Actually, it’s my feelings that hurt, but I can’t remember any good Napolean Dynamite quotes about that.

We’re in the middle of designing the logo for TRUE, and wanted to get some outside perspective on our progress from people we trust. We sent the first round of studies to a realtor, a tech account manager, a programmer, a restaurateur, a business consultant, an audio engineer and a PhD.

Our first round of feedback came from the tech account manager. I mentioned this guy in a previous post about involving people perceived as “uncreatives” (programmers, managers, etc.) in design reviews. He is intelligent, insightful and freakishly connected to what’s happening in the technology business sector. His feedback was frank and honest. He said things that hurt my little designer ego, but added some nice comments that softened the blow.

It was my idea to include these outside perspectives and to invite criticism. I knew it was coming. But it still hurts a little to hear it. Sometimes the criticism feels like someone just told me that my baby is ugly (which would never happen, because I have the cutest baby in the world and I will punch anyone who says otherwise). I used to feel bad about feeling bad in these moments, but I’m realizing that growth in this area does not mean that I have to feel great about someone saying that my work is lacking in some way (that’s called masochism). Growth is evidenced in inviting the criticism and responding appropriately.

In this case, the great feedback we received sparked a conversation in the office that lead to a shift in our perspective about the logo and the overall approach to branding the company. We’re more excited than ever about the direction we’re heading because we were able to hear and respond to thoughtful criticism.