the user journey a ‘design flaw’. It felt like a slight on my skills instead of a critique of the content.)
Receiving feedback as a content designer
- Set the scene and manage expectations.
When you’re presenting content at a crit or review, first tell the story. What is the ‘as-is’? What problem are you trying to solve? What were your challenges? What process brought you to the current iteration?
You don’t need to go into lots of detail, but set the scene. Let the group know what you want to achieve from the review. Give the context.
It’s easy to get pulled off track — someone might fixate on something you’re not reviewing. Maybe you’re showing additional screens in a journey to give context. Suddenly you’re down a rabbit hole. Be a firm but fair facilitator. Bring the conversation back before it drifts too far.
2. Try not to take it personally.
Putting aside your ego is one of the earliest lessons we learn as content designers. We’re not writing our great novel or expressing our inner soul. Unlike marketing copywriters, we’re not even trying to sell something. Our job is to help a user do what they need to do in the most effective way. So we can’t take it personally if someone critiques our UX copy.
OK, I know I said I thought about a bad comment for days. We’re only human. But even the negative comments are usually nothing to do with you. The reviewer is under their own pressure and is coming at things from their own perspective. Like everyone, they have their own ideas and opinions, and they care about the project as much as you do.
Chances are, the negative words are coming from a different place than you expect. And even the harsh words can be turned around into feedback that’s actionable.
3. Ask questions
If the feedback you’re getting is too vague or even feels harsh, do some digging. Keep asking clarifying questions. Always get to the ‘why’.
If it feels negative, rephrase it back to them, or explain your rationale (but never feel you have to defend yourself). In the case of the ‘design flaw’ remark, I kept my emotional response to myself on the call. I calmly explained why I made the decisions I did. I approached the feedback in the spirit of reaching a shared understanding.
For everyone
Be respectful. To quote Sarah Winters, the guru of content design, on the subject of content crits: ‘Everyone did the best job possible with the knowledge they had at the time’.
Feedback done well is the best possible way to get the best user-centred content. Whatever side of the table you’re on, approach it with curiosity and the aim of collaboration. We all have the same end goal and we can get there together.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
