Beyond “Make it pop!” Top Tips for Productive Design Feedback

“Jazz it up,” “Wow factor,” “make the logo bigger…” we’ve heard it all.

From the perspective of the non-designer, these kinds of phrases are common, and understandably so.

When you can’t find the words to articulate design feedback, these things naturally come to mind. It just needs that ‘je ne sais quoi,’ and therein lies the issue.

A designer can’t effectively address feedback unless it’s a little more specific than “I’ll know it when I see it.”

The problem with vague design feedback is that it just doesn’t address the ‘why’ of where the design is or isn’t working. You could end up going round in circles, iteration after iteration, trying to find a magic recipe that only exists in the mind of the stakeholder.

Unless you’ve got deep pockets, this is usually best avoided.

Responsibility lies with both parties: designer and client. So here are a few quick tips from my experience of getting the best out of collaborative design feedback sessions.

1. Starting off on the right foot:

Often, you really don’t know what you want until you’ve seen it. This is a very reasonable stance to take when faced with a blank slate.

The key point here is in “feedback.” I do believe it’s the designer’s job to get the ball rolling. The first iteration of something is ultimately the responsibility of the designer, and there’s a good deal of work that goes into that first version.

At Friday, the design briefing is a vital part of the pre-design phase. Moodboards, competitive analysis and design workshops all contribute to understanding the ‘vision’ that the client has for the project.

If you get this right, you’ll strike as close as possible to the end result on your first try, and it’s a matter of refinement from there.

Sometimes you get close, and sometimes you don’t, but aligning everyone on the expectations of the general aesthetic approach is a vital first step.

2. Get specific:

Specifics are useful from both the designer’s and the client’s points of view.

For designers:

The designer should leave nothing up to interpretation when presenting work. Get mockups prototyped as close as possible to the real thing. That means no static Figma links or PDFs. Come on, we’re long past it.

Once you have something to share, I’ve found it’s much better communicated when you present the work yourself. As the client, if you’re sent an initial page mockup over email, request a call so the designer can explain the rationale behind design decisions.

A layperson is also not expected to be familiar with the language of design. Speak plainly and explain things (briefly). The importance of negative space, hierarchy, contrast, you get the picture. Gauge the client’s level of design maturity and adjust the level of complexity appropriately.

Be cautious of generic “looks good!” comments. A lack of feedback can sometimes be a red flag. It could mean the client isn’t really engaged, and it could come back to bite you eventually.

For clients:

Describe what you like, as well as what you don’t like. It’s great to hear what you think is working, but more importantly, what isn’t.

Next is the ‘why.’ Get specific about why you feel something isn’t working. Does it seem too far deviated from the brand guidelines? If so, in what way?

You can approach it from a high level. Don’t be afraid to use emotive language. “It feels too friendly.” “I fear the customer won’t relate.” “I’m not getting an impression of a modern, cutting edge product.”

Though not hyper-specific, this kind of comment is a lot more informative than a broad instruction like “It’s not what I had in mind.”

You can also focus on specific elements. “This section’s layout is too cluttered.” Or pose your comment as a question. “How can we make the imagery in the hero section more impactful?”

Back and forth:

Feedback should be a conversation.

Designers, now’s your turn to probe. You don’t have to come up with solutions on the spot, but you should be asking follow-up questions. “Can you explain a little more about the brand misalignment?” “Is the imagery a problem everywhere, or just here?”

At the end of the day the design decisions are yours, and you should stand behind them where necessary.

Encourage the client to be involved, but resist any suggestions that go against best practice, or your user research findings for that matter.

3. Remember, you are not the user:

This goes for both parties, designer and client. Ultimately, design is a process of hypothesising the best user experience for the customer.

Users will provide the most meaningful feedback, and only by testing will you figure out what they think. If there’s ever a debate about how to approach something, a quick A/B test will give everyone a clear direction.

It can be more difficult with decorative or non-functional elements. Everybody has certain taste preferences when it comes to aesthetics, so compromise is sometimes needed when it comes to artistic direction.

Designers, rely on your expertise and any relevant user insights you have access to. Clients, trust the process and try to provide meaningful, actionable feedback and invest in user testing.

There’s no right or wrong, only more or less productive

It’s true, you can’t tell someone how to articulate themselves. However, it is in everyone’s interest to get to an end result as quickly as possible. Time is money ,after all.

To summarise:

• Undergo a rigorous design briefing process
• Get specific about design proposals and feedback
• Test, and test some more

We’ve developed an expert approach to productive design collaboration, so if you want a website redesign agency that cares, then get in touch to kick things off.