how to write a design brief grade 7

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How to create a design brief in 7 steps

A design brief is a document that outlines the core details and expectations of a design project for a brand. A good design brief sets the tone for a successful design project by outlining the goals, quality, and deliverables. In this article, you’ll learn what a design brief is, how to create a successful one, and what you should include in your next design brief.

In this guide, we cover what a design brief is, the benefits of creating one, how to write a design brief, and the elements you should always include. Plus, check out an example design brief template to get you started.

What is a design brief?

A design brief is a document that outlines the core details and expectations of a design project for a brand. This document should be an easy-to-understand plan of how the project will be executed. An effective design brief aligns the company and designer’s goals so everyone is satisfied with the final deliverable. 

Any company that utilizes design resources can benefit from having designers create a brief prior to their project—whether those designers are in-house or freelance . For the purpose of this article, we'll use client and company interchangeably to represent the party commissioning the design project.

A design brief starts by explaining why a new design is necessary. This includes how the design will benefit the target audience , how it will move the brand voice forward, and how it will fit in with the larger competitor landscape. The designer uses this information to write out the goals and objectives for the upcoming project. 

Finally, the brief includes project details, deliverables, budget, timelines, and scope so that everyone has the same expectations. Design briefs are great for keeping both client and design teams aligned.

Design brief vs. creative brief

If you’ve never created one before, a design brief might seem a lot like a creative brief. Overall, a design brief handles more of the preproduction and business side of the project, while the creative brief tackles the innovative execution. 

A well-done design brief give both parties a solid layout for how they’re going to accomplish their goals. It’s a great guide to look back on if one party ever feels like the progress is getting off track or a disagreement arises. 

Once you’ve done the research associated with a design brief, your team will use a creative brief to dive deeper into the company and target audience to tailor your designs to their needs. This second brief is a more in-depth look into how your design will speak to their customers, what elements you want to include, and the reasoning behind your artistic decisions.

Why do designers need a design brief?

There are many advantages to having a design brief when starting a new project. It gives you time to truly understand the nuances of a company and its audience. A design brief also reassures the client that their opinion is valued and that all parties have the same end goal. 

By using a design brief you can:

Create a more trusting designer-client relationship.

Gain insight into the brand and target audience.

Invite the client to be more involved in the project.

Align on a reasonable timeline and budget before the project begins.

Set a standard for the quality and types of deliverables needed.

What to include in your design brief

Design briefs come in many different forms, but there are certain aspects that should be included each time. Once you have included the basics, the design brief can be customized depending on the type of project or client. 

Start your design brief with context about why you’re making your creative choices based. The context should also clarify how your creative choices will contribute to the client’s goals. Finally, your design brief should include all of the necessary information to outline a project from start to finish.

Start your design brief by listing out information about the company the project is for. This starting point helps you gain stakeholders’ trust by demonstrating that you understand their market, industry, and brand guidelines. 

The project or brand overview typically includes details such as the size of their company, contact information, past projects, or their current design needs. This can be especially helpful when multiple people are working on the same project. Once the overview is finalized, everyone will have a quick summary on hand that they can refer back to as needed.

Questions to ask:

What are the client’s unique aspects?

What does the company do?

What are their brand guidelines and expectations?

What themes or common motifs are important to their brand?

What are the client’s primary needs? How can we meet those needs?

Project scope and overview

Once you’ve written out a brand overview, it’s time to give a detailed description of the design project being executed. This description is a summary of what you’ll be working on, why this work benefits the client, and everyone’s roles and responsibilities .

This is also an opportunity for you to clarify the project scope , which outlines exactly what is needed to accomplish a project. The scope of the project should be agreed upon by both parties to avoid confusion or tension throughout the design process.

What designs will we create?

What issues are we trying to solve with these new designs?

What are the client's expectations of this project?

What is within scope? What is out of scope?

How will we manage scope creep ?

Design goals and objectives

After an overview of the project and company is complete, it’s important to explain the goals and objectives for a project. This section should focus on the design problem to solve and the steps your team will take to fix the issue.

In this section, you should also outline the purpose of the project and lay out concrete steps for how you will reach the goal in mind. This section should give a clear path for how the project will be executed—make sure to keep it as specific as possible.

What will make this a successful project?

What steps do we need to take to accomplish our objectives?

What are our project goals for this design?

What metrics will we use to measure success?

Target audience

Understanding a client’s customers is critical so you can create designs that speak to the people they’re trying to target. In order to do this, create a design idea board to clarify and contextualize your client’s  audience. This board is a chance for you to think about the client’s customers and build a persona with them in mind. 

Your client might already have a persona that your designers can use. If they don’t, you can also create one based on your client’s target audience,  demographics, psychological characteristics, and hobbies. All of this helps to form an image of who your design work is catering to. 

What are your customer’s favorite hobbies?

What are your persona’s demographics and psychological traits?

How will your product or service help your target audience?

What does your target audience want?

What important characteristics impact your target audience’s behavior (whether that’s age, sex, region, etc)?

Budget and timeline

One of the most important steps of any good design brief is to write out an agreed upon project budget and timeline. Many clients that aren’t designers might not realize how long each stage will take, so it’s smart to have a rough estimate for them to refer back to.

When you and your client make a budget for a project, it’s important to be realistic about the time it will take to research, plan, create, and make edits as needed. Be sure to leave enough room in their schedule and budget for potential difficulties or unexpected changes.

How long will this project take from start to finish?

What is the budget for this project?

How long should it take to receive feedback? 

How frequently will you and your client update your project timeline tool ?

Competitor analysis

Every organization has other competing brands and it’s important to understand the competition. Once you have a strong understanding of the brand’s competition you can create new and innovative designs that stand out from the crowd.

Designers should learn from their competition’s past design successes and mistakes to help dictate the direction of their next great design plan. Having a strong grasp of your client’s competitors will help make better design decisions in the future.

 Who are the company’s competitors?

 What designs have been successful for the competition in the past?

 What makes our brand stand out against competitors?

Has my client created a competitive analysis I can review?

Project deliverables

All of the information you’ve filled out and the research you’ve done to create a plan for their design is essential for explaining the project deliverables. This, essentially, is what the client will receive and what the end product will be. 

