AAF-ND Speaker
Naoma Serna-Zahn
Feedback Inferno: Surviving the 9 Levels of Feedback Hell
September 29th, 2026
Duration of talk is from 12 PM - 1 PM with Q+A following event.
Doors open at 11:30 AM.
MSUM
Comstock Memorial Union Room 105
*Free parking in lot M-5. View parking map here.
Every creative has experienced it. A project starts with “just one quick change” and somehow ends with endless revisions, surprise stakeholders, and a client saying, “I’ll know it when I see it.” This chat takes the audience on a hilarious… and painfully relatable journey through the 9 circles of client feedback hell, unpacking why projects derail and how creatives can avoid getting burned.
Through real stories, practical frameworks, and a healthy dose of humor, Naoma Serna-Zahn shows why the best creative work doesn’t come from defending great ideas: it comes from leading clients with curiosity, clarity, and confidence.
Attendees will leave with actionable tools to navigate difficult feedback, establish trust, protect the integrity of their work, and transform from order-takers into strategic partners.
Because the goal isn’t just to survive feedback it’s to lead your clients out of hell with you.
September 29th, 2026
Duration of talk is from 12 PM - 1 PM with Q+A following event.
Doors open at 11:30 AM.
MSUM
Comstock Memorial Union Room 105
*Free parking in lot M-5. View parking map here.
Feedback Inferno: Surviving the 9 Levels of Feedback Hell
Every creative has experienced it. A project starts with “just one quick change” and somehow ends with endless revisions, surprise stakeholders, and a client saying, “I’ll know it when I see it.” This chat takes the audience on a hilarious… and painfully relatable journey through the 9 circles of client feedback hell, unpacking why projects derail and how creatives can avoid getting burned.
Through real stories, practical frameworks, and a healthy dose of humor, Naoma Serna-Zahn shows why the best creative work doesn’t come from defending great ideas: it comes from leading clients with curiosity, clarity, and confidence.
Attendees will leave with actionable tools to navigate difficult feedback, establish trust, protect the integrity of their work, and transform from order-takers into strategic partners.
Because the goal isn’t just to survive feedback it’s to lead your clients out of hell with you.
About Naoma
Naoma Serna-Zahn is a brand strategist, speaker, and founder of Nuevo. Part brand therapist, part business whisperer, she helps organizations uncover what makes them impossible to ignore by bringing clarity to brands and the people behind them.
Originally from Mexico, she crossed the globe to study French literature (a notoriously practical career choice) before somehow landing in Oklahoma to shake up the branding scene in… the Midwest? The South? Honestly, no one can agree. Over the past eight years, she’s led hundreds of branding and creative projects through Nuevo, which means she’s survived just about every version of “Can we just make the logo bigger?”
She believes the biggest challenge in creative work isn’t bad feedback: it’s bad communication. Through her work and speaking, she’s on a mission to help creatives stop surviving client relationships and start leading them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! We’ll ask you if you have any dietary restrictions when you reserve your ticket.
Tickets vary in cost depending on if you’re a member, a student, a sponsor, or nonmember. You can view these price adjustments when you check out from Eventbrite. Get your tickets here!
Yes there is – when you check out of Eventbrite you can select the virtual ticket option.
Yes! Park in the M-5 lot at MSUM and you won’t get ticketed. This is only during the time of the event. Get parking directions here.
Yes! We leave the last 15 minutes of each talk for questions. Sometimes the speaker will stay after longer if you want to visit with them after the talk.
Yes! We record each of our events and if you’d like a direct link, please email us at info@aaf-nd.org
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