How To Write A Design Brief
How does a client get the design they want? The perfect design you dream about in your head? … Writing a design brief is the answer.
Whether you are a designer or a client, an effective design brief is the most important factor in ensuring that a project is successful straight away.
This article will tell you how to write a design brief that will be both beneficial to the client and design agency.
This article will be based from the client’s perspective though.
1. What Is A Design Brief?
What is a design brief? A design brief is something that is critical to any design project as provides the designer with all the information needed to meet and exceed your expectations.
A design brief should focus on the results and outcomes of the design and the business objectives of the design project. It should not try to deal with the aesthetics of the design. That is the responsibility of the designer.
The design brief also allows the client to focus on exactly they want a designer to achieve before any work starts.
A good design brief will ensure that you get a high quality design that meets your requirements, providing you have chosen the right design agency.
2. How To Write A Design Brief
Answer these questions below and your design brief will be nearly finished… the rest will come from questions from the design agency after you submit the brief.
Answer the questions and remember, to provide as much detail as possible! Please this does not mean one line answers, the more you explain, the easier it is for the design agency.
What does your business do?
Be concise and clear
- What does your company / organisation do?
- What is your company’s history?
What are the goals?
- What are you trying to communicate and why?
- What is the overall goal of the new design project?
- Are you trying to sell products or raise awareness of your products / service?
- How do you differ from your competitors?
- Do you want to completely rebrand yourself, or are you updating your products / service?
Who is the target market?
- What is your target market’s psychographics & demographics ie. age, gender, income, tastes, views, attitudes, employment, geography, lifestyle, trends, habits.
What content is needed?
The copy and pictures used in a design are crucial as the design itself and you should clearly state who is going to be providing the copy and pictures. You may need to look into getting a professional copywriter / photographer – ask your design agency for some recommendations.
- What copy is to be included in the design? And who is providing the copy?
- What pictures / photographs / diagrams / infographics etc need to be used? And who is providing these?
What are the specs?
- What size is the design going to be? i.e A4, A3, DL, etc.
- Where is it going to be printed? Is it online, business cards, stationery, or signage on your car?
- What other information should the designer know in regards to specifications?
Have you got something already in mind?
- You should provide the design agency with some examples of what you feel to be effective or relevant to your design, even if it is from your main competitors (you can learn a lot from your competitors). This can help set a benchmark for your design agency.
- Provide the design agency with things not to do. This will give the designer an idea of what to avoid and will avoid you being disappointed.
What Is Your Budget?
- Providing the budget upfront allows the designers to know if the project is going to be worthwhile to complete.
What is the deadline?
- Give the design agency a detailed schedule and set realistic deadlines for the completion of the work. You need to take into account the stages of the design project such as consultation, concept development, production and final delivery.
Rushing jobs helps no one and mistakes can be made if a job is pushed through without time to review.
And now a tip For The Design Agency
As a design agency it is important to have a template such as this to give to clients on your first meeting. By having a template ready, it shows them your’e professional and saves them (and you) a lot of time and money.