If you’re not a design expert yourself, there are a few tried-and-true ways to bring your strategy to life without stepping on the design team’s toes. Incorporate the following tips for more effective feedback the next time you work with your design team.

Offer specific and clear direction

One of the most important things to remember when offering design feedback is to be as specific and clear as possible. Maybe you prefer a lighter shade of blue, or you believe the design is too busy or has too much whitespace. Pointing out clearly what’s bothering you in a section and saying why it’s not working for you is much more helpful than saying “change this to orange” or “include five screenshots, a graphic, and these three paragraphs on one page” without any reasoning.Whatever your feedback, reflect on what you really want to communicate to your designers using the following questions as a starting point:

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• What do you think the design is communicating?
• Why do you feel the design is communicating that?
• How does that differ from the objective?
• What is working about the current design?

Once you have a clear idea of why the current direction isn’t working, be direct with your design team and provide clear feedback. Ambiguous feedback hampers your team’s ability to produce a stellar project on time and leaves all parties frustrated. Actionable feedback is great as long as it still has room for the designer to come up with the best solution.

What to say when you don’t like how a design project is turning out

“I don’t like it” is the worst feedback you could offer a designer, especially without offering any alternatives. Instead, share why the project doesn’t meet the specific goals and objectives your team discussed at the onset and avoid nitpicking. Once you provide your reasons, step back and listen to the designer’s expert opinions. Trust and collaboration – rather than making demands or insulting the work – will produce the best results.  

Empower and support your design team

Build in processes that support creativity while keeping the team on track to meet deadlines.  Aligning expectations on both sides supports you and the design team working towards a unified goal. Developing feedback schedules, ideally in only one or two rounds, helps the team stay on track, address any miscommunication along the way and ultimately avoid a final product that completely misses the mark. Speaking up early is key to a smooth process.

The biggest fails happen when non-designers fail to communicate goals and expectations properly, leading to confusion and frustration for all involved. Keep these simple tips in mind when working on your next design project, and watch both your design team and your project thrive.