An overview of asynchronous design feedback and its benefits
Design feedback is a sensitive subject for most of the designers. Many designers skip the stage of design feedback process, as a result of which designers may get horrible feedback. It is difficult to consistently get good feedback on design work. There are two types of design feedback — synchronous design feedback and asynchronous design feedback. You might have heard about instant feedback, which people usually without asking for. When someone approaches you and asks about a particular design, it means they are expecting instant response from you. This is called synchronous feedback. However, when someone asks a feedback through mail, you get some time to provide feedback. Such feedback is known as asynchronous feedback.
Why design feedback is important?
Taking a little time or effort to show your design to a peer before presenting it to the client is an easy way to omit mistake and showcase a clean work. Getting design feedback is an easy way to get unique perspective on your work. Design feedback can often reveal problems in the design that designers usually don’t see while obsessing over the details.
Internal reviews are usually built into the workflow, and it is very easy to forget about the fact that the design is going to be seen by a lot of people, and not just the client. Working without feedback is similar to setting out for an important journey without seeing the signposts. When people receive little feedback they tend to be self-congratulatory, as they are relying upon the events, instead of specific feedback to measure their performance.
How to collect meaningful design feedback?
Receiving feedback is the most valuable part of any designer’s process. Without proper design feedback, you cannot be sure if your work will be understood or appreciated by others. We often receive generic feedback, also known as synchronous design feedback. However, if we want to collect asynchronous design feedback, we need to master the communication process.
To get a meaningful design feedback, create a colorful environment where the person giving feedback is much comfortable. The best way to collect asynchronous feedback is to set the situation. To get the best results, you need to get control over the environment in which the design feedback process if taking place. Anxiety may often ruin the ability to think critically and prevents us from saying what we really think.
Let the person known in advance about your project and give him ample of time to review your design. Never surprise or put them on the spot, as they will be hurried and superficial. Tell them the type of feedback you want. For example — if you want the person to review the color selection, let them know before.
Designs are often criticized based on numerous factors and many people don’t have enough experience to differentiate the factors. By instructing the person as to what specifically you are looking for, they will settle on somewhere on the safer side. Set limitations to get the right feedback. Too many design drafts can confuse the reviewer. If you have crafted couple of design options, give clear instructions and elaborate why you have created multiple options.
Accept the feedback gracefully, as they have spent their time and energy for your own benefit. Criticism of work is not criticism of your abilities, but is the sign that you can do much better. You need to appreciate the design feedback; no matter how wrong the feedback might feel.
What are the benefits of asynchronous design feedback?
Most of us might have question that “what are the benefits of design feedback?” The answer is simple. If you are a designer, design feedback is something that helps you grow as a designer. It will help you in assessing your own work. Designers do their best when the feedback is timely and specific. Too much praise doesn’t improve the work, while too many negative comments will discourage them. It is always better to ask for asynchronous feedback, as there are many benefits. Here are some of the benefits of asynchronous design feedback.
· Time to think
As the person need not have to give instant feedback, he/she will get time to think. Asking real-time feedback may put lot of pressure on the person, and he may give wrong feedback. The person should be given enough time to go through the design and explore the draft completely, before giving any feedback. It can be tough to open up yourself to criticism and hard to articulate. The more time you give to the person, the better and genuine is the feedback.
· Can provide specific feedback
The reviewer will be able to provide specific feedback, if he/she gets time. As you will be specifying what feedback to provide, they can work on it and provide feedback accordingly. Asking asynchronous feedback requires you to be specific. You can be specific about the main objective of the design draft or target a group who will be using the website. You could also ask a few questions to get started such as — what is the highlight of the design draft? What problem do you thing are solved through this draft? What else can be included in the draft? And so on.
Conclusion
Design feedback is a sensitive matter and there are several benefits that could be utilized by you and your organization. However, getting asynchronous design feedback is not an easy task as it requires good design preparation. For smooth implementation of this process make sure you client is well aware of it and is ready to participate wholeheartedly. We at Promatics Technologies have seen great results when following this process whether it is UI designing for mobile apps or web applications. So go ahead and try this out!
