For the last 10 years (and 3.5 months) of my design career I’ve been working freelance. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worked on a project without a design brief.
Both times, each project went belly up. They were both awful and frustrating. And in hindsight I should have known it was due to the lack of a design brief.
I now won’t work on any projects without getting a proper design brief – in my eyes it’s essential for both the client and for me. Regardless of whether I’m working on a new brand identity, or a brochure, knowing all of the information before starting the project is key! And I actually can’t count on my hands how many times clients have told me they found the briefing process really useful to go through.
Firstly... what the hell is a design brief?
Design briefs are a bit like Google maps. You know when you want to try that amazing new dessert place you heard about? Google maps guides you there… A design brief guides your designer in the same way!
A brief puts into writing all the things that are floating around in your head. And this includes things like deadlines, objectives, the problem you’re trying to solve and your audience. What a briefing document won’t do, is create the actual design…you leave that part to the designer who’ll be guided by your brief.
The brief lets you focus on what you’re trying to achieve, not on the aesthetics.
If your design brief is a little bit wooly, then your design will be a little bit wooly too!
A good design brief
1. Always put it in writing. ALWAYS
2. There is no such thing as too much information on a brief.
3. Take your time with your answers.
4. Be clear and don’t assume that I know everything about your industry or business.
4a. Make sure that YOU know what you want from the end result BEFORE you brief your designer.
5. Be precise.
6. Be flexible.
And in a little more detail…
1. Always put it in writing. ALWAYS.
It’s great being able to verbally brief your designer but having things in writing just means that there’s clarity right from the start. It also means that I’ve got this great design brief to refer to throughout the project so there’s no chance of confusion, or of me forgetting what was said while we had a coffee and cake together!
2. There is no such thing as too much information on a design brief.
A detailed document means I’ve got plenty of reading to do, and plenty of things to talk to you about when we go through the document together (this is something that’s part and parcel of the process when you work with me). Now you might be thinking “but it’s in writing so why does Bhavini need to ask more questions”? I ask more questions to make sure I’ve understood your goals and objectives. And a lot of the time, the way you talk about the info on your brief, or answer my extra questions, will give me more information without you even realising you’re doing it! A chat about the brief also gives me a chance to clear up anything that’s a bit, well, unclear – I’m never going to assume I know everything so I’d rather ask the extra questions and be confident I’ve got things straight in my head.
3. Take your time with your answers.
Really think about your answers. if one of my clients sends a completed design brief back to me within half an hour I’m pretty sure that not enough thought’s been put into it. That makes my job a lot harder, and it could also mean that my client is going to start rethinking things while I’m half way through their project.
4. Be clear and don’t assume that I know everything about your industry or business.
Include as much background info as you can about your business please. And for non branding work, don’t assume that I automatically what your brand colours or fonts are – send me your brand guidelines!* I’m happy to admit that there’s no way I know everything about every industry I’ve ever worked in. And please try to stay away from industry jargon.
4a. Make sure that YOU know what you want from the end result BEFORE you brief your designer.
Honestly, be super clear on your objectives and your why! And communicate this as clearly as you can please. Once I start working on your project changing the brief half way through this project, or once the first designs have been presented, means that I’ll be pretty much starting from scratch. If your design brief is a little bit wooly, your design will be too!
5. Be precise.
Make sure you include things like deadlines and budgets, as well as what kind of files you need at the end of the project. There’s no point sending a brief to me, without telling me that you need things finished in 3 weeks. I may well miss your deadline and you’ll be left disappointed!
6. Be flexible..
Your brief has to be specific in the info you’re giving to me. But at the same time you need to be open to creative solutions. There’s nothing worse than being given a brief where a client tells you exactly how they want a brochure to look – or worse still, being sent a Word doc that LAYS IT ALL OUT.
*If you don’t have brand guidelines for your business, let’s talk about creating some for you!
So now you know what a brief is, here are some of the things I ask my clients to include in a creative design brief:
- Company background
- Project description and objectives
- Design style – brand guidelines
- Existing assets
- Audience/market
- Deliverables
- Content use
- Deadlines or timelines
The briefing document for a brand identity project is much much longer!
Design briefs are a bit like Google maps. You know when you want to try that amazing new dessert place you heard about? Google maps guides you there... A design brief guides your designer in the same way!
The final word on design briefs
Designers ARE NOT mind readers so you need to be clear in your mind what deliverables you would like from the project. Lay your specs and measurements on the table, but also think about what you want and need now, as well as in the future. A good graphic designer will help to make sure your project is future-proofed as far as possible – and a good design brief is essential for that.
Remember that design briefs can be interpreted in different ways by different designers. You could give the same brief to me and to another designer and we’ll both come up with different design solutions. So make sure you’re working with the right designer.
You might think that spending time on a detailed brief is a waste of your time, but trust me I won’t think that at all and neither will any other designer. A good design brief means you’ll be really happy with the results I give you.
Want to work with a designer who loves briefs?
If you’d like to find out a little more about the way I work with clients, why I do what I do or tell me about your Graphic Design related tales I’d love to hear from you! If you want to find out more about how I can help you communicate your message with your audience, or if we haven’t been in touch for a while and you’d like to reconnect drop me a line, I would love to catch up! You can email me on bhavini@b81designs.com.
