- Maureen Dillon 04.09.2015
Providing feedback to your designer is an important part of a successful design project. Without feedback, the designer may assume that you approve of everything that's been done and he/she will proceed along the same lines. The end result is dissatisfaction on all sides. Your designer cannot adjust his/her work to meet your expectations with a clear idea of what those are. This can, and should, be avoided. However, the feedback you provided should be constructive, helping your designer understand what you are looking for. Your feedback should help project the image of the design that you have in your mind clearly to your designer.
The following tips will enable you to provide constructive feedback. This helps the designer to deliver a completed project that conforms to your specifications and the image in your mind:
There are several visual feedback tools available that enable you to convey your feedback to your designer in a manner that will reduce misunderstanding. Some of these tools are:
InVision LiveCapture allows you to collaborate with your designer during the development process using this. The designer takes screenshots of the web page and sends it to you. You can then provide detailed feedback. LiveCapture is available as an extension for Google Chrome. It is available in both free and paid options.
BugMuncher: You can avail of its 30-day free trial before you have to start paying (currently starting at $19/month). It is a great visual feedback tool that lets you highlight areas of webpages and describe the changes that need to be made. The tool then takes a screenshot of the area and sends it, and your comments, to your designer (whose email you need to provide).
TrackDuck: Great for providing real time feedback, the tool allows you to highlight areas of the site that need changing and comment on it. Whenever you do this, your designer will be notified immediately. It is available on multiple browsers.
Notable: This is a web application that allows you to take a screenshot of whatever part of the site needs modifications, draw a box around the specific region, and provide your feedback. Currently, you can try it for free for 30 days.
There are also several other tools available like DesignDrop, BugHerd, Conceptboard and Notism. Every tool will have its own pros and cons. You may have to try a few before you settle on one which both you and your designer are comfortable with. Using these tools is a great way to point out specific problems in your design and letting your designer know what needs to be done.
However, along with this, you should always take your designer through your feedback. Don't just write, have a meeting (in person or a video call) with your designer to talk about your feedback. You don't want to give scope for your designer to misinterpret your feedback. Ask them how they intend to proceed and settle on a plan of action.
The feedback you give your designer should be constructive. It should always provide specifics that will help your designer to design a site that not only conforms to the image you have in mind but also helps you to achieve your business goals.
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