How To Properly Deal With Hate | Criticism & Feedback

We spend a lot of time and energy creating our designs. Making things that almost feel like extensions of our self. Then somebody slams a design into the ground in a burst of negativity. This might be from a fellow designer a random person on the internet or even our clients. But how should we deal with these situations so that we can grow stronger and better as graphic designers?

I feel one of the most important things to do is first to consider, who or where the criticism is coming from. What is your relationship with this person? If it’s somebody you know and you’re close to then the criticism may very well be valid. Then again people can sometimes do things in reaction to strong emotions such as jealousy or envy. This will be rare and more often than not if somebody you are close to is dishing out some criticism, then It’s likely valid.

But if a random person on the internet has given you some criticism. It is still important to remain open about what they’re saying. As designers, we shouldn’t build walls and deflect every single bit of criticism that comes our way. If a designer acts this way. That designer will not grow in terms of their skills and the body of the work they produce. If it is in fact a random person giving us some criticism. Listen to what they’re saying and try to be objective about it.

Furthermore, ask somebody whose opinion you value about that criticism. See if you can get another point of view on the situation. But if you do end up getting multiple criticisms from random people on a similar kind of point. Then it’s a very strong indicator there’s something wrong with part of your work.

Sometimes criticism will be vague and in fact, this is often the case. An example could be where you post a logo design online. You get a comment along the lines of that logo design does look so bad. Initially, this can hurt or can cause some kind of concern within the designer.

With vague criticism, it’s important to probe deeper for more information. This is a good way to determine if that person has any validity with their comments. If they cannot provide a good reason for the logo being quote-unquote bad. Then it’s a good sign that person is merely being negative for the sake of being negative. If they do have some solid reasoning behind the comments. You then have information to use for improving your designs. Having constructive criticism is so powerful. Because you then see errors or points of improvement on your designs, that you didn’t see before. That’s why it’s important to be open to criticism and comments on your work. So one crucially important thing to realize is that often criticism of a design is entirely subjective.

Maybe somebody thinks that I’ve created a bad typography layout. When in fact what I’ve designed actually looks just fine. Their suggestion might also look fine as well. But their criticism has come from an entirely subjective standpoint. Basically, sometimes it’s just a matter of taste and opinion. That’s not to say that I don’t design bad things from time to time. You want to try and decipher if the criticism is based on the technical fault of yours. A lack of skill and knowledge or if it’s purely subjective.

One thing that is hugely prevalent online is where somebody will argue with you while dishing out some criticism. If somebody is just straight up arguing. Then it’s usually due to imposter syndrome or some kind of underlying insecurity that they have. Either way you still want to be open and listen to what people are saying. If someone is being really harsh and confrontational. It’s best to just step away and let them do their thing. There’s nothing constructive to your work about an all-out brawl.

So here’s a good tip about taking criticism from people online. If you have somebody who has come out strongly with criticism of your work. Take a deeper look into that person if you can. Check out their social media accounts and also their portfolio of work. See if they have skills or experience to back up their criticism. Is their social media full of negative comments and hate?

Knowing who this person is can give rise to the reason behind their criticism. You wouldn’t want to take harsh criticism so seriously. If it comes from someone who cannot even design to save their life. But still be open about what they say and just be objective. Here’s something that can help you shake off false criticism. Remind yourself of the goal or the function of your design what is its purpose?

So keeping on a theme of logo designs. Maybe the mission in the brief was to design a logo that was outdated for an existing brand who needed a new identity. Does your design actively achieve that brand mission, if the answer is yes? Then you can take strong criticism of that design as being more subjective or even false.

There is something that many designers do regarding criticism and it’s really really wrong. It’s about how they react what is your first reaction when you read or hear some negative comments on your work. Do you get hurt maybe you even lash out and get angry. The right thing to do is to take a few breaths and compose yourself. And then evaluate the criticism with everything mentioned in the post today.

So is it valid who has criticized you. Is it just one person or multiple people? Can the negative feedback be down to subjectivity or is it maybe something technically wrong with your work. And then maybe get an opinion from someone who you respect and who knows you and your work.

Being a graphic designer and furthermore being someone who’s on social media and with a big audience like myself. It is good to have a thick skin and to grow a thick skin. This doesn’t happen automatically it does take time and experience to be able to shake off bad or negative comments. But like I said before, the main thing is to keep an open mind and listen to what people are actually saying.