How to provide feedback to a designer without making them cringe.

Designers hear feedback everyday, internally through their peers and externally through their clients and audience. Its a designer’s job to turn that feedback into a great design that satisfies all parties involved. Although designers love receiving feedback, there are a few phrases that make them utterly cringe. Here are the top three cringe worthy phrases and ways you can better articulate it, so they can help solve your problems more efficiently.

1. Make It Pop

“Make it pop” has to be one of the most used phrases of feedback given to a designer. Making something “pop” isn’t as simple as pressing a button like the Staples “Easy” button. Just as design is subjective, making something pop is also subjective. Instead of asking the designer to make it “pop”, be more detailed and specific. Here are some ways to make things pop:

“ Enlarge the font size, to adjust its hierarchy.”

“ Increase the contrast between the header and the background.”

“ Add more clear space around the logo.”

2. Just Be Creative

Telling a designer to “just be creative” is like telling a chef to “just cook”. We were hired because of our creative ability; if we weren’t being creative then what were we doing? Instead of telling a designer to just be creative, give them a specific direction to solve the problem at hand. As a designer, it is our job to solve problems. We can’t solve the problem if the issue is not directly pointed out.

3. Just Don’t Spend Too Much Time On It

“Just don’t spend too much time on it” has to be one of the most cringe worthy quotes. Design is a process, from research to brainstorming, the execution, and don’t forget the rounds of revisions. There is so much that goes into a design that is not seen by most people outside of the design world. Instead of saying "don't spend too much time on it," let the designer know the specific deadline or the amount of hours a client is willing to spend on the project.

At the end of the day, a designer’s job is to help the client create, design, and tell a story. Being able to communicate properly to a designer will ensure the project is completed on time and in the most efficient, cost effective way.