Top 10 Tips to Give Better Design Feedback
Want to become your designer’s best and favourite client? You’re in the right place!
Great design isn’t luck. It’s a duet: your insider intel plus your designer’s craft. But fuzzy, vibes‑only feedback turns that duet into karaoke. Yuck.
This guide serves up 10 tips for giving feedback that’s clear, specific, and in service of outcomes, so your project moves faster, looks better, and doesn’t detour into “make it pop” territory.
Here’s a little industry secret: feedback is the not-so-secret sauce to every great design project.
Of course, your designer brings the creative chops, but you bring the insider scoop on your business, your goals, and your audience.
Together? That’s where the magic happens.
But there’s always a catch. Feedback that’s vague, scattered, or based purely on gut feelings can derail a project faster than you can say ‘make it pop’.
(Please don’t say that)
If you don’t like the vibe or energy, that’s okay, but that might be something to direct more to your psychic rather than your designer.
The good news: giving good feedback is not about learning how to design (if it was, you’d be doing this yourself!). It’s about learning how to communicate in a way that’s clear, actionable, and rooted in your business goals.
So without further ado, let’s dive into 10 golden rules (with plenty of real-world examples that may or may not have you questioning past emails) that will turn you into your designer’s favourite client.
Gold star for you!
Nº1. BE SPECIFIC
“Hmm… I don’t like it.”
Sure, it’s honest. But it’s also as helpful as telling your barista you don’t “like” your coffee… and then walking away.
Vague: “The layout feels off.”
Specific: “The text block feels cramped — could we add more white space so it’s easier to read?”
Specificity = clarity. And clarity = your designer not wanting to cry into their colour swatches.
Nº2. FOCUS ON PROBLEMS, NOT DIY FIXES
It’s tempting to play “armchair designer”: Make the headline red. Move that image. Add Comic Sans for drama.
Prescriptive: “Change the button to green.”
Collaborative: “The button doesn’t feel noticeable — can we explore ways to make it stand out more?”
Your job: flag the problem.
Your designer’s job: solve it creatively.
Nº3. ALWAYS EXPLAIN THE 'WHY’
Without context, your feedback feels like personal taste. With context, it becomes strategy.
Empty: “This font isn’t working.”
Strategic: “This font feels too playful — we need to project trust and professionalism for a corporate audience.”
The why is the secret spice. Sprinkle generously.
Nº4. KEEP YOUR AUDIENCE FRONT & CENTRE
Truth bomb: you are not your audience. Just because you hate orange doesn’t mean your customers do.
Personal: “I don’t like green.”
Audience-focused: “Our competitor uses this shade of green — can we explore another palette to differentiate us?”
Design should woo your audience, not just your personal Pinterest board.
Nº5. CONSOLIDATE FEEDBACK
Nothing sends a project off the rails faster than three team members sending three contradictory sets of feedback. One says “more bold,” another says “tone it down,” and a third says “can it be pink?”
Fix it: By gathering input internally first, nominating one “feedback lead,” and labelling what’s critical vs. nice-to-have.
Your designer (and their hairline) will thank you.
Nº6. SEPARATE MUST-HAVES FROM NICE-TO-HAVES
Not every note is urgent. Some are fire alarms, others are scented candles.
Must-have: “The product name is spelled wrong.”
Nice-to-have: “Could we try a rounded button style to feel friendlier?”
Marking this out keeps projects moving without drowning in endless revisions.
Nº7. USE REFERENCES WISELY
References = amazing. Copy-paste demands = not so amazing.
Misuse: “Copy this exactly.”
Better: “We love the clean, airy vibe of this site — can we bring some of that energy into our design?”
Your designer doesn’t need a blueprint; they need clues.
Nº8. DON’T GET STUCK ON PERSONAL PREFERENCE
Design is not decorating. It’s problem-solving.
Preference: “I just hate serif fonts.”
Strategic: “Serifs might feel too traditional for our modern, tech-forward brand.”
The difference? One gets you an eye-roll. The other gets you a design that actually sells.
Nº9. GIVE FEEDBACK IN CONTEXT
Designs live in the wild: mobile, desktop, print, socials. Something stunning on a 27-inch monitor might be unreadable on an iPhone.
Contextual: “This layout looks great on desktop, but how does it scale down on mobile? The text may be hard to read.”
Always think: where will this design actually live?
Nº10. END WITH TRUST
At the end of the day, you hired your designer for their expertise. Give them the room to cook.
Directive: “Move this image here, make the text bold, change the background.”
Collaborative: “This section doesn’t feel engaging yet. What do you recommend to make it pop more?”
Trust is the glue that turns your project from transactional into transformational.
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