A design brief does not need to be complicated, but some of the details matter.

You don’t need to use or understand design language, marketing jargon, or have a perfectly polished launch strategy or plan.

It’s simply a brief that helps your designer understand what you need, why you need it, who it’s for and how the finished work will be used.

In this article, we’ll unpack some of the details behind a good, simple design brief, so you can give it to your designer next time.

Goal: What are you trying to achieve?

Before diving into the colour scheme, fonts, layout, and all of the pretty stuff, you need to have in mind first…

What is the purpose of this design project? What are you trying to achieve? this should be clear in your design brief

A good example is a flyer, is its purpose for a one-off event? If so, we need to consider a design that can be communicated quickly and clearly.

A product label, its purpose is for sales, or for at least someone to pick it up. We need to help people understand what the product is, its key selling points, and whether it’s right for them.

You may even wish to share some label or design trends that align with your brand.

A useful brief should explain the business problem or purpose at hand, and not focus solely on the preferred style or design layout. While design is still a factor, it’s good to share the clear goal, so your designer can make decisions that support that outcome.

Explain: Who the design is for

Good design is not only about what the business owner likes. It needs to make sense to the people who will see, read or use it.

We don’t create good design because it’s what you, the business owner, or your wife likes. The design needs to make sense to the audience – the people who will see, read, purchase or use it.

When providing your design brief to the designer, it’s always good to explain in a short description your target audience. Who are they? What are they looking for? What do they already know and what don’t they know? What core information needs to go on the design project so they can buy or trust your brand?

For health, wellness and professional service businesses, this can be especially important. The design may need to feel calm, credible, approachable and easy to understand. It may need to avoid looking too clinical, too playful, too generic or too sales-heavy.

Overall, this can help your designer make better choices when designing elements. If you don’t really know who you are targeting, tell your designer this! It’s equally as useful and they will help you (or they should).

Clarity: Be clear about what needs to be delivered

One of the most helpful things you can include in a design brief is a clear list of deliverables.

This means what the actual end product items you need at the end of the project.

Some good examples are logo files, business cards, print-ready labels, PDF documents, web banners, social graphics, and so on.

Please always share in the most detail as well (if possible). If you know the size, format, or platform you want to use, or if it’s a social media tile? How many images?

An example when sharing could be the following:
Key Deliverables: A3 and A4 Poster (PDF format), 3 Social Media Grid Post Graphics and 1 Social Media Story Graphic.

The details count. And if you aren’t super technical and can’t provide the format, that’s okay! Provide as much as you can, even where the design product is going, or the placement, helps.

Share: Provide any assets or content you already have

If you already have brand assets, send them early. This might include your logo files, brand guidelines, colours, fonts, photography, copywriting, previous designs, packaging dielines, print specifications or website access details. These are all important to share with your designer.

You may even share designs or styles you’re looking to achieve; this can stop designers from really missing the mark from the start and consuming precious billable hours.

Missing content is actually a common component of delay in design projects, or often leads to unexpected added costs. If your flyer or brochure needs final copy, images, or other details, the designer will need this!

If you don’t have any images and would like the designer’s advice or to source them, they can do this too. Be prepared, though, this can add additional cost to the final invoice.

The Practical: Include timelines and budgets.

A brief should also cover the practical side of the project, such as deadlines, budgets and any other nitty-gritty requirements.

When does the job need to be finalised? Do you have any hard deadlines? soft deadlines? Consider product launches, website go-lives and which team will approve the designs or provide feedback?

All of these points matter because without them, the design project can slow down, or there is a lack of understanding when the design needs to be completed.

Understanding where feedback comes from is also important, and it should be constructive too. Instead of saying “I don’t like it”, explain what is not working. Is it the colour? format? type? off-brand? More details matter (again).

Remember, though, you don’t need it ALL figured out.

The takeaway point to remember is that while a brief is important, and we need as much information as possible, it’s as much as you can give.

You do not need to know every file format, print requirement or design term before starting!

A designer can help clarify the scope, recommend the right formats, suggest what is missing, and turn a rough idea into a practical plan. The brief is simply a starting point for a better conversation.

If you are preparing to work with a designer, focus on the essentials: the goal, the audience, the deliverables, the available content, the deadline and who needs to approve the work. That is usually enough to begin.

And if you are not sure what you need yet, that is fine too. Sometimes the first step is not a finished brief, but more conversation with your designer that will help shape a good outcome.

Example Design Brief Template

Here is a simple example of how a design brief might look in practice. This does not need to be perfect, but it gives your designer enough useful information to start asking the right questions

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