Project deliverables will vary depending on the size, scope , and budget of the project. Setting clear standards and writing out the deliverables will help make sure there aren’t any misunderstandings at the end of the project.

 What will the end result look like?

 What are the deliverables for this project?

 What are the major project milestones throughout the process?

Design brief template

Check out our design brief template below to make creating an effective design brief more simple. Below, you’ll find a sample of what a design brief would look like for an ebook campaign launch, but can be customized to fit any project. Use this as a starting point for your own brief to make sure all the details are covered up front. 

Design brief example   

Use this template as a starting point to further customize a brief that works for your team. 

What is your project and what is the scope?

Why is this project important? What are you trying to achieve?  

Who are you targeting? The more specific, the better.

What is the overall budget? How should it be spent?

Timeline and deliverables

Outline the date and description for each deliverable. 

Benefits of creating a design brief with Asana

There are major benefits to creating a design brief with an online shared system. First, if you create a design brief in a tool like Asana , all of your stakeholders can access the information. This allows for everyone to be on the same page on the project, goals, and timeline. 

If your client has questions, the answer is at their fingertips in the tool you’re using. Also, if designers need to intake requests, they can use Forms to automatically get all of the information they need so they can get started right as the request comes in.

Clear design briefs drive successful projects

A well-written design brief will help provide shared clarity surrounding your project goals and deliverables. With Asana’s creative production tools, you’ll be able to streamline your design projects and your team will be able to deliver game-changing results time and time again.

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How to write a rock solid design brief (with examples)

Design briefs are an essential part of every successful design project’s workflow. They align everyone involved on the purpose, milestones, and end goals of the project.

A well-written design brief is like a roadmap:

• It helps you identify and avoid roadblocks early on.
• It speeds up the design and development process.

On the other hand, a design brief that contains nonessential information and gaping holes causes even the best designers to struggle to do great work. Even worse, running a project without a design brief results in chaos with countless phone calls, ping-pong email threads and lack of clarity on design direction and project milestones.

In this guide, we’re going to explain the benefits and show you how to create a design brief so that you can make your creative projects a roaring success. We'll give you valuable insights on what to include, tips for success, and even examples and templates to get you started on your next graphic design project.

What we'll cover

Table of contents, what is a design brief, the benefits of using a design brief.

• Who writes the design brief?

How to write a design brief

3 design brief examples to use for inspiration, key takeaways.

A design brief is a short document—typically one or two pages—that explains the strategy for a design project’s visual direction and aesthetic. It also outlines the goals of the project and maps out the plan for how your design team will get there. This plan can include the number of versions and design mockups expected over the course of the design project , a visual mood board and design inspiration examples, branding guidelines for the design team and expected delivery dates

A design brief is a type of creative brief , which typically encompasses all the possible elements of a creative project.

The main focus of the design brief should be on the results and outcomes of the design concepts and visual direction. It should also relate that design vision to the business objectives of the project. In other words, it allows the client to focus on what they want to achieve before any design work starts on the project.

Finally, design briefs are usually signed off by the client and design team at set milestones in the project to ensure everything remains on track.

Starting a new project with a design brief is beneficial to both clients and designers. For example, a design brief:

• Equips designers with the background, foundation and insight to create the end design.
• Sets out the client’s expectations, visual taste (what they do and don’t like), and branding requirements for designers.
• Keeps stakeholders and contributors on track to complete the project on time and within budget.
• Ensures the project is understood and agreed upon by both parties from the outset.

Who writes the design brief? 

Various opinions exist, but most designers would expect an initial design brief from the client. From there, it can become a working document that gets approved by both parties. But there are other options:

With large companies, it’s typically a Company Director, Marketing Manager, or Marketing Executive who writes the design brief. In smaller companies, it’s usually the business owner who writes it. 

Designer 

Sometimes the brief is written by the designer rather than the client. Designers usually have a design brief template to be completed by the client that ensures they have all the information they need to start work.

Collaborative team

A third option involves the client and designer collaborating on the brief. This allows both parties to clarify goals and objectives, get input from stakeholders, and sign-off quicker.

The point is that both parties have a vested interest in getting the design brief right and signed-off before any design work starts. The client has to initiate the process, even if it’s asking a designer to meet and discuss the project so they can get ideas down. Some designers will have a standard template they’ll ask clients to complete first and then flesh it out with more details in a meeting.

Whomever writes the design brief needs to include key elements so that everyone involved has a clear picture of the requirements.

You can create design briefs in different styles and formats. But a good design brief outlines the deliverables and scope of the project, including any outcomes, timing, and budget.  

Design briefs are used across a wide range of projects including those in the fields of architecture, interior design, fashion design, and industrial design, as well as graphic design, web design, ecommerce, and branding and rebranding.

Depending on the nature of the project and the client requirements, there might be slightly different sections, but as a general rule of thumb, a good design brief generally includes:

An overview of the business

Goals and objectives of the design project, the target audience and market, the competition, project design information, project deliverables, project timescales, project budget, project approval.

Let’s look at each element in more detail.

Design briefs should always include an overview of the client’s business so that all stakeholders are familiar with the brand and what it stands for.

Key elements to include in this section:

• Company details, including name, industry, and product lines.
• Brand differentiator and/or unique selling proposition.
• Brand mission, vision, values, and messaging.

Questions to address:

• What’s the size of the company, and how long has it been in business? 
• What makes this company unique within its industry?
• What is the product or service?
• What is your brand’s mission?
• What are your brand’s keywords?
• What kind of feedback do you get from customers or clients?

A design brief needs to describe:

• Goals describe the overall purpose of the project. 
• Objectives are measures of success in reaching a goal.

Both need to be specific and measurable so that you can evaluate the success or failure of the project. For example: 

• Goal – increase traffic to the website.
• Objective – increase landing page visits by 10% by the end of Q1.
• Objective – increase new monthly visits to 40% of total traffic by Q2.

