Design Brief Template

No matter the size of your project, it is important to have a detailed marketing plan in order to effectively work with the agency. Here’s how you can begin!

1. Begin Discussing Your Goals

   You first need to begin by openly and clearly discussing your goals. What are you hoping for the agency to accomplish? Are you wanting them to overhaul your website completely or just design a new logo? Have you decided exactly what you want your team to look like?

   Do you want your agency to present its ideas after research? When you are upfront about all of this information, you can create a foundation for the project.

2. Give Your Agency a Timeline and Budget

   Most of the time, agencies are juggling a series of different projects all at once. To ensure that your job is completed on time and how you want it, you need to give them a realistic estimate of both your budget and timeline. Are you trying to create a landing page within a specific amount of time?

   Do you have a limited budget? Make sure you let your agency know all of this. This will open a crucial doorway for conversation.

3. Include Your Target Audience

   Your design team will be inclined to make a series of different choices depending on who you are looking to reach. An example of this is a website for high schoolers looking a lot different to a website centered toward CISOs. If you are unsure about our current audience, explain who your ideal customer is to them.

   Consider referencing your competitors so that the agency can do some research.

4. Lay Out the Entire Scope of the Project

   In order to partner with you, you will need to provide your design team with a clear parameter. Do you want the agency to adapt to an existing design or template or are you looking for a custom logo? Are you looking for an online store or a brochure site with product information?

   While you are defining the scope, you need to consider the blog integration and social networking features. This is when you create an experience for your audience that should be drawn out in the design brief.

5. Show Them What Available Materials They Have

   Perhaps you have a collection of stock photos you are currently looking at for online content. Or you may have a brochure, logo, and product photos. Giving them a glimpse into all of these things will allow them an insight into your company aesthetic and how you do things.

6. Create a Specific Style Guide

   A style guide is essentially the narrative voice of your company. However, instead of text, your medium is visual. It can be very helpful to give your chosen design agency different examples of styles and websites that speak to your audience. Give them access to color pallets, your emotions, and what you want your customers to associate directly with your brand.

7. Enumerate a List of Do-Nots

   If there are specific fonts, colors, or features you don’t like, then put this in the design brief.

Why write a Design Brief?

Creating a design brief is essential for effective collaboration between your business and the design agency. No matter how large or small the project may be, it's important to write out a design brief in order to provide direction and clarity. This will help the agency finish your project quickly, accurately, and within budget. In other words, a well-crafted design brief can save both parties time and money.

When to use the Design Brief template?

Utilize the Design Brief template when constructing a design brief for a new venture. You can employ the template to delineate the range of your project, your financial and temporal parameters, and your favoured style.

Why is the Design Brief important?

The design brief serves as the cornerstone of any creative endeavour. A thorough design brief can act as a business plan and a reliable source of information. Throughout the project, your organization and the agency can refer to the brief to guarantee that everyone is on target, within budget, and following your timeline.