As a designer, i’ve grown to have a love hate relationship with design feedback. I love it because it helps me continue to grow, to change, and see my work in different lights that i may not have seen previously while i was stuck in my work bubble. Its great to have friends that are also in the design world because they, while being nice, tell me what sucks and what is awesome. I know that when i asked a few of my girl design friends they’re going to tell me “ummm what if you…” which is there way of saying “this part sucks”. I love that. I appreciate that. But at the same time, i very much hate that. I’ve really worked on separating myself from my work, not becoming so emotionally tied up in the idea that i designed that, and that is my baby. Sometimes its easier, sometimes i want to cry.
The same goes for getting feedback from clients. From a design perspective i need to know what you like, love, hate, and dont understand. What i dont want to know is that you’ve picked a design that i’m not super crazy about, or that you “like this design, but…” want to change something that makes IT AWESOME (atleast from my perspective). I love that you love my work and trust me enough to use my designs, but my heart wants you to use THIS one. Okay okay, so my point here….
I found a blog post from designer David Airey, and he talks about getting better feedback from your clients, which i had never thought about. Check out the whole post here…
“John in marketing wants to be able to log in directly on the home page, but Tim in engineering would prefer it on its own page. Can we compromise?”
No. We cannot compromise.
If you tell your barber that you like it short, but your significant other likes it long, you’re gonna get a mullet.
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That was Mike Monteiro in a post from a few years ago about giving better design feedback. It got me wondering how you keep things “on brief” when talking about your work with clients.
When I send options for a new identity I’ll include a page near the end with pointers on how to compare ideas and keep feedback centred on the design brief. There’ll be questions such as:
- What option will your customers be most receptive toward?
- What idea is stronger at conveying your company as (insert words from the brief)?
- What direction is best at helping you stand out from your competitors?
- What design will keep your identity the freshest for longest?
I’ll normally follow the questions with a page showing my answers, talked about with the client after a few days have passed. I’ve found that those few days help when it comes to reaching consensus and avoiding spur-of-the-moment decisions — “It’s growing on me” is something I’ve heard now and again.”
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