To build a thorough design brief, address questions such as:

• What do you want to achieve with this project?
• What does success look like for this project?
• Is this the first time this design problem has been tackled, or is it a reworking of a design that already exists?
• If it’s a rework, what needs to change, and why?
• What existing assets can be used as inspiration for our desired outcome?

It’s essential to understand the target audience and market for the design. 

For example, a website designed for teenagers will look and work differently than one designed for corporate decision-makers. 

Determine what outcome will resonate with your target audience by considering questions such as:

• How would you describe your target audience?
• What are their demographics, habits, and goals?
• What devices do they use?
• Do particular colors resonate more with their lifestyle?
• What research have you done to identify and understand your target audience?
• Do you have supporting documents, like buyer personas or empathy maps, that I can review?

• Can your budget and schedule accommodate further market research?

Note: If the client doesn’t have this information or more is required, then you may need additional budget.

Knowing the brand’s competition helps inform the design process and clarify the strategy. For example, what works for your competitors will likely work for you, but you need to know how to stand out from the crowd.

Make a list of direct and indirect competitors. For example, when launching its Watch Edition, Apple listed competitors as:

• Samsung Galaxy Live Watch: Though a trusted tech brand, its bulky, masculine designs are not as aesthetically appealing.
• Moto 360 by Motorola: A mid-priced option with a round face that resembles a traditional watch rather than a mini-tablet.
• LG G Watch R: A mix of classic style and technology.
• Fitbit by Tory Burch: A high-functioning, affordable sports tracker disguised as jewelry.

Implement competitive intelligence into your brief by outlining answers to these questions:

• Do you want to do something similar or strikingly different from your competitors?
• What are the strong points in your competitors’ designs?
• What don’t you like about your competitors’ designs?

Clients don’t have to provide creative direction–the design team will handle that. However, it’s good to list requirements about what to include or exclude.

Include any reference materials:

• Brand style guidelines; e.g. fonts, colors, tones.
• Mockups 

Uncover what your client has in mind by asking these discovery questions:

• Is there a brand style guide available?
• Are there any fonts, colors, or styles that we should avoid?
• What previous design or marketing materials can you share?
• How would you describe the style you want?
• Do you want high-end or down-to-earth? 
• Do you want to be bold and dominant or easily approachable?
• What styles would you prefer to avoid?
• What is the size of the design?
• Where is the design going to be used; e.g. web, business cards, stationery?

Both parties need to have a clear understanding of what outcome is  expected. Make sure expectations are set on both sides.

Include any of the following details about your deliverables:

• Asset dimensions/resolutions
• File formats
• Required color palette
• Image assets to be included
• Associated copy documents

Get on the same page as your client by asking outcome-based questions such as:

• What do you expect to have at the end of the project?
• What file formats should the design work be supplied in?
• What asset size and resolution are needed?
• Is there a specific prototyping or handoff platform that should be used?
• Do you require me to handoff work directly to a development team?

Clients need to state when they want to start and complete the project. If timescales don’t fit with the designer’s other commitments, it could be a non-starter. 

Aside from starting and ending the project, there will be other milestones along the way like concepts, final designs, development work, and reviews. Clients also need to account for providing their timely feedback throughout the project – otherwise, they could end up delaying the process and missing deadlines.

In short, both parties need to be realistic and flexible to account for potential changes or unexpected obstacles to project timescales. 

Determine a timeline by asking: 

• When will the project start?
• When will the project finish?
• Are there any inter-dependencies for this project?

Both the client and the designer need to be aware of the budget and constraints before the work commences.

The project budget has to align with project deliverables to avoid the possibility of scope creep.

Don’t avoid the subject. Discuss it as soon as possible so both parties know what to expect.

• What are the budget constraints on this project?
• Have research, development, and testing costs been considered?
• In what circumstances would there be budget flexibility?

In this section, list all the key stakeholders, contributors, and points of contact within the project with their assigned roles. You'll need a primary point of contact for the project, plus a person responsible for the final sign-off on all project deliverables.

Make sure all the details are listed, including their name, email address, and phone number. Remember to include any third-parties involved in the project, such as copywriters or web developers.

• Who’ll be the primary contact person for the project, and who will have the final sign-off on all deliverables from the client's side?
• Is anyone else to be included in the approvals?
• How will the review and approval process work once design begins and progresses?

Here are three different styles of design briefs to give you an idea of what’s possible.

1. Hush Puppies

The design brief example from Hush Puppies ticks all the boxes. It’s presented in a formal layout with clear section headings highlighting each component of the design brief. 

2. Quaker Oats

The next design brief from Quaker Oats has a different layout, but when you look closely, you’ll see it has all the essential ingredients. The background facts also provide handy information on the problem and what Quaker Oats want to achieve with their campaign.

3. Apple Watch

The final example for the Apple Watch Edition uses some existing photos to add substance to the design brief. But aside from that, you can see all the required elements, plus the “mandatories” of what and what not to mention.

Good design briefs are essential for any successful design project as they benefit both the client and the design team by:

• Equipping designers with the background, foundation, and insight to create the final product.
• Setting out the client’s expectations, taste (what they do and don’t like), and branding requirements for designers.
• Ensuring the project is understood and agreed upon by both parties from the outset.
• Keeping all stakeholders and contributors on track to complete the project on time and within budget.

The information you include in a design brief and how you manage the approval of the design plans can make or break your design project. Before you begin creative production, be sure to:

• Prioritize creating a design brief before launching any project to align on expectation and outcomes.
• Document all aspects of the project from inspiration to budget to deadline in order to eliminate any surprises or differences in opinion.
• implement a workflow tool that streamlines clunky processes in various platforms so that teams can stay focused on the outcome without unnecessary admin tasks.

Ziflow is the perfect tool for successful sign-off of design briefs by the client and design team as all stakeholders get real-time updates and notifications throughout the review and approval. Learn more about using Ziflow's creative collaboration platform to review and approve your design projects from brief to final version .

Download our free design brief template

Use our free design brief templates to elevate your next creative project. Capture all the key information needed to guide your creative team to deliver exceptional creative work.

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5. Target audience

Are you designing an ad to connect with children or their parents? Even if you’re marketing the same product, your approach to the design and messaging should be different for these two audiences. The more tailored your creative, the better.

