“Use your creativity.”

“Make it pop.”

“Can you make the logo bigger?”

“Make it look just like [insert industry leading website here]…”

If design feedback had a 10 commandments of things not to say to your designer, these four would very possibly be among them. Designers think in colors and styles and audience, and they pull inspiration both from current design trends and hopefully an overflowing pool of visual ideas. “Make it pop” means nothing, visually speaking. “Use your creativity” basically implies that we’re not already using it. We like your logo too, but we don’t agree it should be the biggest element on the page. And, honestly, we won’t and legally can’t make something look “just like” something that’s already out there. Getting vague and generic feedback is frustrating, especially when the ultimate goal by client and designer is to nail down a great design: a product that the client is excited to use and one that the designer will proudly display in his or her portfolio.

So, how do you give constructive feedback to your designer for hire, or in my case, to your designer employee? (more…)

Have you ever realized how a little bit of quiet time can result in some really great ideas? I think this is why people have revelations in the shower. It’s the 15 minutes in your day when you aren’t being distracted or stimulated by email, co-workers, kids or the general buzz of daily life.

A couple weeks ago I took the afternoon to enjoy the rare window of warm weather and sunshine that we were having here. I sat outside for about an hour eating cheesecake and doing nothing. Some might argue that I should have also been thinking about nothing, but achieving the “doing” nothing part is momentous enough for me, and the result was that I ended up having a really important idea for the business. After I finished my cheesecake (of course) I spent the next two days mapping out and implementing this new idea and service plan. Already it has made a significant difference in our ability to appeal to a broader range of clients and budgets. (more…)