How to Talk to Your Designer: Getting What You Actually Want

Most design project frustrations come from a communication problem, not a design problem. The client has a clear vision in their head. The designer has a different interpretation. The gap between them widens with each round of revision until one or both parties are exhausted and disappointed.

The good news: communication in design projects is a learnable skill. These principles will help you express what you want more clearly — so your designer can deliver it.

The Fundamental Problem: You're Using Words, They're Thinking in Images

When a client says "I want something modern," a designer hears that as a visual instruction and must translate it into a specific aesthetic choice. But "modern" is not a specific aesthetic — it's a subjective impression that could describe hundreds of different visual directions.

The translation problem runs in both directions:

• Clients use adjectives that mean different things to different people
• Designers use visual vocabulary (kerning, negative space, grid systems) that clients don't understand

The solution is to work in both languages: use words for strategy and intent, and images for visual direction.

What to Say Instead of Vague Adjectives

Here are the most common vague design descriptors — and what to say instead:

Instead of "modern": Say: "I want it to feel like current technology companies — clean, minimal, confident. Not traditional or heritage-style. Here are two logos that feel right: [references]."

Instead of "professional": Say: "I want it to signal expertise and credibility to CFOs and senior buyers. Not playful or casual. Not startup-y. Here's a competitor that has the right positioning: [example]."

Instead of "clean": Say: "I want minimal elements — avoid decorative flourishes, gradients, or complex patterns. Think Swiss design principles — geometric, precise, white space-heavy. Like this: [reference]."

Instead of "I'll know it when I see it": Say: "I'm not sure exactly what I want, but I know I want to feel [X] and attract [Y audience]. Here are three examples I respond to positively — even though they're from different industries: [references]. Can we start by exploring what they have in common?"

The pattern: replace adjective-only descriptions with concrete references and specific audience/objective context.

How to Give Feedback That Designers Can Use

There are two kinds of design feedback: feedback that produces a better next round, and feedback that doesn't.

Feedback that doesn't help:

• "I don't love it"
• "Something feels off"
• "Can you make it more exciting?"
• "I'm not sure, I just need to see something different"

Feedback that helps:

• "The typeface feels too decorative for our B2B audience — can we try something more geometric and precise?"
• "The colour palette feels cold and corporate, but we want to feel approachable. Can we warm it up with [reference]?"
• "The logo feels too similar to [competitor] — I'd like to feel more differentiated. Can we explore something that moves away from [specific element]?"
• "I like the direction of concept 2 but the icon feels too complex — can we simplify it to the core shape while keeping the colour palette?"

The pattern: describe the problem + the desired outcome + a reference or direction.

The Feedback Framing Formula

When reviewing design work, use this structure for each piece of feedback:

"[Observation of what I see] because [why it's a problem for my audience/goals], could we explore [direction or reference]?"

Examples:

• "The logo feels quite dark and heavy because we want to feel energetic and forward-looking — could we explore lighter weights and a brighter palette, something like [reference]?"
• "The layout feels corporate because we're trying to attract young founders, not enterprise procurement — could we try something less formal, with more breathing room and a warmer tone?"

This formula forces you to connect visual observations to strategic reasons — which gives the designer a specific problem to solve, not just a preference to accommodate.

How to Describe What You Want Before You've Seen It

The best briefs include:

Visual references: 3–5 examples of visual work you respond to positively — logos, websites, packaging, anything — with notes on what specifically appeals to you about each.

Anti-references: 1–2 examples of what you absolutely don't want, with notes on why. "Not this because it feels [X]" is as valuable as "like this because it feels [Y]."

Emotional tone words: Not "professional and modern" — but specific, differentiated words like: "precise, authoritative, technically confident, quietly premium" or "warm, playful, community-oriented, human."

Audience description: Who will encounter this brand, and what do they need to feel when they see it? "Series A investors who need to trust us with $2M" is a different audience brief than "small business owners who need to feel we're accessible to them."

When You're Not Sure What You Want

Sometimes clients genuinely don't know what they want until they see options. That's normal — and it's something a good designer can work with.

If that's your situation, be honest about it:

"I don't have a strong visual point of view yet. I'd like you to present two or three distinct directions based on the brief — and I'll use the comparison to understand what resonates and why. I'll be able to give more specific feedback once I've seen options."

This is a legitimate starting position. What's not legitimate is presenting it as uncertainty during feedback when you actually have clear preferences — you just haven't articulated them. If you can say "I don't like this," you can usually say "I don't like this because [X] — and what I'd prefer is something more like [Y]." The work of finding [Y] is on you, not your designer.

The Conversation to Have at the Start of Every Project

Before design work begins, have this conversation with your designer:

1. Walk them through your visual references — verbally explain what appeals to you about each
2. Describe your audience — who they are, what they need to feel from this brand
3. Share your anti-examples — what directions you want to avoid
4. Agree on the feedback process — how many rounds, how feedback will be structured, who has final say
5. Ask the designer to reflect back — "Based on the brief, what do you think you're going to explore in the first round?"

That last step is particularly valuable: if the designer's interpretation of your brief is significantly different from what you intended, you discover that before they spend a week designing in the wrong direction.