When building out your design brief, it’s important that you include:

• Who is the intended audience?
• Which internal marketing personas are you mapping the designs to?

For internal creative/design teams and external long-term design partners, the latter will become more and more familiar as they continue to produce designs over time.

6. End deliverables

When it comes to the end deliverables, listing out everything you need will help the designer understand what’s expected of them. As you build out your list of deliverables, think to the future. For example, if you’re creating a blog header, maybe have that image formatted for all of the social media channels you use (I.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest).

For example, if the design is for a Facebook video campaign, then you may ask for:

• 60 second video, 1:1 ratio
• 30 second video , 4:5 ratio
• 15 second video, 1:1 ratio
• 15 second video, 9:16 ratio

Beyond just image dimensions, think about the file types you want as well, like the raw files.

7. Design Assets and Style Guide

If you want to stay true to your brand, you’ll need to do more than just share a link to your website. Instead, you should outline and share what assets are available to the designer. This includes things like:

• Brand guidelines
• Color palette

When you include the things that will enable your designers to create something that’s on-brand, you’ll spend less time going back and forth with an unnecessary round of feedback and changes.

This also comes in the form of a design style guide . This is an essential part of the design brief process. Without a style guide many questions are left unanswered when it comes to specific design elements of a brand.

If you’re working with an internal team or your flexible design partner, then they should already have these things. BUT, you can still send them any additional graphics or existing visuals that may be repurposed in the creative. Basically, if you’ve got any assets that may be helpful, send them.

Other Things You Can Add Into a Design Brief:

Now that we’ve covered the essentials and most likely wondering what makes a good design brief, here are some optional, but helpful things to add into your brief:

• Company details: If you’re working with a new design partner, agency or freelancer, you may want to include details about your brand! Let the designer know who they’re designing for.
• Competitor analysis: Depending on the design, it might be helpful to compare what your competitors are doing. This will help give the designers a better sense of direction on your end vision, while helping you stand out. This information can be helpful for important pages like your homepage and less so for something like a social media post.
• Benchmarks: Share examples of the level of quality you’d like out of each design. This will help the designer eliminate design decisions that they know you won’t like and focus on elements that you will. Heck, you can even share things that you DON’T want to emulate to really set that bar.
• Level of creativity allowed: What parameters does that designer have to work within? Do you have an existing template that you just want a designer to replicate or are they being tasked with doing a design refresh?

Graphic Design Brief Template

To make your life easier, we’ve packed up everything you need to deliver a great design brief into a free template. This customizable design brief template will enable you to:

• Give designers everything they need to be successful
• Scale your design production seamlessly

Simply access the design brief template below, and create a copy of your own!

Now that you have taken a look at our design brief template, using it, we have put together the below example of a design brief for a blog article's design requirements. You can use it to gauge the type of information you want to convey to the designer; Project Title: Motion Design Article Graphics Project Scope: The scope for this project covers two parts - 1. Header image: - We require the designer to take the theme of the requested blog article and develop a header image that both represents the contents of the article and incorporates our brand style into it. - As this is about motion design, a motion element incorporated into the design is required 2. Motion graphic image - This should portray the process explained in section 2 of the article with motion elements to it Main Objectives: The objective of the article is to convey authority and expertise in a topic about motion design. This will be achieved through a comprehensive guide about the topic, but most importantly showcasing this expertise through well design and engaging motion graphics within the content. Target Audience/Personas: Designers and marketers Inspiration: Examples of inspiration (always try to include at least 3 for variety to inspire designer) These can be links to references or attached images Project “Message”: Key takeaway is a showcase of expertise in motion design subject matter Project Owner & Stakeholders: Marketing manager - responsible for approvals and sign-offs Design director - responsible for providing design direction and approvals Designer - responsible for creating graphics and providing timely edits Project manager - responsible for assigning roles, responsibilities and task management Project Timeline & Deadlines: Project kickoff - 1 May 2022 Draft Review - 15 May 2022 Feedback - 18 May 2022 Final approval - 25 May 2022 Deliverables & Format/s: Header image -png, 2400px x1350px Thumbnail - png, 600px x 600px Chapter 2 Motion graphic - apng, 850px x 850px Project Assets: Style guide link Asset library link Notes: Please ensure that the motion graphics are not too complex and are rather simple and slow moving to not detract from the content within the article.

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What Is a Design Brief and How to Write It? [+Example]

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Take the time to learn why user experience design briefs are essential and how they can help you. UX designers bring their expertise to every project they take on. If you don’t know what a UX design brief is, here’s an article on writing one that will outline everything you need to know.

If you like videos, here is a quick one explaining what is a design brief and why you need one! ⬇️

What is a design brief?

A design brief is a document that outlines the goals, project scope , budget, design requirement s, and other core detail s of a new project . It serves to align the vision of all the stakeholders on how the final deliverable should look and what purpose it should serve.

There are two components to a design brief: the problem to be solved and the solution to be designed . The audience for this document is usually the director of product development, who may or may not have read it before handing it over to you.

A design brief is both a guide and a tool. It shouldn’t be a written document full of text and unnecessary details. In addition to explaining what the product aims to achieve, it is essential to demonstrate its user interface concept and highlight its unique features. A good design brief is organized, focused on one main idea or idea set, unambiguous, and concise. There is an example at the end of this article.

A design brief is a key that unlocks the door to a successful product. Having a good idea is not enough; you must know what you’re doing and when.

A UX design brief is essentially a more detailed version of your design brief. It contains information such as key element s, creative brief s, budget constrains, graphic design , project budget and many more. Further more it contains information on how users will interact with your app or website, what they’ll see and do when using it, and how you plan to measure their satisfaction with it.

Why do you need a design brief?

A design brief is an excellent tool for ensuring that your website will come out user-friendly and engaging. It helps design team understand how they can do their best to create an experience that will meet the needs of their users while also making sure that it is functional.

Usability testing

Testing with help of  user behavior analytics tools can teach you, how users navigate different pages, where they are clicking, what they are looking at, and any errors that may arise. This can help you fix these issues quickly and prevent them from happening again in future tests.

