How to Give Feedback

I want to teach you how to give feedback as a design client. This is something that I feel isn’t really understood or taught (which is a shame) and it’s SUCH a critical part of the design process and successful execution of your project and just part of being a visionary business owner.

First things first, I want you to know that feedback is not a bad thing. I’m not scared of feedback and you shouldn’t be scared of giving feedback! I want to know what you think and you can be 100% honest with me. You’re not going to offend me if there’s something I’ve created that doesn’t work for you.

Also, you don’t have to make any changes to your deliverables. Most of my clients approve things as-is because I’m so strategic in how I create things. So if you just want to tell me, “I LOVE IT, DON’T CHANGE A THING!” That’s totally okay!

That being said, when you’re giving feedback or criticism, it’s really helpful if you can be clear, specific, and open-minded. When you’re reading or viewing something, ask yourself, “What do I notice first about this?” “How does this make me feel?” “How do I think my ideal client would feel about this?” Thinking strategically will help you give better feedback overall.

As far as the nitty gritty of HOW to actually give feedback, I like to do it in a two-step process.

Step #1: Open Discussion/Collaboration

This can happen over Voxer or email, but the idea is that we can discuss the strategy and design together and you can share your thoughts or suggestions and I can share my reasoning and expertise. Maybe there’s an element you’re not sure about but with some explanation, you understand why it works. The point is to collaborate because YOU are the expert on your business but I AM the expert on branding and together we can come to the right decision for you.

Step #2: Official Feedback/Change Requests

3 days after you receive your deliverable (and hopefully after you’ve had a chance to discuss anything with me over Voxer or email), you’ll receive a link where you can submit your formal feedback/change requests. You’ll be able to click and comment on whatever you want, and submit the approval for the feedback.

You are responsible for making powerful decisions about your brand strategy, brand design, website design, whatever it is and asking directly for the changes you want to see. There won’t be any back and forth at this point, I will simply take your requests and make those changes. If there’s a request that’s outside of the scope of the project, I’ll let you know how long it would take and what additional costs it would incur to make that happen.

Receiving feedback is an important part of the process, and I hope these instructions help you know how to do it effectively. Let me know if you have any questions, I’m always here to help!