“Make the logo bigger” is the most common piece of design feedback in the world, and it’s almost never what the client actually wants. What they usually mean is “I’m worried people won’t know who this is from.” Sometimes a bigger logo fixes that. Often a better position, more space around it or a clearer headline fixes it better.
That gap between the fix you suggest and the problem you feel is where most extra revision rounds come from. Close it and projects finish faster, cost less and look better.
Describe the problem, not the fix
You don’t need design vocabulary to give good feedback. You need to say what you see, what you expected and why it matters. The designer’s job is to work out the fix, and they’ll often find one you didn’t think of.
A simple pattern: “When I look at this, I [notice / feel / can’t find] X. I need it to Y because Z.”
These are comments we’ve seen versions of many times, rewritten using that pattern.
Before: “Make it pop.”
After: “When I look at it from across the room, nothing stands out. I need people walking past our stall to spot the 20% off offer.”
Before: “Change the blue to red.”
After: “The blue feels a bit cold and corporate for a kids’ swim school. I want it to feel more energetic. Red is one idea but I’m open to others.”
Before: “Add more photos.”
After: “It doesn’t show what we really do. Someone reading this wouldn’t know we do commercial jobs as well as houses.”
Before: “I don’t like it.”
After: “It feels too formal for us. Our customers are mostly young families and we’re pretty casual. The second example in the brief is closer to the tone I meant.”
Before: “Can you move everything up a bit?”
After: “On my phone I have to scroll to see the phone number. I want it visible straight away.”
Notice that some of the “after” versions still suggest a fix. That’s fine. The difference is that the reason travels with it, so the designer can push back or offer something better without guessing.
Separate taste from function
Some feedback is about whether the design works: can people read it, find the number, understand the offer. Some is about taste: you don’t like the font. Both are valid, but say which is which.
Function problems should almost always be fixed. Taste is worth a conversation, especially if the designer made the choice for a reason. If you hate a typeface, ask why it was chosen before asking for it to change. Sometimes there’s a good answer (it’s the brand font, or it reads better at small sizes), and sometimes there isn’t and it should go.
It also helps to check your feedback against the reader rather than yourself. You see your own flyer fifty times. Your customer sees it once, for a few seconds. “I’m sick of this photo” is about you. “This photo doesn’t show the product” is about them.
Consolidate before you send
One clear set of changes beats five emails over three days. Every separate email risks contradicting the last, and the designer can’t start work until they know the list is complete.
What works for most small teams:
- Decide who gives feedback. Ideally one person collects it and one person (maybe the same one) makes the final call.
- Give everyone the same deadline and the same file.
- Have them comment on the PDF directly, using sticky notes or the comment tool, so each note is pinned to the spot it’s about.
- Merge the comments, remove duplicates and resolve conflicts before sending. If two people want opposite things, that’s a decision for you to make, not one to pass to the designer.
- Number the changes, so the designer can reply “done” or “query” against each one.
If your designer uses a proofing tool, use it. Otherwise a marked-up PDF and a numbered list in one email are perfectly good.
Avoid design by committee
The more people with an opinion, the more the design drifts toward the middle. Everyone’s least-disliked option is rarely anyone’s favourite, and it’s usually the blandest.
You can’t always avoid a committee. Boards, partners and funding bodies have a legitimate say on many projects. But you can manage it:
- List every approver in the brief, at the start. The late opinion from someone who wasn’t consulted is the most expensive kind of feedback.
- Ask the committee to judge the design against the brief, not against personal taste. “Does this get GPs to refer patients?” is a better question than “Do you like it?”
- Give them fewer options. Showing a committee five concepts guarantees a debate. Showing one or two, with reasons, keeps the discussion on whether it works.
- Have the decision-maker say yes or no. Consensus isn’t required for a flyer.
Know which round you’re in
Early rounds are for big things: direction, layout, overall feel. Later rounds are for small things: a typo, a spacing tweak, a photo swap. Feedback goes wrong when the order flips. Rewording the headline in round three may cascade through the whole layout, and debating the overall direction after the artwork is final means starting over.
So in round one, ignore typos and ask the big questions: is this the right approach? In the final round, proofread everything carefully, including the phone number, the web address and the dates. Read them out loud. Wrong phone numbers on printed material are more common than you’d think, and they’re the one mistake you can’t fix with a sticker that looks good.
What good feedback looks like in practice
A complete round one email might be as short as this:
Overall direction is right. The second layout works better for us than the first.
- The heading is hard to read over the photo on my phone. Needs to be clearer.
- It doesn’t mention that we service the whole Northern Rivers, which is a big part of why people call us.
- Feels a bit dark overall. Our brand is meant to be friendly.
- Sarah (our manager) and I have both reviewed. No other approvers.
Four points, each one a problem with a reason, and a clear statement of who’s been consulted. A designer can act on that the same day.
Four checks for your next round
Is every point a problem rather than an instruction? Has everyone who needs to see it seen it? Are the points numbered? Are you asking for changes at the right level for this round?
If you’re about to start a design project and want a team that’ll walk you through each round, have a look at our graphic design and branding work, or browse past projects in our portfolio.