After years working in graphic and presentation design and specialising in visual communication, I’ve learned that client feedback often comes with a biased meaning behind it. Most of the time, what’s being said requires a bit of translation.
Some classics:
“𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒑?”
→ “I want this to feel more engaging, but I’m not sure why it currently feels flat.”
“𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒐 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓?”
→ “I want the brand to feel more visible or important.”
“𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇.”
→ “The hierarchy, spacing, or balance isn’t working – even if I can’t explain it technically.”
“𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏?”
→ “I want it to feel current, cleaner, and more aligned with what competitors are doing.”
“𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕.”
→ “The message isn’t landing quickly enough.”
“𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒆?”
→ “I’m worried about leaving information out.”
Great design is all about interpretation, meaning, and solving problems. Clients are usually communicating a business concern, not a design instruction. Part of a designer’s job is translating feedback into clarity, structure, and communication that actually works.