Need help to write an effective design brief?

A design brief is a tool pinpointing exactly what work you want to be done, along with objectives and a summary of relevant facts. Your brief contains your requirements, what you wish to achieve, what market and audience you are targeting, and any other related information.

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Creating a design brief is an essential part of the design process and putting that bit of extra time into developing a strong brief saves everybody time in the long run. It will help you and the designer refer back to and make sure that the work is progressing according to the originally outlined objectives.


By providing all the information needed it ensures a smoother development process and will help all parties involved to better understand and overcome certain challenges. The brief will help the designer to establish which solution to propose, how much it will cost and how long it will take.


For small projects it can be written in a few lines, but for larger projects it can span hundreds of pages… The length of the document is not important, it’s making sure that your design brief focuses on the results and outcomes and the business objectives of your project. And it’s almost inevitable you will change your mind about some of the issues as the project progresses, so allow some flexibility. A design brief is not something carved in stone, just make sure all parties involved always have the latest version of the design brief.


A vague brief could result in poor results, wasting your time and money. Here are some items a design brief should include:

  • Your company profile
  • Your corporate personality
  • How do you differ from your competitors
  • Your project objectives
  • Additional requirements
  • The target audience
  • Budget and timescale
  • Creative direction
  • Text and imagery required
  • Specifications/constraints
  • Desired outcome
  • Some design examples

    • Help is at hand!

    If you’ve never written a brief before it can sound a bit daunting. Feel free to download my Design Brief (PDF) and give yourself a flying start.

    Answer the questions as much as you can in an ordered and detailed fashion… the rest will come from the designer after you submit your brief.