I got some customer feedback, and this was my response!

I know, I know, this is a disgustingly clickbaity title, but I promise you will not regret the read 🙂

I rely heavily on customer feedback while creating my icons. Mainly because, aside from allowing me to deliver the best results, it is also a great way to connect with my audience. Who, by the way, deserves their own spotlight. You guys are absolutely awesome and it makes my day every time I connect with you!

For the longest time, I felt awkward asking for feedback and I didn’t quite know how to respond and not sound generic (thank you for your feedback, your opinion is important to me) or defensive (I’m not wrong, you’re wrong!) But once I realized that both my customers and I want the same thing (having a good product) it was easy.

Before I start, here are some of my golden rules:

1. be honest but polite
2. be you
3. be thankful

If someone takes the time to type a response, make sure it’s heard, seen, and appreciated.
The rest of this post is based on the original newsletter I sent out before launching the Cute Animals icon pack. No, I’m not lazy, I just think it’s best to learn by example. So instead of me trying to explain it, I’ll show you 🙂

You ask, I listen and get SH… stuff done!

Today’s newsletter will be a little bit different because I wanted to give the credit to all the people who responded to my initial sketch newsletter and decided to share their amazing ideas with me making this set so much better (In my totally unbiased opinion, lol). I couldn’t do it without you.

I did my best to see and hear every single request and idea. That said the lunch of the Cute Animals Icon Pack is just a few days away, and I truly hope you are as much excited as I am.

Maybe you need to draw a lion with a mane. Now he looks a little like a tiger. Sorry
All magical.
~ Antropova ~

What can I say? Fair point 🙂

I love your work you are so talented cannot wait for these!
I would like to suggest maybe a Koala and horse (maybe even a shetland pony as they are small and cute)
You don’t have to but thought it would be nice.
~ Nicole ~

I’m not crying! Who’s crying (said while tearing up)!
How could I not!

Thanks for sharing your adorable animal sketches!! The only one I was looking for and didn’t find was a horse. With so many cute and fun animals, it’s hard to pick just one favorite, but I’ve been a bit obsessed with jellyfish lately, so I think that’s my current favorite. 😀
~ Christina ~

Yup, totally forgot to include the sketch, I did have it, I swear!

These are extremely cute, but I really can’t use them. I am, however, using every single pack I bought from you directly or through Creative Market—I think I have all but one and now two. Hope I’m not crushing you!
~ Gary ~

I’m crushed! Although, it’s never too late for some student motivation stamps.
Nah, I’m just teasing! Gary, you are a gold star <3

These are SUPER cute!
I love them all!
From a feedback point of view, may I suggest some of the Chinese horoscope signs…. snake, dragon, etc.
Perhaps a baby lion with a mane? A unicorn and badgers can be pretty cute, so are whales.

I have seen lots of prints that use animal characters to spell a child’s name for bedroom wall prints so it might be worth having something for every letter of the alphabet.

You are soooo talented, I would love to be able to draw such amazing creations
Have a great evening

All the best
I can’t wait to buy the set when they come out 
~ Kirsty ~

Once I came back from melted to solid state, I did it all!

I love the cute animals! Their faces are all so expressive. My favorites are the llama and the owl, and the turtle is adorable. Have you considered adding a hermit crab to the group? With so many of us still minimizing social outings because of the ongoing pandemic, I could see turning a hermit crab into an isolation type of sticker.

Thanks!
~ Jenn ~

Awwwwww, I am a HERMIT CRAB!

Wow, they’re so good! Looking forward to seeing them done.

The only feedback is that it might be nice to have a few alternate dog and cat options. The ones you’ve got are adorable, but maybe one or two other breeds or poses would be helpful. Either way, thanks for all your awesome work over the years! Keep it up.
~ Bryan ~

___

I hope you’re doing well! I LOVE these! Here are a few that I know people love over here:

1. Axolotl
2. Starfish
3. crab
4. seahorse
5. Flamingo

you might consider specific dog breeds…. ones i see a ton of…
1. pugs
2. corgis
3. schnauzers
4. dachshunds (weenie dogs)
~ Tina ~

Sorry, the weenie dog finally did not made the cut, but I got EVERYTHING else! Love you guys!

Love them! I don’t see a chicken? ❤️ My chickens.
~ Amy ~

Amy, in fact, send me some pictures of her chickens which were adorable, hope I nailed it Amy!

And that, my friend, is how you go from 50 to 90 icons!

I hope you now can see:

1. How incredibly powerful tool customer feedback can be
2. What to do and how to deal with it.
3. How to use it to better your product, and make your customers happy and your wallet full.

And because the image is worth a thousand words here’s Cute animal Icon set before customer feedback

and after

The Thumbs up and down icons used in the blog post thumbnail graphic come from Business Hand-drawn Icons Pack, everything else is from the Cute Animals Hand-drawn Icons Pack. Many thanks to all of the people who took the time to give me feedback as well as all the people who continuously support my work! You’re amazing and it’s a pleasure to make those icons for you!