Sound Guidance: The Art of Creative Feedback

InThe fast-paced world of game development, the difference between good sound design and excellent sound design often depends on the quality of feedback exchange between team members.

After years of supervising designers, I learned how we communicate creative work can unlock extraordinary potential or unintentional innovation and passion

After years of supervising designers, I learned how we communicate creative work can unlock extraordinary potential and unintentionally kill innovation and passion.
After trial, errors and countless feedback sessions, I developed a way to always get better results. Here are nine practical techniques that can change the way you provide feedback to your team and ultimately improve everyone’s work:

Start with the context, not criticism

I always take a moment to understand the landscape before studying the details. The tempting thing is that the immediate reaction (the explosion sounds too thin, the footstep sequence lacks weight) is tempting, but a quick check-in will make everything different.

“What is your goal?”

“What elements do you think are working and which elements are not working?”

“How does this particular gaming mechanic work?”

“What kind of feedback will be the most helpful now?”

These questions are more than just clarification of expectations. They transformed dialogue from unilateral criticism to collaborative exploration. They expressed respect for the designer’s creative vision and admitted that they may have been aware of certain issues.

Match your method to the manufacturer

I’ve learned (sometimes the difficult way) that feedback is not all of a certain degree. Some of my team members thrived in an instant face to face discussion where they could ask questions and see my reactions. Others prefer written notes, which they can handle privately before responding.

Understand the preferred communication method for each team member, not just to make feedback more palatable, but to make feedback more effective.

Describe the effect, not the technology

Perhaps the most transformative shift in my feedback approach is the transition from normative description to descriptive guidance. I didn’t say, “Use a high pass filter at 150 Hz and add a low shelf of -12dB at 3 kHz,” I would say, “The underwater sequence still feels too full – can we make it feel even more muffled?”

Perhaps the most transformative shift in my feedback approach is the transition from normative description to descriptive guidance

This approach accomplishes two things: it retains the creative agent of the sound designer and focuses on emotional impact rather than technical details.
It invites designers to use their expertise to solve problems, often resulting in more innovative solutions than I prescribed.

That is to say, the level of experience is important here. For junior sound designers who are still building a technology toolkit, I point out to add: “If you’re not sure how to achieve this effect, I’d love to take you through some specific technologies.” This creates a safe space for learning without the assumption that everyone has the same technical foundation. I found that explicitly providing technical guidance (not forcing it) fuels the growth of junior team members while still providing them with room to experiment and developing their own creative problem-solving skills.

Practice concise and focus

When I first start giving feedback, I try to solve all the problems at once. I quickly learned that overwhelming people list a range of adjustments that often lead to them not being addressed effectively.

When I first start giving feedback, I try to solve all the problems at once. I quickly learned that overwhelming people list a range of adjustments that people who usually don’t address them effectively

Now, I ruthlessly prioritize. If the work requires a lot of work, I will focus on 2-3 most critical issues that will have the greatest impact. When these problems are solved, we can solve more nuanced problems in the next iteration.

Just like in sound design itself (knowing what to miss is as important as what to include), effective feedback requires thoughtful planning.

Separate work from people

“This disconnection of the atmosphere from the emotional arc of the scene is different from the way “you don’t understand the emotional requirements here.”

By focusing criticism on work, rather than on the person who created it, we create psychological safety that encourages risk-taking and experimentation. It’s not just about being friendly, but about creating an environment where innovations can thrive without worrying about personal judgment.

Conduct every conversation in both directions

When feedback becomes a conversation rather than a monologue, some of the most valuable insights emerge. I often ask questions like this:

“What are the challenges you face in this design?”

“What options did you try before logging in to this method?”

“How does it feel like you are trying other directions here?”

These questions often reveal limitations or considerations that I don’t know about, leading to smarter decisions and better outcomes.

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