Effective Approaches For Cross-Disciplinary Design Feedback

How do you give creative feedback on work outside your area of expertise? As an ECD, I had art, design, copy, and production (and account service, and strategy) all report up to me. But I'm a copywriter by trade. And while I learned the difference between kerning and leading while surrounded by very talented designers at Apple, I'm not qualified to expound on color theory in any meaningful way. When I give feedback on design or art or UX, I approach it conceptually. I ask questions about why the team made their creative choices, and how those choices support the idea. I ask how the execution reflects the strategy, the communication, the brand, and the brief. And I can give direction based on that - the team can revise their work to align to the message as needed, but they still own the creative decisions. So even if you don’t know much about typefaces or grids or diagramming a sentence, you can still give useful feedback to the people who do. 

Not everyone is your audience. Not all feedback is useful. Just changing how I ask for feedback made all the difference. Here’s how. When I first started as a designer, I’d ask almost anyone for feedback on my work. I would turn to the person next to me and ask, “What do you think?” As tempting as that approach was, I was wrong. It felt easy to grab quick input from everyone, but that did more harm than good. Over the years, as a UX Designer, I’ve asked for tons of feedback on my work. It is the best way to grow but what matters is knowing 𝘸𝘩𝘰 to ask and 𝘩𝘰𝘸 to ask. The best feedback is: 1. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲. It’s important to time your feedback well and maintain a feedback loop. If it’s too late, you might find it difficult to make changes. But if you ask too soon and without enough details you risk distracting the reviewer with unfinished or unnecessary elements that won’t answer your questions. 2. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝. The best feedback comes from people who understand the problem you’re solving. It might seem easy to ask a bunch of friends or colleagues, but a random opinion won’t help if they don’t know your goals, audience or constraints. Too many voices can dilute your vision so the right feedback from the right people is what really matters. 3. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞. Not everyone knows how to give useful feedback. If you walk away from a discussion feeling demotivated, think whether you asked the right person. Good feedback should highlight areas for growth while also respecting your effort. The best feedback provides context behind the critique rather than just following trends or what 'looks good' to them. 4. 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. Feedback should give you a clear direction, not just a list of what’s wrong. What good is it if someone just says, “This doesn’t look good”? You’d be left wondering about a hundred different ways to fix it. The way you 𝐚𝐬𝐤 for feedback determines the quality of what you 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞. Here are some better ways to ask for feedback: 1. Focus on a specific area: Instead of "What do you think?" ask "Does this layout make it easy for users to navigate?" 2. Ask for pros and cons: "What’s working well and what could be improved?" 3. Request alternatives: "If *something* doesn’t work, do you have any suggestions to improve it?” 4. Clarify intent: "This work prioritizes *a certain need*. Do you think it meets that goal?" 5. Encourage detailed input: "Can you explain your thought process as you review this?” 6. Give context: "Since you understand *a particular user need* I'd love your perspective on this." 7. Ask for usability insights: "Would this be intuitive for someone as a first time user?” Asking for feedback is a critical skill that takes intentional effort to get right. The way we ask for feedback is just as important as the feedback itself. Let's Discuss- Is it easier for you to give feedback or receive it? #ProductDesign #UX #Feedback #EarlyCareer

On giving feedback in design... Over the years, I’ve learned a few things that help make this process way more effective). I find these to be rather essential. 1: Listen first. 👂 Before I give any opinions, I ask questions: Why this approach? What problem are we solving here? The “why” behind a design matters more than how it looks at first glance. My focus is on helping the designer achieve their intent, not imposing mine. 2: Don’t let your personal preferences interfere. 😶🌫️ It’s easy to fall into the trap of “I wouldn’t do it this way.” But my personal taste isn’t the point. What matters is whether the design works and resonates with the audience. Style is subjective—effectiveness isn’t. 3: Guide, don’t micromanage. ☝ Instead of swooping in to “fix” things myself, I try to point designers to tools or resources that can help them refine their work. Feedback should be a teaching moment. The goal is for them to learn something new, not just make the changes I suggested. At the end of the day, great feedback isn’t about nitpicking—it’s about collaboration, trust, and helping someone level up. If you’re not leaving room for the designer to grow, you’re doing it wrong. How do you handle feedback? Let me know—I’m always looking to sharpen my process! Artwork by: Martin Nicolausson #design #leadership #feedback

Want to design and create more inclusively? Start with better feedback from a diverse group of people. Here's how: instead of asking a basic question such as “Do you like it?”, ask more pointed questions like: - Was anything confusing? If so, what exactly? - Were there any type issues or color contrast issues that made it hard to read? - Is anything missing that we should’ve included? - Does anything feel performative, off-putting or tone-deaf? - Did you feel seen in this design/project output? If yes, why? If no, please elaborate. - Does it feel relevant and authentic to the audience we're targeting? - Are captions timed correctly and accurate? - Do you feel comfortable giving honest feedback? Ask these questions early—ideally before and after projects wrap. Especially to folks who are in your target audience. Feedback isn’t the end of the process. It’s how you iterate and get better results for your clients.