10. How to Give (Actually Useful) Feedback on Creative Work
Plus, a lightweight feedback framework for download
I think we can all agree there are a lot of things we should learn in school but don’t. What a mortgage is. How to cook anything that isn’t an egg. How to effectively argue with your health insurance company. And how to actually give good feedback to others.
But what happens instead is that many of us land in work environments where we have to give different kinds of feedback all the time without any training or framework or feedback on our feedback! We’re often just asked what we think, and we either plow forward with unfiltered impressions, or we hold back our true opinions or concerns out of fear of saying something damaging, misdirecting, or uninformed.
When the feedback is about creative work on behalf of a company, which I would very loosely define as pretty much anything expressive of your brand that’s external facing, the stakes feel particularly heightened. Not only is this work intended to (usually, ideally) have as many eyeballs on it as possible, but it’s also the output of designers, writers, videographers, and other creative professionals whose artistic skills and talents are brought to bear in its execution—a vulnerable and sometimes sensitive position to be in!
So how do you give effective creative feedback that doesn’t compromise on quality, squash spirits, or dampen creativity? You’ve probably heard about compliment sandwiches, that feedback should be specific and actionable, that you should ask someone if they’re ready for feedback before delivering it—and all that is great advice! But here are 3 key principles (and a free feedback framework!) that I can tell you from experience will level-up your creative feedback game and have your creative colleagues crying with gratitude.
Principle 1: Put on your goal-colored glasses
The secret to giving the best feedback—creative, professional, relational, or otherwise—is to first establish that everyone in the feedback ecosystem has the same goal. I’m not usually this unequivocal, but: Every feedback conversation you will ever have in your life will be easier if you do this thing first. I super pinky-promise.
A goal doesn’t have to be a literal business KPI or a click-through rate or something you can measure with a number! A goal can just as easily be “to explore [X concept] as widely as possible” or “to celebrate our most engaged customers” or even just “to play.” But no matter what the goal of a particular piece of creative is, it’s important to include that goal in your creative brief and to revisit it often with everyone involved, like you would a charming elderly neighbor who needs to be checked in on to make sure they didn’t leave the iron plugged in.
When you align on/remind everyone of the goal at the beginning of a feedback session, written or live, you signal explicitly, “Hey, we’re all on the same team here.” If we are all pulling toward the same outcome, constructive feedback will go down a lot smoother than if your creative colleagues feel like it's a cagematch between Their Work and Your Feedback.
The secret to giving the best feedback—creative, professional, relational, or otherwise—is to first establish that everyone in the feedback ecosystem has the same goal.
Principle 2: No “I”deas
Creative work is often evocative and sometimes even emotional—and that’s a good thing! It’s meant to elicit a response. But in order to give effective creative feedback, you need to banish the phrases “I like” and “I don’t like” from your vocabulary. Seriously, à la poubelle!
“Wait a moment,” you’re saying, “but I’m the approver!” Or “Hell, I’m the creative lead on this project! I don’t get to say my opinion?” Of course you do! But what you, personally, like and dislike is irrelevant. Because creative work is subjective. And because we are often executing a taste that is not our own, but rather collectively belongs to the company.
Building on the first principle of framing any feedback conversation with a reminder of the goal, you also want to filter as much of your feedback as possible through the lens of that goal and use “we” instead of “I.” When you do this, you consistently depersonalize what you’re saying in service of the larger objective and remind everyone that you’re a team working together.
(Certainly, you might argue that “I like this version,” means “I like this version on behalf of our company/client.” But “I” language can even subconsciously reinforce that you are the person to please, and that the goal is to get your approval and not whatever the larger goal was in the first place!)
To filter feedback through the lens of the goal could mean using framing phrases like…
Since we’re looking to [goal], it would be great if [specific suggestion].
Example: “Since we’re looking to celebrate real customers, it would be great if we could see their faces and not just their names.”
Keeping in mind that we’d like to [goal], let’s try a version where [specific suggestion].
Example: “Keeping in mind that we’d like to go really wide with these exploratory directions, let’s try a version where we push it really far with the color palette.”
Can we discuss whether [particular element/creative decision] is the strongest choice for achieving [goal]?
Example: “Can we discuss whether putting the explainer video below the fold is the strongest choice for achieving 50% increase in clicks on the main CTA?”
“I” language can even subconsciously reinforce that you are the person to please, and that the goal is to get your approval and not whatever the larger goal was in the first place!
Principle 3: Be problem-oriented
Be…what now?! This one is a little counterintuitive, but hear me out. If you are in a position to be giving creative feedback vs. executing, you are probably either:
A creative director or lead who is invested in developing the skills and abilities of your team, or
Not the creative expert here, but another subject matter expert or strategy/channel lead
If you are A, then as much as possible, it is in your team’s best interest for you to point out problems and let them flex their skills and explore solutions on their own (with guidance as needed/requested, of course). If you come at them only with your solutions, you not only miss a professional growth opportunity for them, but you also limit the amount of creative thinking that can happen to just one brain.
If you are B, then as much as possible, it is in the project’s best interest for you to point out problems and let your creative colleagues explore solutions, because they will know how to do so through creative execution! It’s literally their jobs! If you come at them only with your solutions, you not only limit the nuance, variety, and creativity of the proposed solutions, but you may also make your creative colleagues close their laptops and walk into the nearest river.
Let’s say the project is revamping a webpage and the goal is to decrease bounce rate. You’re asked for your feedback on the design of the page. The overall story on the page is good, but you, as a savvy seasoned professional, are concerned that the top section of the page isn’t compelling enough to get people to scroll. Now think about the different possible outcomes of saying the following:
“Could we please add a product demo video in the hero section?”
“Given that we’re trying to keep people on this page for longer, could we revamp the hero section to be super eye-catching or even interactive?”
In scenario 1, you’re going to get a product demo video. Ok, fine. The world will go on as usual.
In scenario 2, you might get a product demo video…but you also might get a quiz or survey. Or a delightful illustration that animates when you start to scroll. Or maybe you get a game! You get the idea. But the key is to point out the problem, and then let the right people cook, as the internet kids say.
The way you give feedback can prune the tree of possibility, or it can act as fertilizer. Up to you!
The way you give feedback can prune the tree of possibility, or it can act as fertilizer.
Bottom line
Effective creative feedback is an art. And it can also be a source of immense stress or a vector of incredible collaboration where suddenly 1+1 = 3 or 7 or even a gif of a unicorn eating ramen. You’ll never know unless you approach it in a way that encourages creativity! Remember, the goal is not to get something approved; the goal is to get something great.
Grab this lightweight feedback framework for an easy way to facilitate discussions on creative!
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