Giving Feedback That Actually Works

How the GPS method turns “make it pop” into real guidance

Every designer has heard it: “Make it pop.” “It doesn’t look right.” “I’ll know it when I see it.” 

Early in my career, I worked for a CEO who always asked me to “make it pop.” No nuance, no specifics, just: “make it pop.” For the first year or so, I would frantically guess what he meant, and after several frustrating rounds, with increasingly vague (and occasionaly harsh) feedback from him, I would end up giving him the bright yellow starbursts and sale prices in big red numbers, while silently crossing that piece of my list of future portfolio pieces.

The turning point

It can be hard to work in a role where everyone has an opinion on what you’re doing as a professional. Everything we create is up for inspection and critique by anyone who wants to share their thoughts. And if you don’t take the reins and guide the process into something actionable, burnout and frustration aren’t far behind.

Over the seven years I worked with that CEO, I learned to take control of the feedback process. I learned to present my work in a way that preempted the concerns I had come to expect from him, (like “This may look small on my screen, but it will be five times bigger in the shop window.”) I also made sure I fully understood what each piece was aiming to do, so I could design with purpose.

I stopped guessing and started explaining. I stopped reacting and started solving. I’d ask: What’s the goal? What behavior are we trying to drive? And then I’d walk him through my design choices — why the hierarchy, color, and composition were intentional, and how they supported the objective.

By the end of my time at his company, he trusted that I was always thinking about the design and how it would meet our goals. Starbursts? Never needed. Goals met? Always.

Feedback, but better

Designers dread vague feedback because it wastes time, energy, and creativity. With a skill that many people see as akin to art, it's important to be able to express what a designer is trying to do. By being intentional in how you provide feedback, you can align the work with clear objectives, transform subjective reactions into teachable moments, help teams understand why design choices matter. And, most importantly to me, make feedback a tool for growth, not just correction.

I knew what kind of feedback I didn't like to get — not only because it never made me feel proud of the work I was doing -- but because it never meant anything, and never actually told me what to fix. This experience became the cause for me ensuring when I got to that place in my career, where I was going to be the one providing feedback, it would be useful and helpful to the person I am giving feedback to, without dampening their creativity, and ensuring when they moved on, they would be a better designer for it. So how do I do it? When I am giving feedback, I structure it as Goal → Problem → Solution — or GPS:

• Goal: Clarify the intended outcome. Who is the audience, and what should they do or feel?

• Problem: Identify the gap between the current work and the goal. Be specific and actionable — avoid vague statements like “it doesn’t pop.”

• Solution: Offer guidance or alternatives, leaving space for creativity.

From learning to teaching

Learning to defend and explain my work didn’t just help me navigate tricky feedback. It made me a better leader. I provide feedback with the intention of helping designers understand the why behind each choice, not just what to fix. I don't tell them what to do — I teach them to think critically, make intentional decisions, and anticipate what “right” looks like.

It’s a subtle shift, but a powerful one: the same framework that saved me from guessing my CEO's intentions became my blueprint for mentoring and elevating teams.

Feedback doesn’t have to be a guessing game. GPS gives it structure, clarity, and impact. It’s the difference between frustration and learning, confusion and insight, “meh” and meaningful.

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About the author Emily Kelley is a creative director and marketing systems strategist who builds the connective tissue between design, data, and organizational change. She writes about creative leadership, creative systems, and the real work of scaling creativity without losing its soul.