21 Resources for Getting Design Feedback
Published in Design ProcessGetting feedback and making use of it is essential to a successful design project. However, the communication process with clients and with team members can become quite cumbersome to manage with the amount of emails that are sent back and forth and the various revisions and versions of the project. Fortunately, there are some very helpful resources out there that can improve efficiency and organization with feedback.
In this post we’ll look at 21 useful resources. They are categorized by purpose.
Feedback from Clients:
Of course, every successful project needs to involve communication and feedback between the designer and the client. These four resources can help in this area.
ProofHQ
ProofHQ simplifies the design review, feedback and approval process for you and your clients. Clients can provide feedback conveniently through ProofHQ and you can benefit from better organization through the process. Prices range from $17 – $499 per month, with a free trial available.
GetSignOff
GetSignOff is a resource that will help you to organize client feedback and multiple versions of the design while getting client approval on the design. There is a limited free account that will allow you to try the service, and premium plans start at $29 per month.
Backboard
Backboard allows you to get feedback on your work as users can use their “red pen” to leave comments and notes on the designs. You can track records of feedback and approval on your projects. Plans range from $6 – $50 per month, with a free trial available.
Redmark
Redmark allows designers to upload designs for potential clients to see. The clients can then leave feedback and hire designers. Redmark is a free service.
Feedback from Other Designers and Team Members:
On many projects there are multiple team members involved, and internal feedback is equally important. And when there is no team involved it can still be helpful to get feedback from other designers and professionals. Here are four resources that can help for managing this type of communication.
Concept Feedback
Concept Feedback allows designers to upload their work and receive feedback and critiques from other designers. It is free to upload your designs and get feedback from the community of users.
Notable
Notable is designed to organize feedback from team members, and it helps by making the feedback visual. There is a limited free plan available, and premium plans range from $24 – $119 per month.
Feedback Army
Through Feedback Army you can submit questions about your website’s usability and get a specified number of responses from reviewers. The cost is $10 for 10 responses.
ididwork
ididwork is intended for managers and employees to communicate on projects. It doesn’t offer features for clients to leave feedback but it can be useful for feedback within a team. It is a free resource.
Feedback from Users:
Users/visitors/customers also have a role in the process. These five resources can allow you to get more out of the feedback your receive from users.
Five Second Test
Five Second Test is a useful resource for getting feedback on first impressions of your designs. You can set up tests for free (some features are premium) and you can be tracking feedback very quickly.
Usabilla
With Usabilla you can create your tests, set up questions for viewers, invite users, and get specific feedback on various aspects of the design.
UserVoice
UserCoice allows customers/users/visitors to share ideas, vote on other ideas that they like, and you are provided with this valuable feedback. A limited free account is available. Premium plans range from $19 – $589 per month.
Kampyle
Kampyle helps you to analyze and manage feedback from customers and website visitors. A limited free account is available and premium plans range from $99 – $999 per month.
SuggestionBox
With SuggestionBox you can solicit and analyze feedback from customers and website visitors. The price is $49.50 per month, with a free trial available.
Multi-Purpose:
These four resources cannot be classified in just one of the other categories.
Concept Share
Concept Share allows you to get feedback from both clients and team members. You upload your work and allow others to comment on it in a secure location. Prices range from $24 – $99 per month, with a free trial available.
Basecamp
Basecamp does much more than just manage feedback. It is a project management tool that includes features for efficient collaborating through communication and feedback. Prices range from $24 – $149 per month.
PBWorks Project Edition
PBWorks Project Edition is a project management tool that includes features for allowing clients to provide feedback on projects. It also includes features for collaborating with team members. The cost is $20 per user per month.
WebProof
WebProod allows feedback through sticky notes, text highlighting, and more. Prices start at 199€ per month.
Design Critiques:
There may be times where you would like to read a detailed review or critique of your work from another professional.
Design Critique
Design Critique is a blog that publishes critiques of all types of design. You can submit your work and request to be considered for a critique.
Please Critique Me
Please Critique Me is a blog from OnWired where you can submit your design to be reviewed and critiqued.
Forums:
Another way to get feedback on your work is to visit a forum for designers. These three forums all include an area specifically for reviews, critiques and feedback.
Reviews and Critiques – SitePoint Forums
Showcase – DesignersTalk Forums
Look at My Design! – Smashing Magazine Forums
30 Responses
great
thank you
You just saved me loads of time! Thanks for all your hard work too.
Backboard, Design Critiques are my preferite. A nioce and interesting list.
@ designfollow: a good site!!
You almost covered everything. Thanks
Excellent round up, thanks for the share.
Great list! Thank you very much. Is there one that allows you to upload music files for client feedback/approval? From what I can tell, Concept Share only allows visuals – no audio.
Hi Tina,
I’m not sure about audio files. Most of these sites are based on design feedback and I have never had any reason to pay attention to those that allow for feedback on audio files.
Thanks for the quick reply!
Great list of resources…
My favorite is Concept Feedback.
I think some of the others are too pricey for what they offer.
Useful list, thank you
Hey guys,
nice review. I think you miss our European outsider: UpShot (http://upshotapp.com)!
We actually make design feedback dead simple so that every customer can understand how it works within 20 second (and thus… use it).
It’s exactly what you need if you want to either be quick (because you have 100 reviews to do every day) and/or need to talk efficiency with non techie people.
Of course I have to admit that if you want an advanced exchange with another creative ConceptShare is our fav (but in my opinion you should have both a ConceptShare and an UpShot account to serve all your needs
).
Tina > Please contact us, we have a bunch of ideas on that sort of tool that we would love to share with you.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Baptiste
I’ve used Usabilla which works nicely, only really effective when you have a few folks approving your designs. Thanks for mentioning the Forums too, I never knew about those and they would be very useful. Great post as usual.
Great post. Don’t however get feedback on Designer Talk, it just seems to be negative uninspiring feedback. Where as the other two forums will give you much more constructive feedback.
Here’s a good one you missed (or may not have known about)…
* http://rev.iew.me
Great list!
Dribbble.com [if you've been lucky enough to get an invite] is a great community for bouncing ideas around with other talented designers.
Cool post, the forums are great for critiques… if anyone has any more, please post.
I used Backboard (the proofing plan) and I’ve been more than happy with it so far. The only small annoyance I have with it is over-the-top JavaScript usage. Even getting to the login form needs some pointless effects. It’s a nightmare if your internet speed isn’t the best.
great post! thanks for sharing good article!
You can also participate in design forums where there are contests and get feedback based on design entries.
Such a great list, much thanks!
Great list, thanks! I like User Voice for the forums and voting. Fast Feedback is new tool I found where you can build your own feedback forms. It’s pretty flexible and easy to setup. It’s also free
http://www.fast-feedback.com
Very cool – I was not aware of these resources. Will try a few out and post my results. Also will try fast feedback. Great resources.
http://freedesigncritique.com/groups is a great resource for design feedback!
Interesting article! Another useful tool is Approval Manager. http://www.metacommunications.com/products/approval_manager. It is capable of soft proofing along with project and workflow management.
I like http://filecamp.com/, it is cheap and has everything I need.
i second ckumar, we have used http://www.feedbackguru.com for a lot of our website designs and always received great feedback. we like getting feedback from expert rather than from random users. we also like the visual feedback- self explanatory. highly recommend it.