How to Navigate Design by Committee

The phrase "design by committee" evokes a range of emotions from designers, mostly the kind you save for an arch-nemesis (think Lex Luthor) or expend on your Windows-based PC. A quick search will uncover a variety of articles and jokes bemoaning the process, and with good reason; it has long been the Achilles’ heel of many a designer’s creative freedom.

However, as enjoyable as it can be to slam the design feedback process, there are steps you can take to make the most out of it — because let’s face it — you usually don’t have a choice to design on your own (and if you do, consider yourself lucky).

In fact, there may even be situations when design by committee (when managed effectively) produces better results than a single design dictator could produce on their own. Like the old proverb says, "two heads are better than one," which can result in additional experience (knowledge of what has worked and what hasn’t in the past), combined creativity, unique viewpoints and efficient error checking.

You can read my article, along with 6 design by committee strategies, in full at Six Revisions.

Web Roast: Website Reviews for the Big Guys

The new Concept Feedback Web Roast series gives you a shot at reviewing some of the web's most popular sites. This week, the featured website is Mashable.com, the top source for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture. So go ahead, show us your skills and submit your own review! As an added bonus, every Web Roast has 100 credits up for grabs (10 credits per award)!

If you have a website suggestion for a future web roast, let us know in the comments. We plan to post a new Web Roast each week, so stay tuned via Twitter or RSS to get in early.

Now Offering Credits for All Reviews

2 months ago we spent some time brainstorming and discussing (thanks again to all who participated!) how to improve website review quantity and quality on Concept Feedback. A lot of people provided great ideas and alternatives, all of which went in to consideration during implementation. Earlier this week, we released credit system 3.0 (or something like that), which now offers credit rewards on all concept types (free, basic, mainstream and pro).

Credits can be earned in two ways: by reviewing any website (1 credit automatically) or by being awarded bonus credits (anywhere from 1-5 credits per review) by the concept owner for a great review. If bonus credits are not awarded by the concept owner within 1 week, Concept Feedback automatically distributes them based on vote count.

• Free: 5 credits, 1 credit per award
• Basic: 10 credits, 2 credits per award
• Mainstream: 25 credits, 5 credits per award
• Professional: 50 credits, 5 credits per award

Remember, credits can be used to any type of concept, including Premium Concepts (eventually, you may also be able to use them for Private and Expert website feedback). So go find some lonely concepts and earn some extra credits! If you have comments or additional ideas for the system, let us know, we're always listening!

New Feature: Expert Feedback

Our trifecta of feedback is finally complete with the latest addition of Expert Feedback. Expert Feedback gives you access to website reviews from a hand-selected panel of experts in the fields of design, usability and marketing. The process is simple: choose which areas you need feedback in, select how many experts you'd like in each category, and receive a detailed, professional critique.

• Certified Experts - Hand-picked experts with proven experience and solid credentials
• Educated Advice - Feedback based on time tested principles and real-world experience
• Actionable Feedback - A concise written report with visual annotations
• Satisfaction Guarantee - Great ideas to improve your website or your money back

Click here for pricing and other details, including expert bios.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to let us know directly or using the comments below.

Preview: Expert Feedback

On the heels of our Private Feedback release (and a new homepage/header design), we've been working hard to finalize the details of our next feature, Expert Feedback. Expert Feedback will offer detailed, focused reviews from a hand-selected panel of experts in three categories: design, usability and marketing. Supplementing our Public and Private offerings, Expert Feedback will offer our users a dedicated resource for top quality website reviews.

We hope to launch Expert Feedback early next week, at which point the panel members and prices will be revealed. Stay tuned!

Design Reviews & Feedback at Concept Feedback

Yesterday, Jarel Remick at AppStorm published a glowing review about Concept Feedback in which we scored 9/10! Even we were surprised at the high marks. While we're confident in our service, it's always nice to hear that other people love the site. As I've come to realize over the past year, developing a web app is a lot of work and success is hardly overnight. However, it's reviews like these, and comments and emails from our members that keep us going each day. So thank you Jarel, and thank you to each of you contributing to this community and to the growth and success of Concept Feedback!

You can read the full review on AppStorm.

New Feature: Private Feedback

Today we are happy to announce the release of Private Feedback, a new service for sharing design feedback with your team or clients in a secure environment. Private Feedback is a simple and affordable subscription service for freelancers, design and development shops and teams of all sizes.

Collaborate - Invite your team or clients to share secure feedback

Annotate - Add and view visual notes directly on your concept

Organize - Simple to use and more effective than a string of emails

History - Store your concepts, reviews and comments online

Plans start at just $10/month, or you can try out our free plan!