Why you should stop asking friends for feedback on your logo or website
Yep, I’m going there.
This blog post may be a little controversial but after seeing this problem pop-up time and time again, I feel like someone needs to just come out and say it… PLEASE stop asking your family, friends, and Facebook groups for feedback on your logo, website, or brand design.
I see this happen all the time.
We spend hours (and hours) in the brand discovery phase with an incredibly passionate entrepreneur. We nail down exactly what they want their brand to say and who they want it to speak to.
Then we move on to the brand design phase where we begin to go through logo concepts and revisions, bouncing design ideas back and forth that will help tell the brand story. Vibrations are HIGH and the client is stoked.
Suddenly, on a whim, the client (in all of their excitement) asks their mom, partner, BFF, and their neighbor Larry what they all think of the brand concept so far…
Enter: feedback paralysis.
Mom thinks it’s great, but how about a bolder font? Their partner thinks the colors are a little too “colorful”. BFF loves it, except the logo shape is a bit too abstract. And Larry - well - Larry says you should scrap everything and start over from scratch.
Just like that, the client is derailed from a train that was flying full speed toward their dream brand and business. And they’re left feeling lost, discouraged, and distracted from their original vision.
When building a brand, it’s inevitable to crave feedback. But the way you ask for that feedback can often do more harm than good.
Here’s why you need to be very careful when asking for friendly feedback when building your brand (and, speaking frankly, why I think you should avoid it altogether).
Feedback mindset isn’t the same as buyer mindset
When someone close to us asks for feedback, our default is to offer support by helping them find flaws and fix kinks. We want to cheer them on while proving that we care about them enough to offer “constructive criticism”.
In other words, we’re trying to be a good friend! We have the best intentions and believe that our opinions can be genuinely helpful. (Disclaimer; in many other situations, feedback from a friend can be truly priceless).
But here’s the rub when it comes to asking your friends for feedback on your branding or biz, they have their “supportive” feedback hat on NOT their consumer hat. This means they probably aren’t thinking about your brand strategy, message, and/or your business goals.
Case in point: before you ask your bestie for a full-on design audit, remember that they might not fully understand your brand, product, or customers.
Larry isn’t your ideal client
Although you may love your neighbor Larry, he probably won’t be the first in line to purchase your online course for women in the beauty industry.
To craft a powerful brand the goal is to build something that will resonate with your target demographic. A brand design that will speak to them directly, validate their pain points, and offer a real solution.
But poor feedback from someone who is far from your ideal audience (and doesn’t have a background in design) can push your brand into no man’s land. Your brand can become luke-warm and wish-washy because it’s not intentionally designed for your dream client anymore.
Damn it, Larry!
Here’s the gist: it doesn’t matter if Larry hates rose gold. The question is, does rose gold resonate with your ideal client?
If everyone likes it, nobody will love it
The more feedback you ask for, the more you’ll get. And if every response isn’t head over heels for your branding, it must be missing the mark. Right?
Wrong. The truth is, by asking a crowd for feedback, you’re looking to make everyone happy. You’re looking for vanilla.
The most successful brands in the world - the ones that make a real impact - are anything but vanilla. They’re double fudge chocolate chip in a pretzel-dipped waffle cone.
Your brand design should be bold and most importantly memorable, inspiring customers to feel something or take action. By striving to build a brand that magically appeals to everyone (not possible), you water it down and lose all of that double fudge pretzel-ly goodness.
They’re missing the context
Brand discovery is an imperative part of the branding process. It’s where we boil down the core foundation of your brand so we can use design as a tool to help tell your story.
This is no small task. It can take us up to 4 weeks to do a full brand discovery deep dive. During which, we explore every facet of your dream brand - who it is, how it sounds, and what it wants to say. Then, we turn it into a strong brand strategy.
So what happens when your third cousin is asked for their opinion on your logo design, with zero context? Yep - they are more than likely going to make suggestions that don’t align with the core of your brand whatsoever.
You don’t want a Frankensteined brand
Frank·en·steined (adjective): a design that tries to meld together all the random bits of feedback, resulting in a very awkward brand design.
Yes, designers actually use this term. And yes, it’s easy to Frankenstein your own brand by listening to every opinion you receive. Just because you value your dad’s feedback, doesn’t mean it needs to be applied to your brand. In fact, it could be the reason why your brand suffers in the long run (sorry, dad).
You’re not trusting yourself
For me, this is the most important. Extraordinary brands are built by people who truly believe in them. When you’re confident in your vision, every aspect of your brand will reflect that.
But when you invest too much time asking family and friends for feedback, you’ve stopped listening to your gut.
READ: Trust in yourself, your expertise, and your one-of-a-kind vision. If you do, your clients will too.
You’re not trusting your design team
Okay, maybe this is the most important. Remember the investment you made when you hired a design team to help you craft the perfect brand?
Here at Outlaw, we devote a lot of time to brand development to make sure every aspect of a branding project is built with careful thought and intention. And as a brand strategist and designer, my role is to support our clients through each step of the brand-building process — this includes helping them sift through their thoughts and feedback.
You hired design pros for a reason.
Trust your designer and their ability to bring the true vision of your brand to life. Trust them to help guide you through the critique process and ask them for their thoughts and recommendations.
Here’s my TOP tip:
Build a strong brand strategy that doesn’t need outsider feedback.
That’s what we do inside the Legendary Brand Academy: an 8-week program that teaches you exactly how to build a clear and complete brand strategy that sets you apart, generates income, and makes a true impact.
In this potent live course, we’ll go step-by-step through the branding-building process - from discovery to strategy, and best of all, you can get brand feedback from the pros (ahem, right here).
