A design brief is a short document that tells your designer what you need, why you need it, who it's for and what success looks like. A good design brief template covers your business, the goal, the audience, the deliverables, references, must-haves, timeline, budget range and who signs off.
You don't need to be a designer to write one. You just need to answer the right questions honestly. The template below is the one I'd want every client to fill out before we start.
Why the brief matters
The brief is the foundation of the whole project. A vague brief gets you vague first drafts, extra revision rounds and a designer guessing at what you meant. A clear one gets you work that's on target from the first round.
It also forces you to make decisions before money and time are on the line. Half the value of writing a brief is figuring out what you actually want.
What makes a brief great
It's specific. "Modern and clean" describes half the internet. "Feels like a high-end sneaker boutique, not a sporting goods store" is something a designer can work with.
It explains the why. "We need a new logo" is a task. "We're moving from food truck to restaurant and the old logo looks like a sticker" is a reason, and the reason shapes the design.
It's honest about limits. Deadline, budget range, existing assets you have to keep. Constraints help a designer, they don't scare one.
It's short. One to two pages is plenty. If it takes 20 pages, you're writing a strategy document.
How to write a design brief, step by step
Start with the problem, not the solution. Write down what's not working or what's changing.
Describe your customer like a real person. Age range, where they hang out, what they care about, what else they buy.
List every deliverable and where it will live. A logo for a hoodie has different needs than a logo for an app icon.
Gather references. Collect visuals you love and visuals you hate, and write one line about why for each.
Name the decision makers. Know who approves the work before the first draft shows up.
Fill out the template below and send it with any brand files you already have.
Free download: get this brief as a fillable PDF in my Brand Starter Kit, plus a full brand guidelines checklist. Get the free kit
The design brief template
Copy this into a doc and answer every prompt. If something doesn't apply, write "N/A" so your designer knows you didn't skip it by accident.
Design brief
1. Project name and contacts
What's this project called? Who's the main contact, and how do you prefer to communicate?
2. About your business
What do you do, in two or three sentences? How long have you been around? What makes you different from the competition?
3. The goal
What problem should this project solve? What's changing in your business that makes this necessary now?
4. Audience
Who are you trying to reach? Describe your ideal customer: who they are, where they spend time, what they like, and what would make them choose you.
5. Deliverables
List everything you need designed, with quantities and sizes if you know them. Example: primary logo, icon version, business cards, five social templates.
6. Where it will be used
Website, social, packaging, signage, merch, print, video, presentations? List the main places people will see it.
7. Message and personality
What's the one thing people should take away? Give three to five words that describe how the brand should feel, and a few words it should never feel like.
8. Existing assets and must-haves
What do you already have (logo, colors, fonts, photos, guidelines)? What has to stay, and what's open to change? Any required text, legal lines or partner logos?
9. References
Share three to five visuals you love and two or three you don't, with one sentence each on why. These can be from any industry.
10. Competitors
Who are your main competitors? What do you like or dislike about how they look?
11. Timeline
When do you need final files? Is there a launch, event or print deadline driving the date?
12. Budget range
What range are you working with? Sharing it lets your designer recommend the right scope instead of guessing.
13. Approvals
Who gives feedback, and who has final say? How many people will review each round?
14. What success looks like
Six months after launch, how will you know this worked?
Extra prompts for a logo design brief
If you're briefing a logo or brand identity, add these:
Exact name and spelling as it should appear, including capitalization, punctuation and any tagline.
Logo type preference: symbol, wordmark, lettering, or open to ideas.
Smallest use: will it live on a favicon, a hat, a pen? Small uses change the design.
Production: embroidery, screen printing, vinyl, signage, packaging?
Words or symbols to avoid, including any you've seen overused in your industry.
Long-term plans: new locations, product lines or markets coming up?
Mistakes that slow projects down
Writing "we'll know it when we see it." Your designer can't design toward a feeling you haven't described.
Sending 40 references with no notes. Five references with clear reasons beat a giant mood board with none.
Leaving out a decision maker. The partner who shows up at round three and changes direction costs everyone time.
Hiding the real deadline. If the print shop needs files two weeks before the event, say so.
Asking for everything. "Bold but minimal, playful but luxury" isn't a direction. Pick a lane.
What happens after you send it
A good designer will read your brief, ask follow-up questions and play it back to you in their own words, sometimes with a mood board. When I built a lifestyle photography library for Gopuff, part of the work was a mood board laying out three distinct styles. A board like that gives everyone something concrete to react to, and that's where the brief turns into a shared plan.
From there the project moves into concepts, feedback rounds and final files. If you're still choosing who to work with, my guide to hiring a graphic designer in Philadelphia covers what to look for, and my services page shows the kinds of projects I take on.
FAQ
What is a design brief?
A design brief is a short document that explains what you need designed, why, for whom, and by when. It gives your designer the context to make the right decisions from the first draft.
What's the difference between a design brief and a creative brief?
They overlap a lot. A creative brief often covers a broader campaign, including messaging and media, while a design brief focuses on the specific design deliverables. The template above works for both.
How long should a design brief be?
One to two pages is ideal. Long enough to answer the key questions, short enough that everyone reads it.
Should I include my budget in a design brief?
Yes. A budget range helps your designer recommend the right scope and avoid proposing something that doesn't fit. You can share a range instead of an exact number.
What if I don't know the answers to some questions?
Write down what you do know and flag the rest. Figuring out the open questions together is part of a good designer's job.
Send me your brief
I work with businesses, brands and artists on logos, brand identities, campaigns and creative direction from my studio in Philadelphia, with clients everywhere. Fill out the template, or just send me what you've got, and we'll take it from there.