How to write a graphic or web design brief

The reason design briefs are so core to the success of a project areas follows:

1. It guarantees that you, as owner / project manager, know exactly what you want to achieve from your proposal.
2. The brief acts as a point of reference for the designer, giving them key points to focus on

Essentially, this means less time on costly revisions or exceeding deadlines, therefore, less money is spent on the result. The simple fact of the matter is; the more information you provide at the beginning of the project, the more value for money you’ll receive from your designer.

Here’s a list of headings that should be included in every design profile. To keep things simple we’ve separated them in to three headings; ‘Your Company’, ‘The Project at Hand’ and ‘Available Resources’.

Your Company

Company Profile

Begin your design brief with a short summary of your company. Don’t take this information for granted and don’t assume the designer will necessarily know anything about your industry sector. Be clear, concise and avoid any jargon when explaining who you are, what you do and your company’s history.

Market Position

A realistic evaluation of your company and the service / product in relation to what the competition does. What is your niche and where do you fit in to your industry sector?

Previous Communication

This should include all current or previous visual communications, such as research, advertising, direct mail, graphic design, public relations, brand guidelines, etc…

The Project at Hand

Specifications

What exactly is required? Where is it going to be printed / used? The web, business cards, stationary, on your car? Also explain what’s going to bring about the need for the project. For instance a new product launch that needs advertising.

Target Market

What are your target market’s demographics? i.e. the age, gender, income, tastes, views, attitudes, employment, geography, lifestyle of those you want to reach. If you have multiple audiences, rank them in terms of importance.

Objectives

What is the overall goal of the new design project? If possible, objectives should be specific and results measurable.

Content

What copy (text) and pictures are needed? The copy and pictures used in a design are as crucial as the design itself and you should clearly state who is going to be providing the content. You may need to look in to getting a professional copywriter / photographer - ask your designer for some recommendations.

Available Resources

Available Budget

Do you have a budget that you are working to? Even if you can only provide a ball park figure, a budget forecast will give the designer a good idea of the type of solution they will realistically be able to provide. The budget helps the designer to allocate a specific amount of time to each design stage of the design process. For example, if you’re spending £2,000 a designer can spend much more time developing ideas and designing than if you’re only spending £500. The more creative time and designing, the more possibilities for an excellent outcome.

The other reason to share your budget is that you never know where something brilliant moght spring up. Sometimes under a tight budget a creative person can come up with a simple idea with a huge impact. It forces them to look for creative alternatives instead of going down the traditional routes. If a designer or agency knows that they need to overcome financial obstacles, the good ones will.

Respectively, providing the budget up-front also allows designers to know if the project is going to be worthwhile to complete.

Timescale / deadline

Allow the designer a realistic deadline for the completion of the work. You should take in to account the various stages of the design project such as consultation (research, strategy, brief development), creative (concept and design development), production (artwork, printing and other production) and delivery.

Any other notes

For anything else that might not have been mentioned that may have an impact on the project or the way the designer may need to work.