At some point, every design team faces the daunting task of feedback. Effective feedback is crucial to the design process, whether you're presenting a design to a client or getting feedback from your team members. It can be a nerve-wracking experience for both the person giving feedback and the person receiving it.
That's why designers need to prepare themselves for feedback and effectively process and implement feedback received. But what are some excellent tips for getting great design feedback? In this blog post, we've listed 10 helpful tips to help you process design feedback better as a designer.
1. Prepare Yourself Before Receiving Feedback
Before you start receiving feedback on your work, preparing yourself is essential. Receiving feedback can be difficult, but it's necessary and beneficial to take the time to prepare for it.
Ideally, you should have a feedback loop where you ask for feedback after each step of your design process. This way, you can receive valuable feedback from multiple perspectives and incorporate it into your design. Try to stay calm during the process of receiving feedback. It will only distract you from what is most important - making better design decisions.
2. Listen & Take Notes
Before you start receiving feedback, take a few minutes to listen to the person giving the feedback. During this time, take notes of key points and ideas that the person is making. This will allow you to better understand the feedback and respond with clarity and understanding. This process will help you improve your design process and improve your work's quality. Another way to receive feedback effectively is to follow a structured design process. This involves defining goals, creating a design brief, conducting user interviews, designing a solution, and iterating as needed. Following a process like this will ensure that your design process is efficient and effective. By taking time to receive feedback and follow a structured design process, you can ensure that your design is high quality.
You should also take notes of key points that the person is making. Following a structured design process can help you receive feedback effectively and efficiently. This enables you to return to the notes every now and then to ensure you have received all critical pieces of feedback.
3. Ask Questions to clarify feedback
When you're ready to start receiving feedback, clarify any points you don't understand. This will help ensure that the feedback is clear and concise. It's also important to be respectful of the person giving the feedback. Some questions you can ask to clarify feedback include:
- What do you mean by this?
- Can you give me an example?
- How do I suggest I implement this? Asking questions like these will help improve your understanding of the design process and how to receive feedback effectively.
4. Take your time
When you're receiving feedback, it's essential to take your time. This means taking your time with reviews or design critiques. Instead, take the time to listen to what the person is saying and understand their point of view. Try to see things from their perspective. It's also essential to take the time to reflect on the feedback you've received. This will ensure that you're considering all points of view and making the best decision for your design.
5. Don't Take Feedback Personally
It can be easy to take feedback personally, but it's important not to do this. Remember that the goal is to improve your design, not make you feel bad about yourself as a designer. If you take feedback personally, it will be harder to receive constructive feedback in the future.
6. Thank The Person For Their Feedback
Once you've received the feedback, thank the person for their time. This shows that you appreciate their input and are willing to listen to what they have to say. It also helps build a rapport with the person, which can be helpful if you need to ask for more clarification or want to work with them again.
7. Create A Space For Constructive Criticism
A good design process requires a lot of feedback, and constructive criticism is an integral part of the process. But it can take time to receive feedback from others. Before receiving feedback, creating a space for critical discussion is essential. That way, everyone involved can have a voice and feel comfortable speaking honestly and openly about their ideas and concerns.
Also, giving people the time they need to provide feedback is essential. This allows them to fully express their ideas without being rushed or interrupted. By creating a space for critical discussion, receiving feedback on designs, and giving people the time they need to provide feedback, you can better ensure that your design process is effective and efficient.
8. Address Everyone Equally
When receiving feedback, it's important to address everyone equally. That means giving the same weight to experts' opinions as to novice designers' views. Doing this allows you to avoid letting personal biases or agendas distort your design process.
9. Be Open to Criticism and Different Perspectives
Every design is flawed, and no designer can always please everyone. So it's essential to be open to criticism and different perspectives. See feedback as an opportunity to improve your designs rather than a personal attack. And remember, even the most experienced designers make mistakes sometimes.
10. Make Sure Feedback is Actionable
Receiving feedback is only helpful if it's actionable. That means you should only consider the input you can use to improve your design. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time and energy on something that will only help you.
11. Avoid being Defensive
When receiving feedback, it's essential to avoid being defensive. This can be difficult, especially if you're attached to your design or feel like someone is attacking your work. But getting defensive won't help you improve your work and might even worsen the situation.
12. Consider Design Principles When Judging Feedback
Design principles are the underlying design values and goals that guide a team's work. These principles can help you understand feedback and make better decisions about your design process.
Some examples of design principles include clarity, elegance, and simplicity. They provide a framework for making good design decisions and help you avoid common design mistakes. By incorporating design principles into your feedback process, you can better evaluate feedback from others and make informed decisions.
13. Think About Users' Needs And Goals
When receiving design feedback, it's crucial to consider the user's needs and goals. Not only will this help you formulate a better design solution, but it will also ensure you're staying in line with your project goals.
Start by asking yourself questions like, "What are the user's needs and goals?" or "Why are they giving us feedback?" These questions help you understand the context of the feedback you're receiving, which will aid in forming a design solution that addresses those needs and goals. You can also use design critique tools such as personas or scenarios to better contextualize feedback and help you better understand user needs and goals.
14. Encourage Collaboration With Peers
Consider engaging in a dialogue about design feedback to encourage collaboration with your peers. Ask your peers questions about their feedback to better understand and address their concerns. This way, you can develop a shared understanding of the design process and foster a positive environment for constructive feedback.
Additionally, consider sharing design feedback openly and honestly with your peers. Doing so can foster an environment of open communication and constructive feedback among team members.
15. Respectfully Disagree With Unconstructive Comments
When receiving design feedback, it's important to remain respectful of feedback. This means addressing feedback constructively and respectfully disagreeing with any unconstructive input. Keep your perspective and comments objectively if a design critique feels personal or negative.
For example, you could address the feedback in a way that acknowledges the person's perspective while remaining objective and informative. This will help you better understand the feedback and improve your design process.
Conclusion
Receiving feedback is a skill that improves with practice. The better you receive feedback, the easier your design process will be. You'll create better designs that are more effective for users and stakeholders. When feedback is constructive and accurate, it can help you design better products. By practicing good feedback-receiving skills and asking questions when feedback isn't clear, you'll be able to process input more effectively. It also helps to write down your thoughts after a feedback session to process them further. Use our tips to help you receive design feedback more effectively!
