Free · 7 min read
How to get feedback on your design: ask, take it, apply it
How to ask for design feedback that actually helps, not just likes: context and questions, where to get it, how to listen without defending and what to fix.
- How to word a request so people answer to the point
- How to take criticizm without getting defensive
- What to do with comments that contradict each other
- Free
- 1,504 members
- Join in 1 click
How to get feedback: 5 steps
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the work and the request
- 2
Step 2
Choose who to ask
- 3
Step 3
Listen, don't defend
- 4
Step 4
Sort the comments and choose what to change
- 5
Step 5
Make changes and close the loop
- 1,504
- community members
- 8,915
- messages with questions since July 2024
- 9
- design games since September 2024
- 759
- people wrote in the chat
This guide is for you if you are
Learning on your own
There's no mentor or team, and you can't tell whether you're heading in the right direction.
Getting “fine” and “cool”
You show your work to friends, but the answers don't help you improve anything.
Finding criticizm painful
Comments on your mockups sting, and you want to explain why you did everything right.
In short
- Useful feedback assesses whether a design meets its goal, not whether someone likes it. So the goal has to be stated.
- A request with context and 2–3 specific questions gets answers to the point; “what do you think?” gets likes.
- Fellow designers, people outside design and a prototype test with users answer different questions.
- Listen, write things down and ask follow-ups. Don't defend or fix things on the spot.
- Sort comments into “do”, “persuade” and “clarify”, then tell people what changed.
How to get feedback: 5 steps
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the work and the request
Nielsen Norman Group defines design critique as analyzing whether a design meets its objectives, not simply judging it. So without objectives there's no useful feedback. Before showing your work, write a short brief:
- what it is and who it's for: “the checkout screen of a delivery app for first-time customers”;
- the goal: what the person should do or understand on this screen;
- the stage: sketch, draft or nearly final; it decides which comments are relevant;
- 2–3 specific questions: “is the delivery cost clear?”, “what catches your eye first?”;
- what's out of scope: for example, “the colors aren't final, no need to comment on them yet”.
💡 Add one or two options you're torn between. Comparing “A or B, and why” gets more specific answers than rating a single screen.
- 2
Step 2
Choose who to ask
Different people see different things, and each kind of feedback answers its own question:
- designers: composition, typography, patterns, interface logic; ideally someone a level more experienced than you;
- people outside design: whether it's clear what this is and what to do; don't ask them about fonts, ask what they see;
- users in a prototype test: whether a person can actually complete the task. It's an observation, not an opinion: give a task and watch quietly;
- a community: several independent views at once, and the habit of showing work regularly.
💡 A prototype test doesn't need dozens of people. Jakob Nielsen recommends testing with no more than five users at a time and running as many small tests as you can.
Show your work to people who'll review it properly
In the community you can post a mockup with context and questions and get feedback from designers at every level. It's free.
Get feedback on my designFree. 1,504 designers are already in the community.
- 3
Step 3
Listen, don't defend
The hardest part of feedback is staying quiet. Among common critique pitfalls, Nielsen Norman Group lists taking feedback personally and rushing to solve problems during the discussion. What helps:
- write everything down verbatim, even what you disagree with: you'll sort it out later;
- ask “why?” and “what exactly stopped you?”, not “what if it were like this?”;
- separate observations (“I couldn't find the pay button”) from advice (“make the button red”): observations are worth more;
- thank people for criticizm, even blunt criticizm: they spent time on your work.
💡 If a comment sounds like taste (“I don't like the blue”), bring the conversation back to the goal: “does it get in the way of understanding what to do next?”
- 4
Step 4
Sort the comments and choose what to change
After the discussion you'll have a list where some things contradict others. Nielsen Norman Group suggests sorting comments into three groups:
- to do: you agree and can make the change right away;
- to persuade: you disagree or it contradicts the goal; you need arguments and a conversation;
- to clarify: it's unclear what was meant, so ask again.
💡 If several people snagged on the same spot, even with different advice, there's most likely a problem there. The advice may be wrong, but the signal is real.