Content strategy

It will allow you to plan out what content is needed for each page so that it doesn’t feel like too much or too little information for users to wade through. It also allows you to see if there are any dead ends or bottlenecks on your site so that you can create an effective design.

A design brief is a document that provides a high-level overview of the project and its goals. It’s a way to get everyone on the same page so that everyone knows what needs to be done as well as why it needs to be done.

Understand users better

A design brief helps determine your ideal customers’ needs and how they want to interact with your product. The goal is to determine who the product is intended for and how they will use it.

User Experience Map

In addition, it helps you create a user experience map — a visual representation of all the features in your product, from top to bottom, as well as other aspects like colors, fonts, and images. Use  UX research tools  for better user experience mapping. It is essential to every design process because it helps identify problems early on so that you can provide solutions before they become big problems.

What is in a design brief?

A well-written design brief defines the problems you’re trying to solve, the business value that your product or service will provide, as well as the proposed solution. It outlines the goals, budget constraint s, file format s and business objective of your project.

Design briefs are usually communicated to team members working on the project. They typically have a list of tasks and deliverables, a timeline for completion, as well as information about how each task affects other tasks.

A good design brief should include:

1. Project description

Are you working on a new website, a product prototype, UX work, or a redesign? The project could be e-commerce, an app, an analytics platform, etc. This can be summarized in a couple of straight-to-the-point sentences .

2. Purpose of the design brief

The purpose of your document should be clear from the beginning. It should provide enough information for everyone in your team to understand what they’re working on while giving them enough detail to prepare themselves for their role in helping with the entire process. For your team it might be crucial to include design examples, mood boards, product designs, basically everything that will help your team during the whole project.

3. Target audience

A good design brief will help you and your team understand the target audience for your product. There are  customer insight tools , which helps you to understand your audience and provide data-driven results. The target audience is vital because it can inform how you create a user experience and what elements of that experience should be prioritized.

You may want to consider:

• Who are the users of your product? This could include people who use it as part of their daily lives (e.g., parents with children) or those who may only use it occasionally (e.g., professionals).
• What do they need to accomplish? In general, this should be something concrete—for example, “I want to learn more about [insert topic]”—and not just vague statements like “I need help with [insert task].” You’ll also want to get into specific details about how people will interact with each component of your product and any potential problems or issues that might arise during use (e.g., anxiety when using an app).

4. Project objectives

Project objectives are a great place to start because they define the why and how of your project . Doing this would make it easy for you to decide what tasks need to be completed, how long those tasks should take, and who should be involved. You can also use these objectives as a baseline for measuring success or failure after completing the project.

5. Competitive research

In any design brief, competitive research is essential. It will help you understand the market, which can be a source of inspiration for your products and services. Competitors can also provide ideas for new concepts or design choices that you might not have thought about otherwise. Visit our guides to learn more about UX research.

You should include competitor analysis in your design brief because every company needs to do it regardless of size or industry.

6. Business case

Why is this product necessary for your organization? Why will it generate revenue and increase market share? What’s at stake if this product doesn’t exist?

7. Rationale

Why are you building this thing in particular? What do you hope to achieve with this experience or outcome? What are your vision statements around what you want users to see and do with your product or service? How new design can improve user experience compared to previous design.

8. Timeline and Budget

You’ll want to get your design brief done early so that stakeholders and clients will have time to review it. It is crucial to communicate well to take this step. Everyone must agree on what they need and how they feel about it. Listen carefully to each person’s perspective and respond accordingly.

After everyone has reviewed the design brief (and possibly made changes), you will need them to work together again to create content for this document, including any additional information that might be of interest (such as business objectives, project budget, additional details).

How to write a design brief

Create a header

A header is the first thing your customer sees when they open the design brief. Your header should be visually appealing, easy to understand and engage with and inform the client about the services you render.

If you’re designing a website, your header will probably be made up of images that represent your brand’s core values or include an image that represents your logo. The goal is to ensure visitors know what they’re getting into as soon as they land on your site.

Give an overview of the project

The second step in writing a UX design brief is to give an overview of the project. The goal is to define the project and how it will work in order to help you organize  UX strategy , ideas and provide a framework for your team.

First, identify the type of project you are writing the design brief for. What type of business is it? Is it a startup or an established business? Once you know these things, you will understand what user experience (UX) aspects are essential for this business.

Identify your target audience

The next step in writing a UX design brief is to discuss who the design is targeted at and who its competitors are. You will know more about your users by using  customer feedback tools.  Additionally you learn how they interact with their devices, and why they need them.

Before writing your UX design brief, you must consider who your audience will benefit from this information. Who do you want to reach out to?

Think about these questions before you start writing your UX design brief. This will help you develop ideas for what makes your product unique and why users should care.

Outline the project’s budget

This step will help you decide how much time, money, and materials you need to complete the project.

It’s not just about how much it will cost to make the product or service. It also includes information about potential costs if you need to hire someone else for additional work or change plans because of unforeseen circumstances. This way you’ll be able to create a realistic budget for the project.

Give an outline of the deliverables for the project

In this step, you’ll outline your project’s critical components. You can create a design brief and start the project using the outline. This will help you set expectations with your clients, so that they know what to expect from your work.

Finalize the design brief

Describe the metrics and standards for evaluating the brief. You and your client will both need to sign many design briefs. Additionally, you can emphasize any requirements or creative direction required for the project to succeed. It is good to provide contact details in the design brief.

Design brief example

A design brief example is provided below:

Design Brief

Submitted by: Alice Jameson

Date: March 03, 2023

Company Overview

Didi Connect has over 50,000 clients and is one of the top public relations companies in the world. The company helps businesses and brands get in the spotlight by offering promotional services. Customers can communicate via its Mobile App with Didi Connect’s customer service representatives.

Project Overview

This project aims to improve the user experience of the company’s mobile app, focusing primarily on its design.

Project goal s and objectives

We aim to improve the user rating of our mobile application by 25% in the application store by the end of the year by developing a new design. In this project, we aim to:

• 20% reduction in bounce rate
• Create interactive interfaces to improve website navigation

Target audience

Business owners and companies living in New York who want the proper brand exposure.

