limbo - 12:04 pm on Dec 17, 2008 (gmt 0)

OK, you're effectively writing a design brief. They consist of many parts, both factual and interpretive.

From my experience the secret to a good brief is enough detail to lead, but not influence too much. If the designer is good at their job, they should be able to envisage what you need from what you've written, then run with it.

Typical brief elements are:

Project Overview

» General project information - summary/background.
» Contact details & liaison points.
» Goals of the project.
» Deliverables Required (website, logo, company stationery...)

Audience

» Primary target audience - location/niche/cultural/historic links...
» Audience profile.
» How will your audiences use the collateral?
» What, if anything, should be avoided?

Project Message - Features, Benefits and Values

» Features and facts about the project, service or organisation + its value to target audiences.
» How do these compare against the competition?
» Main competitors?
» Try as best as you can to describe the project/service/organisation in one sentence.

Tone

» 'Modern but casual', 'formal and vintage', 'corporate and technical'...
» What do the audiences believe or think, before you start communicating with them?
» What kind of voice and imagery should we use to engage them?
» Examples of of imagery/copy that they like - the designer has the right to reject their love of Comic Sans ;) - so long as they can rationalise the decision.

Budget, Timing and Resources

» Has a budget been approved? - at the very least a ball park figure should be supplied.
» Are there any target dates for project release - e.g. conference or radio ad..?
» What is deadline for delivery/launch?
» Any specific/exisiting collateral to be included (stock photos, logo, straplines...)?
» Is the client supplying copy?

Process

» Who is the point of contact (client side)?
» Date for client to supply project relative documents.
» Internal review and approval process?
» Who signs off the final artwork?
» Payment schedule.

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... Anyone got any more?

In short, a good brief can be the difference between an OK design and a really good one. Well that, a bit of luck and lot's of creative effort :)

Useful link - [designcouncil.org.uk...]