You've hired a designer. You know exactly what you want — it's crystal clear in your head. But when you try to explain it, the words that come out sound vague, even to you. "I want it to feel... you know... premium but approachable?" The designer nods, but are they seeing what you're seeing?
This disconnect is one of the most common challenges in design projects. You're not a designer, so you don't have the vocabulary. And the vision in your head is made of feelings and impressions, not specifications.
Good news: you don't need to speak designer. You just need some translation strategies.
Why It's Harder Than It Seems
When you imagine your design, you're not thinking in hex codes and font weights. You're thinking in emotions and associations. You want the design to feel trustworthy. To look expensive. To seem friendly without being childish.
These are legitimate design goals. But they're subjective in ways that specific instructions ("make the logo blue") aren't. Your version of "premium" might involve clean lines and serif fonts. The designer's version might mean gold accents and script typography. Both are valid interpretations — they're just different.
The challenge isn't to make your descriptions more objective. It's to give enough context that the designer can understand your subjective associations.
Show, Don't Tell
The most effective way to communicate vision isn't through description — it's through examples.
Collect visual references. Before you talk to the designer, spend 30 minutes gathering images that capture what you're looking for. These don't have to be from your industry. A finance company's website could be inspired by a fashion brand's typography or an architecture firm's use of whitespace.
Annotate your references. Don't just send a Pinterest board with 50 images. For each example, explain specifically what you like:
- "I love the way this logo uses negative space to hide a secondary image."
- "The colour palette here feels energetic without being overwhelming."
- "This website's navigation is so clear — I always know where I am."
Include anti-examples too. Show what you don't want. "I hate how cluttered this looks" or "This feels too corporate for our brand" helps the designer understand your boundaries.
Translate Feelings into Specifics
When you catch yourself using abstract words, push deeper. Ask yourself "what would that look like?"
"I want it to feel premium." What makes something feel premium to you? Is it minimalism and white space? Rich textures and gradients? Subtle animations? Muted colours or bold metallics? Premium isn't one thing — it's your specific associations with quality.
"It should be modern." Modern compared to what? Modern as in minimal and geometric? Modern as in using current design trends? Modern as in "not what our outdated current brand looks like"? Each interpretation leads to different design choices.
"Make it friendly." Friendly through colour (warm tones, soft palettes)? Through shape (rounded corners, organic forms)? Through imagery (smiling people, illustrations instead of photography)? Through tone (casual language, approachable copy)? All of these can create friendliness — which one matters most to you?
The more you can connect abstract feelings to concrete visual qualities, the clearer your communication becomes.
Reference What You Know
You might not know design terminology, but you know brands. Use that knowledge.
Instead of: "I want something sophisticated and trustworthy." Try: "Think more Aesop than Lush. Both are premium skincare, but Aesop has that quiet confidence we're going for."
Instead of: "Make it feel innovative." Try: "The energy of Stripe or Linear — that sense of being really well-designed and thoughtful, without being flashy."
Brand references work because they pack enormous amounts of visual and emotional information into something specific and searchable. The designer can look at those brands and immediately understand dozens of choices you're implicitly requesting.
Be Honest About Uncertainty
Some clients feel pressure to have all the answers. They think being decisive is the same as being clear. But false confidence creates worse outcomes than honest uncertainty.
It's okay to say:
- "I'm not sure exactly what I want — can you show me a few directions?"
- "I like both of these references, but I'm not sure which one fits better."
- "Something feels off about this, but I can't articulate what yet."
Good designers are used to working through ambiguity. They'd rather know you're uncertain than guess at preferences you haven't expressed.
What's not helpful is saying "I'll know it when I see it" and providing no direction at all. Give the designer something to react against, even if you're not confident in it.
Talk About Goals, Not Just Aesthetics
Sometimes the clearest way to communicate vision is to focus on outcomes rather than appearances.
"I want visitors to immediately understand that we're a premium option in our market." "The design should make first-time users feel confident that they won't mess anything up." "When potential investors see this pitch deck, I want them to think we're organised and credible."
These outcome-focused descriptions give designers freedom to solve the problem creatively while ensuring they're solving the right problem.
Ask Good Questions
Communication is a two-way street. When a designer presents work, you're allowed to ask questions that help you give better feedback:
- "What was your thinking behind this colour choice?"
- "How do you see this scaling across different applications?"
- "What were the other directions you considered?"
Understanding the designer's reasoning helps you respond more constructively than just "I don't like it."
A Structured Approach
If you're struggling to organise your thoughts, use this framework:
1. Context: What's this project for? What problem are we solving? 2. Audience: Who will see this? What do they care about? 3. Feeling: What emotional response do we want to create? 4. References: What existing work captures something we like? 5. Constraints: What must we include or avoid?
Answering these questions gives designers a solid foundation to work from.
Let AI Help You Articulate
Here's the thing about communicating design vision: it requires thinking clearly about things you've never had to articulate before. That's mentally taxing work.
We built WeAlign's brief creator specifically to help with this. Instead of staring at a blank page, you answer guided questions that draw out your vision step by step. Then AI takes your responses and translates them into a clear, professional brief.
You end up with a document that says exactly what you meant — even if you couldn't have written it from scratch.
The Ongoing Conversation
Communicating vision isn't a one-time event. It's an ongoing dialogue throughout the project. Each round of feedback is an opportunity to refine understanding, to say "yes, but a little more like this" or "I didn't realise how much I liked that element until I saw it."
The designers who create your best work aren't the ones who guess correctly on the first try. They're the ones who listen well, ask smart questions, and iterate toward shared understanding.
Your job is to keep that conversation moving forward. Be specific when you can. Show examples when words fail. And never hesitate to say "I'm not sure, but let's figure it out together."
That's how great design happens.