If you’re wondering how to give constructive design feedback to your brand designer that is effective, clear, and leads you to exactly the brand you envision, you’re in the right place for answers.
It can’t be overstated the importance of being able to give valuable feedback, as the best branding always happens when there’s collaboration and open and honest communication. Remember, you don’t have to be a designer to give great feedback during the design process – what’s more important is that you know how to give the kind of feedback that helps us help you (and other designers!)
At Inkpot Creative, we want you to love what we create, but unfortunately, we can’t read minds (trust us, we wish we could)!
This post is your go-to guide for how to give constructive feedback that positively drives things forward and leads to your dream branding.
A Quick Look at Our Brand Process
Before diving into how to give design feedback, we wanted to share an in-depth look at our brand process and how things work over here at Inkpot Creative.
First, we always start every rebrand project with two things:
- A brand questionnaire that digs into your personality, goals, values, and aesthetic preferences
- A Pinterest board so we can see what you’re drawn to. Your Pinterest board serves as your visual inspiration.
We do this so that we can use both your brand questionnaire and Pinterest board to create a creative direction that reflects you and your goals.
Something we don’t do is in-depth brand strategy. Why? Because we’ve found that most photographers simply don’t need a months-long brand deep-dive. What they actually need is clarity, personality, and cohesion.
From what we’ve discovered, you already know who you are; you just need help showing that off in a way that feels intentional, and that’s where we come in.
Why Good Design Feedback Matters
The first thing we want to say: your brand and website should absolutely feel like you and work for you. However, getting to this point isn’t always super straightforward – it requires collaboration and open communication between you and us.
Honest, clear feedback means we can deliver what you’re actually looking for because, without good design feedback, we’re simply throwing spaghetti at the wall, and that’s not only messy but it’s also a waste of everyone’s time and money.
Creating your dream brand is a two-way street: we bring the expertise, you bring the vision, and then collaboration is how we get to the “heck yes” feeling by launch day.
The Dos of Giving Design Feedback
Let’s break down the dos of giving constructive design feedback:
- Be clear
First on the list – be clear and direct with us. Tell us exactly what you like or don’t like – and let us know if there’s something that simply isn’t resonating with you. Telling us “it’s not quite right” doesn’t help anyone. Remember, you’re allowed to say you don’t like something. That’s the point! But always be kind when doing so.
- Be open to collaboration and new ideas
We’re not just order takers. We’re creatives! It’s totally cool if you have actual preferences, but we will try to push you out of your comfort zone with some things and bring our own suggestions to the table. Sometimes the best design is the one you didn’t see coming.
- Clarify when asked
If we follow up with you about anything, trust us – it’s not to be annoying, it’s to make sure we’re speaking the same language. For example, to you, “bold” might mean bright colors, but to us, it might mean thicker/funkier fonts. We’ll want to make sure that we’ve clarified something like this with you before proceeding.
- Reference inspiration in the right way
It’s helpful to reference designs you love (we even ask you to!), but tell us WHY you love them. Is it the layout? The vibe? The color palette? The font pairing? All of this helps us build out a brand that you’ll be obsessed with!
The Don’ts of Giving Design Feedback
Okay, now it’s time to discuss the don’t of giving good design feedback. Here’s what to avoid:
- Don’t be vague
We can’t fix what we can’t identify, which is why we need you to be as clear as possible with us about changes you want to make.
- Don’t come without direction
You don’t need to have it all figured out, but you do need to have some idea of what you want. Coming to us with an idea of direction that you want to head in gives us a solid starting point and ensures we’re not just moving forward blindly.
- Don’t default to someone else’s aesthetic
Your branding is meant to be unique and feel authentic to you – it’s not supposed to be just a copy and paste of what someone else in your industry is doing. Also, just because something is “trending” doesn’t mean it fits you.
- Don’t ghost during feedback rounds
This is a big one – we want (and need to) hear back from you. All timelines depend on communication.
- Don’t expect round one to be perfect
This is a process! We send concepts for a reason; they are just initial directions. If you’re unsure about something, ask why we made that choice! We’re always happy to explain the strategy!
- Don’t get group feedback (trust your gut!)
Group feedback ≠ helpful feedback. It’s tempting to ask your partner, your friends, your mom, your neighbor’s dog but they’re not your ideal client. Too many outside opinions can water down your direction. Trust your gut, and trust the process… we’re designing for you and your clients, not your friends and family.
Now You Know How to Give Design Feedback…
We hope you found this post on how to give design feedback helpful! When it comes to your brand, we want you to walk away proud of what we’ve built together. Your input throughout the branding journey matters as it will help shape the final outcome. At the end of the day, good feedback = good design = good results!
At Inkpot Creative, our approach to branding is unique because we infuse the important strategic work with the parts of your personality that act as a magnet to your dream clients.
Our signature offer, The Rebrand Edit, is the ultimate branding package that will help you stand out from the crowd without lifting a finger. All you have to do is be thoughtful, be a little brave, and we’ll take care of the rest. Learn more about what the Rebrand Edit includes here, or get in touch with us here!
Read these posts next:
How to Avoid These 8 Common Branding Mistakes
Branding for Wedding Professionals – Why It Matters and How to Get It Right
KP’s design journey began in book publishing, but she fell in love with the truly limitless possibilities that web design presents. Since then, she’s been helping photographers and creatives become the no-brainer option for their dream clients before they even get on a call.
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5/28/25
Published On:
Krystianna Pietrzak
