How to Give Amazing Creative Feedback
At Bread and Jam, we believe that feedback, when delivered thoughtfully, nourishes ideas and helps them grow.
Here are some tips to ensure your feedback, as a client, elevates our creative process:
THINK BIG PICTURE FIRST
Being strategic is thinking about the big picture first. The biggest mistake you can make in giving great creative feedback is going straight into the detail. Ask yourself if the concept can effectively communicate your core message and will it resonate emotionally with your audience. Consider the themes being presented as the frame of the idea. Remember, the finer executional details will naturally align as we refine the concept.
BE FAMILIAR WITH THE BRIEF
A comprehensive creative brief serves as our roadmap for delivery, it encapsulates key strategic points and research insights. When you give your feedback with the creative brief in mind it sets up for a successful collaboration.
REMEMBER CREATIVITY IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS
Creativity is an exploratory non-linear process, and any idea is very unlikely to be perfect at the outset. Sometimes it’s gloriously messy but with huge potential; sometimes the bones are there but we need to flesh it out; and sometimes it’s about finding a nugget of gold and rolling with it into new territory. By acknowledging this process, you can focus on the positives without getting bogged down by minor details which will need to be refined.
BE POSITIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE
We like to approach feedback with a positive mindset and acknowledge what’s working well before getting to grips with your constructive criticism. If you are able to highlight strengths in the work it can provide greater context for improvement. Positive and constructive feedback encourages our team to explore innovative ideas by flexing their own creative talents.
GET ALIGNED INTERNALLY
We find consolidated feedback that reflects the viewpoints of all stakeholders invaluable. If you can prioritise aligning internal perspectives before providing feedback to the creative team it can help crystallise our priorities. Where you are able to resolve any conflicting opinions internally this will ensure clarity and coherence in our next round of ideas. That said, if you really can’t resolve it bring them to the table for discussion and we’ll help pick them apart and find the root cause.
HAVE TRUST IN & RESPECT FOR THE CREATIVE TEAM
A great creative is something that feels familiar but takes a leap into an inspiring new direction. Huge effort and creativity is invested to create ideas aligned with your objectives so your feedback should feel collaborative and expansive.
HAVE EMPATHY FOR YOUR AUDIENCE
The perspective of your target audience should be front and centre when evaluating creative work. If we focus on how our work is conveying emotions, themes and messages effectively, we’ll move closer to our goal, even if personal preferences differ. Also, it’s worth remembering to trust in the audience’s ability to interpret and appreciate creative nuance. Being too literal and spelling things out often dilutes ideas. Easy is not surprising, and predictable is not distinctive.
BE SPECIFIC, BUT LEAVE ROOM FOR FLOW
The best feedback is specific enough to be actionable without being a closed directive. Resist the impulse to solve the problem on the spot and instead try to explain why you feel disconnected to the work. Then ask yourself how that disconnect relates to the market or the audience the work is trying to speak to. This is the stuff that really helps!
HOW CAN I BE SPECIFIC?
When we get to the later stages of the creative process and closer to sign off it does pay to be more specific and delve into the layers of creative presentation. It might help to run through each of the executional details such as layout, colour, type, photography, graphics, illustrations and message to pinpoint where you think final adjustments are needed. It’s also a good time to refresh your memory on any existing brand guidelines, tone of voice and overall rules that we’re working within so you don’t go too far off course if you have any new ideas to input.
MORE SPECIFIC? TRY THE 12 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
There are twelve basic principles of design, and these visual and graphic design principles work together to create appealing and functional designs that make sense to users. These principles can be applied in infinite ways.
Contrast
Balance
Emphasis
Proportion or scale
Hierarchy
Repetition
Rhythm
Pattern
White space
Movement
Variety
Unity
By following these guidelines and thinking about these principles, your feedback becomes a catalyst for innovation, driving your creative endeavours towards excellence.