How to write a brief
Forgive the slightly naff analogy but… think of design work as baking a cake – you can’t bake a cake without the recipe, and in the same way designers can’t create designs without a brief.
In its simplest terms a brief is a list of instructions to your designer explaining who your company is, what work you need doing, why and when by. Oh and don’t forget to include the budget!
We’ll probably still come back with questions, something I talked about here, but being sent a brief will immediately allow the designer to work out whether they’re a good fit for you and whether they have time to take the work on, which saves everyone time.
What your brief should include
This is not a definitive list but if you can provide your designer with answers to these, it will a fantastic starting point. The more information and context the better! If you feel there’s additional information may be relevent then include it.
Taking the time to work through these areas and questions will also give you the opportunity to think more about the work you require, perhaps providing you with a little more clarity on it, before we even chat about it.
About you
This is where you tell us all about you or your business, depending on whether you are the business or you work for a larger organisation.
What is it you do or sell?
How long have you been doing it?
Who are your competitors?
Project aims
Explain the outcomes that you’re hoping this work will achieve. For example:
Increase awareness of your brand
Launch a new product
Communicate to a new audience
Increase your social media following
Target audience
Are they your current audience and or you trying to reach a new group of people?
Who is your target audience?
Why are they your target audience?
What does your audience think about your current offering?
Deliverables
What are the tangible items that you require? For example:
Print publications and stationery
Marketing materials, such as leaflets and posters
A new website
Social media assets
The deadline
When do you need the work to be completed by?
If it is needed for a specific event, be sure to make this clear to your designer so the timescales can be planned and agreed around that date.
Your budget
This is the rarely answered one.
This inclusion of this is not so we can charge more but to save time. If you’re needing £5,000 worth of work and your budget is £500, then we probably aren’t a good fit.
The bonus items
These are questions that can be answered in the brief or they could wait until you meet with your designer as they should be covered then.
Who will be responsible for the project (i.e. the person we’ll speak to while working on the job)?
Are there any technical or legal requirements we should know?
What is it about your current brand or design work that isn’t working?
Have you seen anything you liked or disliked, maybe from your competitors or even a completely different business. Sharing this will help understand what your style is.
Leanne’s Co is the design department for organisations without one.
Work with a designer, like me, and I’ll make the process as smooth as possible – managing the job from brief to delivery. Get in touch and we can have a chat.