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Write An Effective Design Brief and Get The Design You Want!

How do you get the design you want -- the perfect design you’ve envisioned in your head? The Design Brief is the answer.

Whether you are a designer or a client, an effective design brief is the single most critical factor in ensuring that a project is successful. This article will tell you how to write an effective design brief that will be both beneficial to the client and the designer but is based on a client’s perspective.

What Is A Design Brief?
A design brief is something that is vital to any design project, as it will provide the designer(s) with the information needed to meet your expectations.

A design brief should primarily focus on the business objectives of the design project and desired outcomes. It should not attempt to deal with the aesthetics of the design. That is the responsibility of the designer. The design brief also allows you (the client) to focus on exactly what you want to achieve before any work has begun on the project. A good design brief will ensure that you get a high quality design that meets your needs, providing you have chosen the right designer.

How To Write An Effective Design Brief
If you answer the questions below in an ordered and detailed fashion, your design brief will be 90% done… the other 10% will come from further questions from the designer after you submit your brief.

Have fun answering the questions and remember to provide as much detail as possible! One-line answers are not sufficient.

What does your business do?
Tip: Never assume that the designer knows anything about your company. Be clear and concise and avoid jargon when replying.

• What does your company / organization do?
• What is your company’s history?

What are the goals? Why?
• What is the overall goal of the new design project?
• What are you trying to communicate and why?
• Are you trying to sell more products or create awareness of your product / service?
• How do you differ from your competitors?
• Do you want to completely reinvent yourself or are you simply updating your promotional material?

Tip: You should also provide old promotional materials to assist the designer.

Who is the target market?

• What are your target market’s demographics & psychographics (i.e. the age, gender, income, tastes, views, attitudes, employment, geography, lifestyle of those you want to reach)?

Tip: If you have multiple audiences, rank them in terms of importance.

What copy (text) and pictures are needed?

Tip: 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 copy and pictures if needed. You may need to look into getting a professional copywriter / photographer - ask your designer for some recommendations.

• What copy needs to be included in the design? Who is providing the copy?
• What pictures / photographs / diagrams etc. need to be used? Who is providing these?

What are the specifications?
• What size is the design going to be?
• Where is it going to be printed / used? The web, business cards, stationery, on your car?
• What other specifications should the designer know?

Do you have a benchmark in mind?
• You should provide the designer with some examples of what you consider to be effective or relevant design even if it is from your main competitors. This will set a benchmark for your designer.
• Provide the designer with things not to do, and styles that you do not like or wish to see in your design. This will give the designer an idea of what to avoid and will avoid disappointment on your behalf.

What is your budget?

• Providing a budget prevents the designers from wasting valuable time and resources when you need to maximize your budget.
• Providing the budget upfront also allows designers to know if the project is going to be worthwhile to complete. Make sure you are worth their time.
What is the time scale / deadline?
• Give the designer a detailed schedule of the project and set a realistic deadline for the completion of the work. You should take into account the various stages of the design project such as consultation, concept development, production and delivery. 

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