Competitor analysis

Top Competitors make the mobile app experience as simple as possible. Recent competitors designed their pages, prioritizing only user experience. Didi Connect plans to make its website application easier to navigate with simple icons, clear layouts, and colors.

The budget for this project is $2,500, which includes:

• $2,000 for the design team fees
• $500 for miscellaneous charges

Project Timeline

There are five steps in this design project timeline. Three days would be needed for the design ideation phase, two days for the exploration phase, and two days for the wireframe and design. The creation of the design and post-launch assistance would require fourteen days altogether.

Deliverables

The project requires a mobile application design with a better, improved user experience.

Conclusion and evaluation

The company intends to inform customers about the design modifications and keep track of client feedback until the end of the year.

Contact info rmation

We can assist you with more information about this design project if you contact us at:

Joe Johnson

Design Lead, DesignGO

[email protected]

785-293-8680

Maximizing the potential of the project

A good design brief helps you and your client or stakeholders get the most out of their project. It would help if you wrote in a clear, concise, and easy-to-read manner.

The more details you can include, the more effective design brief you create. Of course, there are no hard-and-fast rules regarding writing briefs. You should tailor each one according to its needs, but having an idea about what types of users will be involved with any given project is always helpful!

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People also ask (FAQ)

A design brief has several important components:

• Company overview
• The project description
• Project goals and objectives
• The target audience
• Competitive research
• Bussiness case rationale

A design brief helps to define the scope of the project, establish expectations for the project, and provide a clear understanding of the project to all parties involved. It helps ensure that the project meets the client’s needs and requirements, while also facilitating communication and collaboration between the client and the designer.

A design statement is a part of the design brief, where what the design solution should do is outlined. It doesn’t specify how it should do it or any possible constraints.

Eniola Olaniyi is UX designer and Content Writer at UXtweak, where she focuses on creating informative and engaging content related to user experience and design. With a background in UX design, Eniola is on a mission to help businesses create products and services that meet the needs of their users. In her role at UXtweak, Eniola works closely with other writers to apply her UX expertise, research the topics and come up with valuable content pieces. When she's not working, Eniola enjoys reading articles and case studies on UX design and exploring new ways to enhance her writing skills.

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Design Brief Example: How It Should Look Like and What It Should Contain

min to read

Have you ever ordered a design project? If yes, you probably know that successful execution depends on mutual understanding between the designer and the customer.

Usually, to find such common ground, design agencies ask a client to write down the requirements for the project. This document is called a design brief.

At Eleken , we used to follow this model, so we know quite a lot about it. In this article, we will explain what a brief is and how to write a design brief with examples and templates that you can use. We will also answer the question "Is it possible to work without a design brief?" Spoiler: yes!

But first, let's define the concept and see what to include in your project design brief.

What is a design brief and why do you need it?

Generally speaking, a brief is a document with a list of questions regarding implementing a specific task. In design, this document is a set of requirements that helps designers understand what the client wants and also helps to define the direction for design. 

Usually, a good design brief increases the certainty that a result will be fully satisfying, reducing the risk of misunderstandings between the client and the design team. The design brief sets the direction for future design and is a base for designers to start work.

A design brief is input from the client, as it should reflect their vision and expectations for the project. But we shouldn't forget that creating a brief is, first of all, the teamwork of the designer and the customer. You don't need to worry about forgetting to mention some vital information in your brief. If the designer you've chosen is a professional, they will never leave you alone with this task.

How do you write a design brief?

We have put together a list of questions typical for a design brief that will help you understand the concept and prepare for hiring a designer. When you answer them, you can assume that 90% of the brief is ready! The remaining 10 percent you will gain when discussing it with your designer. Ready? Let's start!

• What does your company do?

Even if it seems clear, it's best not to assume that the designer knows everything about your company. The deeper the designer understands your business, the more opportunities for creativity they have.

Write clearly and concisely:

• What does your organization do?
• What background does your company have?
• What are your goals?

Let designers deeply understand your big goals by sharing your product vision or mission.  

• What tasks should the design solve? Describe the deliverables.

This is probably the most crucial question to ask yourself when ordering a design from an agency. Explain what you are trying to communicate with the help of design and why. Clearly state the project's scope, desired outcome, and objective deliverables that you expect, and describe what pain points your product solves for users and how design can help in this regard.

• What is your target audience?

When writing about your target audience, don't forget to mention your users' age, education, occupation, income, etc. Explain to the designer who these people are, what issues they want to solve, and how they are expected to interact with your product.

• Who are the competitors, and what differentiates your product from them?

Knowing the main competitors and the unique value proposition of your product is also very useful. The design should reflect the unique advantages of the brand to stand out among rivals.

• What copy and images will this project include?

The text and images used in the project are essential parts of the design. It doesn't mean you must have all the materials before starting the design process. However, it's worth drafting a plan for visuals and text so that designers can correlate their work with your direction. 

• Do you have references?
• Find some examples/references to the good design or style you like and would want to have for your solution. If you are already on the market, share existing brand visuals like corporate colors, fonts, or images to help the design team get a feel of your product and analyze it more carefully.
• Show examples that you think would suit the most, even if it is the design of your main competitors. By doing so, you set the bar for your expectations.
• Show the designer what you DO NOT like. This will give them a general idea of your tastes and preferences and prevent you from getting frustrated with their work.
• What are the timeline and budget?
• Determine your budget in advance. This way, a designer can optimize the time and resources spent. Determining the budget also allows the designer to decide whether they want to perform this task.
• Give the designer a timeline and set a realistic final deadline. You have to consider the different stages of the design work, such as consultation, concept development, execution, production, and delivery.
• Sometimes, it is simply necessary to complete the work quickly. In such cases, honestly inform the designer in advance.

It is necessary to discuss all the above questions with the designer before you start working. You may think that some of them are trivial and the answers are obvious. Still, the quality of the design depends on the knowledge of all these details.

Now that we know what information is important and why, it's time to look at some design brief templates.

Design brief examples and templates

The above questions are fundamental but don't always look exactly like this. The following templates contain the main points you should discuss with your designer before starting the design process. Based on them, you can outline the questions in your design brief.

