Design brief template: download it or fill it in online with hints
A brief is about a dozen questions about your company, audience, project, inspiration, budget and deadline. Fill it in online or download the template as a PDF or DOCX. We use it to prepare a quote that lists every item.
What is in the brief and why
- 1Company and brandWithout this we do not know what we are designing. Two sentences are enough.Company or brand name / What does the company do? / How are you different from competitors?
- 2AudienceA design for parents of toddlers looks different from one for site managers.Who buys your products or services? / Where do customers see your brand most often?
- 3The projectA list of items and where they will be used lets us give an exact price instead of a range.What should be created? / What do you already have? / Technical requirements
- 4Competitors and inspirationLinks say more than adjectives. Everyone understands the word modern differently.Three to five competitors / Brands or designs you like / What do you definitely not want?
- 5Budget and deadlineA budget does not raise the price. It helps us pick a scope that fits it.Rough budget / Deadline
Brief form
How to write a good brief
What a brief is for
A brief gathers in one place the information needed to quote and design well: who the company is, who the customer is, what should be made, by when and where the design will be used. Without it, the same questions come up across several emails and calls, and some answers get lost on the way.
A well-filled brief shortens the time to a quote, reduces revisions and protects against a concept that looks good but answers a different question from the one that mattered to you.
When you do not know the answer
You do not need to know every answer. If you do not know which style you like, write what you definitely do not want. If you do not know your budget, give a range you are comfortable with. If you do not know which files you need, write where the design will be used.
An empty field is information too: it tells us what to ask about in the call. The worst brief is one with made-up answers just to fill a field, because they lead the project the wrong way.
An example: part of a filled-in brief
Company: a family bakery with two shops in town, running for over a decade. Customers: local residents, buying bread in the morning and cakes at weekends. What should be made: a refreshed logo, cake boxes and paper bags. Why now: we are opening a third shop and want all of them to look the same.
What we do not want: a chain-store look and cold colours. What we like: hand-drawn labels, warm colours. Deadline: before the new shop opens, in three months. This example was written for this guide, but it shows how much a few ordinary sentences say.
What happens after you send the brief
We read the brief and reply within 24 hours on business days: with a quote if everything is clear, or with a few questions and a suggestion for a short call. A brief creates no obligation.
Once the quote is accepted, the brief becomes the reference point for the whole project. We go back to it when presenting the concept to check that it answers what mattered to you.
Briefs for different services
Some brief questions are common to every project: the company, customers, goal, deadline and budget. Others depend on the service. For a logo we ask about the name and where the mark will be used, for print about format, quantity and printer, for a website about pages and content, for video about footage and where it will be published, for 3D about product dimensions and materials.
That is why in the online form you choose services and the questions adapt to them. The downloadable template contains every question at once, so skip the ones that do not apply to your project.
How long a brief takes
A short brief for a single job, such as a business card or a reel, takes a few minutes. A brief for an identity, a website or packaging takes longer, because it is worth describing customers, competitors and company plans.
You do not have to fill it in at once. You can start with the key questions, send the brief and we will fill in the rest in a call. Accuracy matters more than completeness.
Gaps in briefs
Three things are easy to leave out of a brief: where the design will be used, information about competitors and the date the design is really needed. Without them it is easy to design something attractive that does not work on a sign, looks like a competitor or misses the launch.
If you can, also add what you dislike in your current materials and why. That often says more than a list of adjectives describing your dream style.
A brief in the form or in a file
The online form is convenient when you want to send a brief right away: questions adapt to services and answers reach us with one click. The PDF or DOCX template is useful when several people in the company fill in the brief or you want to prepare it at your own pace.
Email the completed file together with the materials you already have. Both ways are equivalent and need no account.
Brief and contract
The brief describes the project, while the contract and quote set its scope, price and deadline. Once the quote is accepted, the brief becomes an attachment we return to at every stage to check that the project is heading the agreed way.