Creative feedback

If you’re the client or the boss, it’s possible that someone is going to create creative work for you. ...

Frustration sets in when you should say “I don’t like it,” but try to justify it with a complicated and probably incorrect series of assertions as to why no one will.

Seth Godin

I once had a boss who viewed my creative work and asked me to justify the design decisions I’d made. He then gave me some advice that’s stuck with me. If I have a good reason for a choice I’ve made, share it and explain the reason. Sometimes, though, it’s ok to not have a rational explanation for the design. Instead it’s intuitive, based on a gut sense, a hunch, years of experience and playing with ideas.

He was fine with me explaining myself rationally, backing up my answer with facts and logic. And he was also fine with me just straight up saying it was a gut hunch. What he had little patience for was making up answers on the fly, pretending, justifying my choices and trying to rationalize them.

I’ve stuck with that ever since. I either explain the logic that led to the design I’ve created, or let the stakeholder know it was a gut hunch based on experience.