Let’s check out some design brief examples.

Design brief template above is quite detailed, all questions are divided into blocks and spelled out in detail which makes it clear and very convenient to fill.

This creative design brief example is well-structured, sets clear business goals for design, and is very laconic. It works well for website design requests.Regarding app design, a brief template has to be more specific regarding UX requirements and include some relevant references.

Regarding app design, a brief template has to be more specific regarding UX requirements and include some relevant references.

The simple template above gathers information about the company, the problem to solve, the client's product, the budget and timeline, and the desired deliverables. It is a good design brief example that can be a great start. However, let's not forget that designing products is a complex and sometimes long-lasting process.

When classic design briefs don't work? 

Clear goals and requirements help in the design process. Designers always appreciate clients sharing a brief that can become a North Star in the design process. However, some problems can occur with design briefs.

For example, young startups might not have a product manager on the team, so writing a design brief often falls on the founder's shoulders. For them, writing and submitting effective design requirements can be a very complex task, as founders might not have the right expertise for it. Even though that's absolutely fine, designers might wait for ages to get the desired brief.

Another common case is that discussion with the design team often inspires the product owner and changes perspective regarding the initial design requirements. Then, clients' ideas about the desired format and concept of the product may change in the process, too. In that case, there's a need to update a brief, and you may feel your time was wasted on writing the brief.

To write a good design brief, you must collect and structure a large volume of information on the product in one short document. Without prior experience of creating a design brief can be difficult. This is especially true for product design.

Brief is the most effective when you want to order a design project (landing page, website redesign) from a design agency. However, when building a product from scratch, a short brief is insufficient to cover all the requirements for a new product design.

Do you really need a design brief to start working with a designer?

A design brief, while highly beneficial in framing a project's scope, objectives, and expectations, is not an absolute necessity to start working with a designer. In fact, many successful collaborations begin without a formal brief. This is particularly true when you're working with experienced designers or agencies who are adept at extracting essential project details through initial consultations and discussions. They can guide you through the process, helping to define goals, understand your audience, and pinpoint design requirements. This approach often leads to a more organic, evolving understanding of the project, which can be particularly beneficial for startups or businesses still fine-tuning their vision. Ultimately, the decision to use a design brief depends on your specific context, the nature of the project, and the working style of both you and your design partner.

Understanding the role and structure of a design brief is crucial for anyone looking to embark on a design project, whether it's a website, an app, or any other digital product. A well-crafted brief serves as a roadmap, ensuring that both the client and the design team are aligned on the project's goals, audience, and desired outcomes. However, it's important to recognize that the utility of a design brief can vary depending on the project's nature and the team's expertise. In some cases, especially when working with experienced designers or agencies like Eleken , starting a project without a formal brief can lead to a more fluid and adaptive design process. This flexibility often results in a product that truly resonates with its intended audience and fulfills its business objectives. 

To save our clients` time and offer a more flexible quick call format. Our Head of Design, Maks, who has years of experience in product design, has a meeting with a client. We call it a kick-off meeting. During the call, the client shares their vision for the product, goals and objectives, ideas about design, details about the existing stage, and desired outcomes. Maks has a trained ear, so he listens carefully and picks up the most important details that he professionally translates into design requirements for our team. We fully trust Maks, and so should you, because he's a real pro.

Sometimes, the clients come with references and ideas; other times, we suggest how the product can be designed. At Eleken, we are big fans of the idea that good products are not created in a vacuum, mindlessly following requirements. Great products are the result of ongoing team collaboration. And we have a whole bunch of them in our portfolio . 

You have a product to design and want to see us in action? Book a call to get in touch with our team.

Mariia Kasym

Writer at Eleken

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How to Draft a Design Brief for Successful Projects

Design Paula Borowska • February 03, 2020 • 7 minutes READ

A design brief is a document that helps a designer and client align on project expectations; this makes the project much easier to manage as it’s being worked on. The brief identifies critical pieces of information, such as scope, that set the right expectation on what the specific project is meant to accomplish, how it will be worked on, and so on.

There are numerous benefits to using a design brief, including:

• Get an understanding of client’s needs and expectations for a project
• Gain specs, insights, or research information upfront
• Gives the client peace of mind and a sense of involvement in their project request
• Lays out the timeline, milestones, and critical players who will be involved which will later help keep the project on track
• Understand the depth of the project
• Improves communications and working relationships
• Allows any misconceptions or missing information to be brought up for discussion

A thorough design brief is going to guide the upcoming project to the right goals as well as be a great back-up document in case the project blows out of proportion. Both you and your client can have a reference file if a disagreement about the project’s details ever arises. Additionally, a well-written design brief is going to be a lifesaver when you need to talk about the project in the future, such as in a case study, interview, or a performance review.

Who can benefit from a design brief?

Design briefs are beneficial to freelance designers and in-house design teams. They are just as useful for in-house projects where the client is a marketer requesting a landing page, for example. It’s not a tool just for independent contractors.

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Elements of a Reliable Design Brief

Although design briefs come in various forms, shapes, and sizes, the tutorial below will walk you through essential items that every brief should cover – no matter how informally. At the end of this tutorial, you will find a link to a design brief template that you can copy for yourself and modify it as needed.

Project Overview and Scope

A good project overview will address two key questions: what and why? What are you going to work on, and why does this project need to get done? The project overview summarizes the intention, goals, and scope. Because it’s a summary, it’s okay to keep this section short and straightforward, the rest of the brief will go into more detail .

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“What” refers to the scope and scale of the project. What is the project about? Is it a redesign or a new feature? What will the deliverables be?

“Why” refers to the design problem the client is facing and how you’re going to help them with it. Defining the scope of the project early on is a must since it will prevent scope creep. Even if necessary additions will have to be made, they can become a new project entirely.

• What are you working on in this project?
• Why are you doing it?

Goals and Objectives

“Goals describe the overall purpose of the project, while objectives are concrete measures of success in reaching a goal.” – Maria Jennings

Maria said it well! This section of the design brief should focus on the problem at hand and the desired outcomes. A website or landing page project will most likely aim to improve revenue, traffic, or leads. An in-app project, such as adding a new feature, will most likely focus on engagement or retention. Quality goals specify both the desired effect and its timeline.