Need an honest look at your work? Show it to the community → - 5
Step 5
Make changes and close the loop
Feedback only works when people see what came of it. Nielsen Norman Group recommends a short follow-up after the discussion: name the feedback, state the decision, give the reason and say what happens next. Then:
- show the new version next to the old one and note what changed after feedback;
- ask the same people whether the problem they spotted is solved;
- keep a history of changes: “before” and “after” with explanations is ready-made material for a portfolio case study;
- give feedback to others the way you'd like to receive it: about the goal, specific, with what works and what doesn't.
💡 Giving feedback is a skill too, and it trains your eye. Review someone else's work with the same questions as your own: the goal, what works, what gets in the way.
You're not alone with these questions
We counted what people ask about most in our community. Learning and portfolios come first, and both need feedback on your work.
Messages by topic in Spaceberry Community, July 2024 — November 2026. Keyword search.
Practice with a deadline and live feedback
The best teacher is a task with a deadline that other people see. That's why the community regularly runs design games: the same brief for everyone, a deadline and a vote.
Design game · January 2026
NAOMA website redesign
The academy's home page through the eyes of an applicant, a student and a teacher. Three finalists; the community chose the winner.
AI challenge · May 2025
A landing page made by AI
Logo, copy and visuals made only with AI tools. Four entries, an anonymous vote, and participants shared their prompts.
Workshop · April 2026
Figmosha: AI in Figma
The tool's author showed how to generate interfaces in Figma and analyze a design system.
Free. 1,504 designers are already in the community.
How to join: 1 minute
- 1
Tap the button
Telegram opens with the Spaceberry community.
- 2
Join
It's free: all you need is a Telegram account.
- 3
Introduce yourself
Say where you're starting from and ask your first question.
Questions and answers
Didn't find your answer? Ask it in the community.
Where can I get design feedback for free?
In design communities, from classmates and colleagues, from friends outside design (to check clarity) and from small prototype tests with a few people. Combining them works best: designers will talk about craft, people outside design about clarity. Wherever you ask, add context to your work: what it is, who it's for, what stage it's at, plus 2–3 specific questions. That gets you real answers instead of likes.
What if the feedback is contradictory?
Go back to the design's goal and see which comment is closer to it. If several people snagged on the same spot, even with different advice, there's most likely a problem there. Clarify unclear comments, and discuss the ones you disagree with by explaining your reasoning.
How do I not take criticizm personally?
Remember that people are critiquing the work, not you, and that every comment is a free check before users see the design. Write everything down, don't reply straight away, and come back to the comments the next day. Separate observations from advice and thank people even for blunt words: they spent time on your work. Over time criticizm stings less because you see how it improves the result.
When should I show my work: as a sketch or finished?
The earlier, the cheaper the changes. Show a sketch or draft to test the idea and logic, and a nearly final mockup to polish details. What matters is saying clearly what stage the work is at and what you're asking about. Otherwise a sketch gets comments on button shades, and a final mockup gets suggestions to start over.
Is the Spaceberry community paid?
No. Spaceberry Community is free: it's supported by Spaceberry Foundation, a non-profit public organization. All you need to join is a Telegram account. The community has 1,504 designers who post mockups with context and questions, review each other's work and take part in design games with the same brief, a deadline and a vote. You can come with a first draft: that's when feedback helps most. Most conversations are in Ukrainian.
Feedback is the fastest way to grow in design
Join 1,504 designers who show their work and honestly review others'. In design games, feedback comes with a vote too. The community talks in Ukrainian.
- Free
- 1,504 members
- Join in 1 click
Updated · Spaceberry Foundation
Sources:
- Nielsen Norman Group — Design Critiques: Encourage a Positive Culture to Improve Products
- Nielsen Norman Group — Derailed Design Critiques: Tactics for Getting Back on Track
- Nielsen Norman Group — Closing the Loop: What to Do After a Design Critique Ends
- Nielsen Norman Group — Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users