6 Types of Feedback and How to Respond
- Adilla
- Aug 22
- 4 min read
Feedback is good, as it helps direct you towards the goal of your work. But as creatives, feedback varies. Sometimes it's useful, like, “Could you add a warmer shade of red?” or downright vague, like, “It doesn’t speak to me, you know.”
Well, creatives aren’t mind readers.
So, let’s filter your feedback towards growth and productivity.
Table of Contents
6 Types of Feedback
There are several types of feedback, and here is a list of feedback you’ll encounter as a creative:
Constructive Feedback
This feedback typically aims to achieve a positive outcome by providing comments or advice that come with helpful suggestions. This sort of feedback offers improvements and enhances performance.
Destructive Feedback
This is a form of criticism that would undermine a person’s confidence and stifle their productivity. This would be the opposite of constructive feedback, as it focuses on faults and provides no clear, productive guidance.
Positive Feedback
This may seem like simple feedback to give, like a quick “good job”, but something as short as that could actually keep your team’s morale high. Recognition for their strengths will encourage them further.
Negative Feedback
While it is not often demoralising or discouraging, it often helps pinpoint your team’s mistakes with suggestions for improvements.
Informal Feedback
This is spontaneous feedback that encourages a more open and ongoing dialogue between teams. This type of feedback is also less intimidating, as it comes through a more natural exchange.
Formal Feedback
This happens in a formal setting, like during a job evaluation or a performance review. It usually comes with a detailed insight into how to better achieve goals or contribute better to the team.
How To Align Feedback with Your Goals and Intent
To align your feedback with your goals and intentions, there are a few things you would have to prepare first before filtering them.
Define Your Goals and Intentions
Look into your personal goals and achievements as a creative. List them out and stay firm with them, especially if they align with the goals of the creative projects that you are working on. If you find it hard to do this, try out the SMART goal method to better define your goal and purpose.
Align Feedback with Actions
As you analyse your feedback, identify what you can take to improve your work, especially if it aligns with your personal goal. You could also create a feedback loop for yourself. This is typically used for machinery, but its standard procedure can be used as steps to track the progress of your actioned feedback.
3 Feedback Filter Frameworks
Now that you know how to align your feedback, let’s filter it better.
Goal‑check
Now that you’re clear on your goals, the feedback you can accept is the kind that aligns with your vision and your project’s objectives.
Trend Detection
Is the feedback related to a rising trend? Or is it relevant to the current state of the creative industry? It is best to filter out what is considered ‘outdated’ to prevent a waste of resources and energy.
Test Value
Calculate the potential value of the feedback. Not just what will happen if you do it, but what will happen if you don’t do it, too. If you’re unsure, you can test it out in a specific timeframe to test the potential of the feedback.
Self-Reflecting Before Acting on Feedback
As creatives, we understand the need to show our identity through our creative work. So, it’s important to recognise the feedback given and clarify any ambiguity without compromising our personal touch. Make it a habit to self-reflect and evaluate when you receive feedback before implementing it, as not all feedback needs to be an actionable item.
Key Takeaways
Feedback can be tough to filter, but if you’re clear with your goals and the credibility of the feedback, it’s worth implementing it for your growth.
It’s important to understand that not all feedback is good, nor is it bad or even productive.
When receiving feedback, take a step back and evaluate before implementing it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I filter useful feedback?
To filter useful feedback, you can prioritise the ones that are aligned with your goals and the potential impact of the feedback.
Which feedback should creatives ignore?
Creatives should ignore feedback that is vague or overly subjective. For example, if your client’s feedback is something along the lines of “I don’t like it” or “make it stand out”, it is not productive because it doesn’t offer actionable comments. You can ask more questions to the person who gave the feedback for more clarity.
How to decide if feedback is worth acting on?
To decide which feedback is worth acting on, consider the potential consequences of the feedback and seek clarification if you’re unsure. Also, consider the expertise of the person who gave you the feedback as well.
Author Bio
With a background in Arts English, Adilla has been a casual writer for various hobbies, like parodies of animated shows and plots for board games. She loves to read anything and everything from fantasy stories to articles on tips and tricks. Now an advocate for mental health and effective project management for the creative industry. Currently, Adilla resides in Malaysia and is a creative writer at TESSR. To know more about her, check out her LinkedIn.
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