Example goals include:

• Reduce blog bounce rate by 40% in the next three months
• Increase customer product engagement by 10% month over month in the first two quarters of 2020
• Increase monthly email subscribers by 25% in a certain time frame
• Grow average weekly revenue by 10% month over month

If you establish the project goals and objectives up front, you’ll have something to go back to when making design decisions. It takes the ambiguity out and helps your client see the direct value you bring to their business upon completion.

• What is this project meant to achieve?
• What will success look like for this project?
• What insights can guide the redesign toward success?

Company and Brand Overview

Every thorough design brief starts with information about the client, specifically their brand and business. This is more necessary for freelancers since they aren’t as familiar with the client’s company.

• What are the client’s key products or services? What do they do?
• How big is the company and its market?
• What makes the company unique?

The point here is to get a general sense of your client’s company. It will give your client peace of mind by demonstrating to them you have an understanding of their company, their market, and their current design needs.

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Target Audience

Understanding a client’s target audience plays a big part in nailing down the right UX . Whether this project aims at a more general audience or a specific one, get as much information as possible. For in-house teams, it might be as simple as linking to one of your personas. For freelancers, it might require a bit more note-taking, especially if your client doesn’t have documents to share. But, if they do, that’s great! Iterate on it. It will further show them you have a full understanding of their business and needs.

Things to note about the target audience:

• Age, gender, location, etc…
• Psychographics
• Social media of choice
• Relevant habits
• Customer journeys and mindsets

Milestones and Schedule

Milestones are especially critical the larger the project is. If you’d like, you can combine the schedule section of your design brief with the budget as they are often related. Nevertheless, that will depend on your pricing structure, and it doesn’t apply to in-house teams either.

Writing out different milestones will help non-creatives and non-designers to get an understanding of your design process, which is often a mystery to them. Transparency can go a long way to setting expectations and having a better working relationship.

Writing out a rough timeline for milestones is essential. Non-designers often don’t know or realize how long something might take, which makes this the perfect opportunity for you to set the right expectations. If there are hard deadlines the client needs you to meet, this is the place to include them.

Additionally, having a schedule is going to keep the project flowing more smoothly and more on track. If the client has specific deadlines that you find unrealistic or too tight, discuss it right away.

Also, make sure to outline the schedule for the client as well!

• When are they expected to provide you initial information?
• What’s the required time frame for giving feedback or answering emails?

Within the budget section of your design brief, make sure to earmark the budget for all tasks within the project. This may include research, testing, copywriting, or revisions. If you can, provide a pricing table. This is another good way to avoid scope creep.

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Deliverables

The last item in a design brief should be a list of deliverables. Naturally, they will vary depending on the scope and type of project. If you’re providing various deliverables , you can tie them back to the defined milestone or provide a simple list.

• What deliverables should the client expect at the completion of the project or each milestone?

Stakeholders and Review Process

You’ll want to identify who the stakeholders and decision-makers for the project. Keep it to one or two people if possible. The more stakeholders on a project, the more people will be giving out their opinions, which can quickly derail a project into one by a committee and significantly impact deadlines.

It’s perfectly normal for a larger corporation to want to involve many people in reviewing your work as a contractor – more so, the bigger the project is. That’s why you should also define the review and input process.

After naming the one or two stakeholders, you’ll want to give them instructions on how to best provide with feedback. To avoid designing by committee, you can tell your client that they can review the designs internally among themselves and write up their feedback, which you will then discuss directly with stakeholders and continue accordingly. It doesn’t hurt to iterate on how long the client has to provide feedback or respond to emails and requests.

• Who are the stakeholders?
• What is the design review process like?
• What is expected of the client in this process?

A Few More Things to Add to Your Design Brief

So far, we’ve discussed many different things to include in your design brief that will ensure your projects are set up for success. There are, however, a bunch of other things you may want to include if you think they will help make your design brief even more successful:

• Competitive analysis. Find out information and insight into your client’s competition will help you make better design decisions.
• Analytical data/insights. Was this project brought on because of a newfound idea? If so, what was it? What kind of information do they have about their customers’ behaviors, likes, dislikes, needs, etc. that will be fundamental in driving this project (or simply for you to know about)?
• Branding information. Especially helpful in a rebranding project, it’s important to take note of the client’s branding concerns, or desires. It’s also never a bad idea to identify key branding details that will be critical to the design project at hand.

Download Free Design Brief Template

And there you have it! A rundown of all the essential details of a successful design brief. The more information you provide, the better the expectations are for a project. It’s a pretty flexible framework that will work for freelance designers and in-house designers.

Before you get started on your next design project, don’t forget to grab your free design brief template ( .docx and .pdf ) and modify it as necessary!

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Paula Borowska

Paula Borowska is an innovative and insightful Senior UX Designer at CVS Health, known for her relentless pursuit of designing the best user experiences. As an expert in design systems, user testing, accessibility, and cross-team collaboration, Paula is dedicated to enhancing digital experiences for all users.

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Teaching Plan 2022 Term 2 - Technology Grade 7

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How to Write a Design Brief for a Grade 7 Technology Project

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How to Write a Design Brief for a Grade 7 Technology Project Before you can create the ideal design brief, you must first fully comprehend the issue. A design brief is a succinct, precise document that states the issue and recommended course of action. The following should be in a design brief:

• What will you be making?
• How will it solve the problem?
• Any materials or resources needed

After you have written your design brief, you should also list the specifications and constraints for the project. For example: Priyanka has nothing to hold her beautiful flowers. Using creative thinking, a pair of scissors and some paint, she changes a plastic bottle into a vase. The specifications of a technology project list the requirements that the solution must meet.

In our example, Priyanka would need to list the following specifications for her solution:

• It needs to be able to hold a bunch of flowers.
• It should be stable.
• It needs to be waterproof.
• It needs to be attractive to look at.

Constraints refer to anything that limits the designer when finding a solution to a problem. Priyanka’s constraints could have been:

• tools to make the vase
• limited materials
• time to make it

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