What are some effective ways to get feedback from your peers and mentors on your creative ideas?

It's important to start with the end in mind, and to be lofty with your goals. We achieve in pursuit of the result we desire, consciously and subconsciously, so being sure to not limit yourself to an easily attainable goal is a way to push yourself to do better in the long run.

Define clear goals for the creative and technical aspects of your project before diving into production. I learned this the hard way when the company I worked at rushed into production and post-production without fully refining the concept. It ended up taking much longer to get the client’s approval, costing us time and resources. I always take a step back and involve a colleague to proverbially "shoot holes" in my concepts and drafts. This helps identify blind spots early on, ensuring the final product aligns with the client's expectations. By setting clear goals and seeking targeted feedback, you can avoid these pitfalls and keep your project on track.

To get valuable feedback on my creative ideas, I start by clearly outlining my concept and goals before presenting it to peers and mentors. I ask open-ended questions like, "What stands out to you?" or "How could this be improved?" to encourage honest, constructive input. I also use brainstorming sessions or informal chats, as they can spark new perspectives. Sharing drafts or prototypes helps get specific, actionable feedback. Most importantly, I make it a two-way conversation, showing openness to suggestions and asking follow-up questions to dig deeper into their insights.

The people who know how best to ask for help are generally going to be the best at returning feedback to you in the way and language that is most helpful. We've all gotten design requests from people that simply do not speak the language, and though they may have incredibly blunt feedback, it shouldn't be discounted, just probably not the first place that you go to make progress (unless they are the stakeholder or person who holds the power to approve).

Practice like you play. For example, if you're going to pitch a new concept to a client, pitch it to your peers using the same materials. At Fungi, we use creative pitch decks that feature visuals and copy to more clearly communicate our ideas. So we would put those together and then pitch each other before pitching our clients. Making the practice scenario similar to the "play" scenario helps pressure test our materials.

In my experience, framing a concept sharing exercise as a "conversation" keeps things less formal and elicits more feedback. That casual approach has served me well with clients to get them talking more. At the end of the day, we're serving our clients and it should be about them. I also like to ask for constructive criticism like "what's not right?" "what do we need to improve?" "where should we put more thought?" ...etc. That gives others the ability to share feedback that isn't always positive. We want to find the holes and issues, and address those right away.

I think it's good to have a map when presenting work that shows where things start and how they've progressed, and to include the feedback that shaped those changes. This is helpful when you return for feedback or go to another person/group down the line, as they may have questions or feel like there is a clear point in the design's journey where it became something they did or did not like, and why. It's a form of versioning with justifications. Over time, you may notice patterns forming and be able to anticipate feedback as a result.