Hi, there.

I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not to write about this topic. Not because it isn’t interesting — (I think it is) — but because I wanted to make sure it would actually be useful to you.

My initial hesitation was that maybe this would come across too much from an agency perspective. As in: Here’s how to give feedback when you’re working with an outside partner on a rebrand or a new brand development project. And if that’s the only context you’re in, great — but that’s a pretty narrow lane.

The thing that unlocked this for me is realizing that if you work in a brewery, in any capacity, you are critiquing creative work all the time. It’s part of your job.

Think about it — new brand development, new label design, new taproom programming, new beer recipe formulation. Everything you do inside these four walls and a roof is a creative act. And every one of those acts requires feedback, iteration and decision-making to get to the best possible outcome.

So what I want to do here is pull back the curtain on how we critique work at CODO — specifically as a branding firm that’s been doing this every single day for more than 16 years. I’ll share the hard lessons we’ve learned, how we keep the process fun and productive, and most importantly, how we champion great design work all the way through to the finish line.

My hope is that this framework applies to you whether or not you touch marketing or design directly. Because once you strip away the jargon, these are just principles for thinking critically and constructively about any creative effort you take on.

Cool? Let’s get to it.

(Above): A quick note on what I mean by “critique” — this isn’t about “I like it” or “I don’t like it.” A critique is about measuring creative work against its goals, spotting what’s working, what’s not, and why. It’s collaborative, constructive and focused on making the work better — not proving someone wrong.

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1 

Start by framing your goals 

You can’t solve a problem without knowing exactly what you’re trying to accomplish.

Before you see a single concept, define what “success” looks like. And be explicit.

Examples:

– We want to grow draft sales in on-premise accounts. 
– We want some connection with our parent brand but plan to scale this into a standalone family at some point
– We want to refresh our core lineup without alienating long time fans. 

If you don’t have these goals in writing, feedback will drift toward personal taste — and that’s where work gets watered down.

2

Revisit those goals every time you critique something 

Every presentation should start with a quick recap: Here’s what we set out to do.

This doesn’t have to be formal and you don’t need to beleaguer it. But it’s an important set up. 

It reminds everyone that we’re here to judge how well this *thing* solves the problem, not whether it matches our personal preferences.

> Revisit our writing on qualitative vs. quantitive goals during the branding process for more context here.

> Revisit how CODO defines Brand Strategy for more context on how to understand what positioning you’re setting out to own in the first place.

(Above): Without properly framed Brand Strategy, you don't really have anything against which t judge creative work. 

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3

Separate your personal taste from the brand’s needs 

Ask: “Does this help achieve our stated goals?” not “Do I like this?”

You are not always your own audience.

You might hate a certain color, but if your target customer responds to it — and it supports your objectives — it’s worth leaning into.

(If it were up to me, everything would be super textured, screen printed and predominately OD green. And we’d probably use slab serifs. But that’s my personal taste. And I’m a dork. So I keep these preferences sidelined when critiquing creative work.)

 

4

Be specific, but don’t solve the problem for them

Bad feedback: “It needs more pop.”

Good feedback: “The colors feel too muted for the younger audience we’re wanting to reach — we might want to explore more saturation and energy to hit the right vibe.”

The difference is specificity. Point out what’s not working and why — but don’t prescribe the fix. That’s your creative partner’s job.

If you try to solve it yourself (“make the logo bigger,” “change the headline to this”), you might miss out on better solutions they could find.

Tell them what’s wrong, but not how to fix it. 

This almost always comes from a good place (you’re all on the same team), but their job is to do whatever it is they’re showing you right now — and they may have better solutions than what you’re envisioning. 

Your job in this process is to map your feedback clearly back to the initial goals so it’s all professional and focused.

(Above): I send this to Cody at least twice a month. Faster than typing out anything constructive. 

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5

Keep your customer in the room

When reviewing creative, imagine your customer is sitting across from you.

Would they get it? Would it appeal to them? Would it make them pick up the can, order another round or choose you over the competition?

If the answer is yes, it might be worth moving past your own reservations.

(Above): Here's a deep dive chapter from Craft Beer, Rebranded along with a companion video that dives into audience definition and customer personas.

And for a fun hot take, check out an old podcast episode on what we think about Brand Archetypes. 

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6 

Consolidate before you send

If multiple people are reviewing work, gather and filter all feedback before sending it along.

Contradictory or piecemeal notes lead to bastardized design — a mishmash of frankensteined work that might lose its punch.

We try not to slow things down with formal sign-off processes, but I understand why some agencies insist on them. 

Few things are more frustrating in this process than moving forward on clear direction, only to get a new round of feedback that contradicts or complicates what you’ve already started.

However you choose to handle it, make sure all of your feedback is consolidated, organized and sent over as one official set, and mark it as such (e.g. “This is our final feedback.”). It keeps the work moving and prevents needless rework.

7 

Mind the human side of feedback

There’s a softer, human element to this work that doesn’t always get talked about. Emotional intelligence matters here.

If you know someone isn’t open to feedback — or maybe they’re uncomfortable receiving praise — consider having any conversations like this privately. Same goes for sharing potentially sensitive thoughts: Some people need space to process without an audience.

In either case, we’ve found that actual meetings — in person or over video with a shared screen — are the best place to share initial work. This lets you read body language and tone and clarify intent in real time. After that, you can usually transition to Slack messages or email for follow-up rounds leading up to the next presentation.

This also ties into internal culture. Ask yourself: Can you share an uncooked, super rough concept with this group and get useful feedback? Or will someone who hasn’t read this BBT issue look at it and say, “Ehhh, this doesn’t look finished at all” and miss the point entirely?

Knowing the answer to that question, and tailoring your approach accordingly, can save everyone time, frustration and unnecessary backtracking.

8

Remember that creative work is iterative

I probably could’ve tucked this earlier in this issue, but we can end on it instead. 

Your team may not hit it out of the park on round one. But they should at least get a base hit. If it’s a complete strikeout (look at that, a coherent metaphor!), then there’s likely an upstream strategy issue or a poorly defined brief. In rare cases, the person may simply not be great at what they do — but I think this isn’t usually the culprit.

The point: early rounds are for exploring, refining and shaping ideas. Expect some back-and-forth. That’s the process working, not failing.

(Above): A few more important gifs that I keep on hand to push our team and create the best goddamn work possible.

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Wrapping up

Better feedback leads to better work.

Define your goals early. Revisit them at every review. Be specific without prescribing solutions. Separate personal taste from brand needs. Keep your customer in mind.

Your role in a creative review isn’t to design the work yourself — it’s to make sure the work aligns with strategy and will deliver results in the real world.