Design brief
What is a design brief?
A design brief is a short document in which the client sets out the goal, the audience and the limits of a job before the designer starts. It records what the company sells and to whom, what already exists, what must not change, where the result will be used and who signs it off. A technical specification says how something works; a brief says what it is for.
Example
A family bakery orders a mark with the sentence “we want something modern”. Two rounds of corrections later the conversation is still about taste.
The second attempt starts with a brief: three shops in one town; most customers are over 45; the mark will appear on a paper bag in one colour, on a shop window 2.4 metres wide and in a round avatar; green is out, because the competitor across the street uses it; the two owners decide together; it has to be ready before the November opening. Half the possible directions are gone before the first sketch — thin lettering does not survive one-colour printing on a bag, and gradients do not survive a shop window.
Why it matters for a business
A brief cuts the number of correction rounds, because the decisions are made about the job rather than about a finished drawing. It is also the yardstick at handover: “does this answer the brief” is a checkable question, “do I like it” is not.
The second benefit is less obvious. Writing the brief brings disagreements inside the company into the open. Two owners are better off arguing over one sheet of paper than over three finished concepts.
What to ask
- What does the studio need to know before it starts, and is there a brief form to fill in?
- Who completes it on your side, and who approves the result?
- Does it cover carriers, sizes and the number of colours, or only the word “logo”?
- How is the audience described — as a buyer persona or as “everyone”?
- Is the brief what the finished work will be measured against?
We fill the brief in together at the start of every graphic design job; when there is none, the first meeting usually turns into one.