How To Write An
Effective Design Brief
A design brief is a written explanation
outlining the aims, objectives and milestones of a design project whether
for a simple business card, or a complete corporate identity makeover.
A thorough and articulate design brief is a critical part of the design
process. It helps develop trust and understanding between the client
and designer and serves as an essential point of reference for both
parties. The design brief ensures that important design issues are
considered and questioned before
the designer starts work.
Where to start
Start your design brief with a short, honest look at your organisation or
company. Don't take this information for granted, and don't assume that
the designer will necessarily know anything about your industry sector.
Tell your designer:
• What your organisation does
• How long you have been established and how many staff you employ
• What your niche market is
• How you fit in to your industry sector
Your Aims
Good design can have a huge influence on the success of a company's
marketing strategy - but in order for success to be ensured, clear goals
must be set.
What do you want to do? :-
• Generate sales?
• Encourage enquiries?
• Gain newsletter subscribers?
• Obtain information from your audience?
• Encourage them to tell a friend?
If your aims and objectives are not this clear, then your design brief has
already achieved another purpose... One of most rewarding parts of
actually sitting down and writing a design brief is that it helps to
consolidate your thoughts and can indirectly help to find flaws in what
you initially thought was a solid idea.
Your Customer
Identify your primary, secondary and tertiary audiences. Explain if you
are looking to consolidate your existing client-base or appeal to new
markets. Detail any demographic figures about your audience that may be
useful to the designer. These may include:
• Age
• Sex
• Income
• Occupation
• Location
Your Budget And Time-Scale
Even if you can only provide a ball-park figure, a budget expectation will
give the designer a good idea of the type of solution they will
realistically be able to provide. Time scale is also an important
consideration - so let your designer know if there is a specific deadline
that has to be met.
Consult with Others
Consult with as many people within your organisation as possible before
sending the brief. Showing the design brief to different people may reveal
remarkable differences in the way people see your organisation's aims and
objectives. Resolving any differences in opinion will save
considerable time and expense further down the line.
Design Inspiration
Providing examples of what you consider to be effective or relevant
design can be a great help in writing a design brief. Make sure to include
samples of your company's current marketing materials - even their only
purpose is to explain what you don't
want from your new marketing materials!
If there is a design style that you particularly like or dislike - then
explain why in the brief. If you're not entirely sure
why you like a certain design style,
then good starting points include:
• Colour
• Imagery
• Quantity and quality of text
• Typography
• The atmosphere that particular designs create
Don't feel that you have stick to the medium that you are designing for
when giving a list of inspiration and influences. If a television advert
or music video creates the atmosphere that you want your flyer to create,
then that is a perfectly reasonable statement to make in a design brief.
The more clues you give about your design tastes, the more likely the
designer will be able to produce something close to your aims. Expecting
your designer to second-guess what you require rarely produces the best
results.
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