Design Brief Example To Get Designers Started (With Tips To Write A Brief)
Learn how to write a compelling design brief examples and tips to kickstart your project the right way.
You’re ready to design a product. Maybe you’ve even thought up a clever name and logo. But before you get too far ahead of yourself, it’s important to start with a design brief. Also known as a product specification, a design brief is a document that outlines a product's goals and target audience. It provides structure to the product design process and helps keep designers, stakeholders, and the marketing team on the same page. Let's say you skip or rush this step. In that case, you might end up with an unsellable product that doesn't meet the needs of anyone, including those who worked on it. Writing a design brief example, or a template, can help you avoid this scenario. In this article, we’ll explore what a design brief is, the benefits of writing one, and exactly what to include. We’ll also provide a design brief example you can use to craft your own.
In a product design process, NUMI works with a clear and comprehensive design brief to guide our projects. As a result, we can quickly uncover and address any issues that arise during the design and development of your product.
What is a Design Brief?
A design brief is a comprehensive document outlining a project’s objectives, target audience, and constraints. Designers use them as roadmaps to understand user needs, pain points, and business goals. They analyze briefs to create user personas, prototypes, and more to ensure the final product aligns with user expectations in successful digital products.
Why You Should Care About Design Briefs
A well-written design brief typically passes through many hands before it lands on the designer’s to-do list. With approvals from all project managers and stakeholders, the brief should be thorough but to the point, identifying the approved timeline, end product, and budget (if applicable).
On a deeper level, briefs are also a way for the designer to connect and align with the person making the request. Try to use your project brief as a collaborative tool for eliminating the general confusion that comes with additional back-and-forth phone calls, messages, and emails.
What Goes Inside a Design Brief?
But while it’s important to include core details and context to your requests, your design brief should still be brief. You want it to be long enough to describe the project and communicate your request without overwhelming the designer with a multi-page, margin-to-margin pamphlet.
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Why Do Designers Need A Design Brief?
A design brief keeps projects on track and helps designers clearly focus on user needs and project goals. It defines the project, giving a detailed overview of the user interface concept, its key features, and the intended users. This information helps reduce the design's uncertainties so the project can adhere to its timelines and budget constraints.
Design Briefs Align Stakeholders
A design brief is crucial for aligning all stakeholders on the project's vision and objectives. It ensures that everyone from the design team to the client understands the project scope, design requirements, and the desired outcomes.
This fosters a unified approach to achieving the goals. By clearly stating the project's guidelines, challenges, and goals, a design brief helps stakeholders mutually understand what is essential for a project to succeed.
Design Briefs Help Avoid Miscommunication
Miscommunication can lead to project delays, increased costs, and designs that don't meet the client’s expectations. A well-crafted design brief minimizes these risks. It provides a clear and concise document that outlines all critical project details.
The brief serves as a reference point throughout the project, helping to keep everyone on the same page and prevent misunderstandings. The brief also includes a section on the project's scope and deliverables, which further helps to maintain clear communication between the design team and the client.
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- Web design
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What to Include in a Design Brief
Brand and Project Overview: What’s the Big Idea?
This section gives an overview of the client's business and the project. It offers as much context as possible to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Design Requirements and Deliverables: Nail Down the Details
A brief specifies the needed design elements, such as:
- Layout
- Colors
- Images
- Fonts
This quality helps visual designers avoid multiple revisions and ensure the project meets the client's expectations. A design brief may have typographical stipulations that a design team must follow for brand consistency. Clearly define the project's scope and specify what is included and what is not.
Establishing clear boundaries will help prevent scope creep and ensure the project stays focused and meets client expectations. According to a study by the Project Management Institute, nearly 50% of projects experience scope creep, and only 57% finish within budget, while only 51% finish on schedule. A well-crafted design brief can help your design team avoid these common pitfalls.
Target Audience: Who Are We Designing For?
A good design brief reflects strong UX research about the target users. Understanding the client's target audience and making informed design decisions that resonate with these intended users is crucial.
Brands and designers use user personas. These help them understand users’ and customers’ expectations, needs, pain points, and more.
Competitor Analysis: What’s the Competition Doing?
Design briefs can contain valuable insights about what competitors are already doing in the
Market, including aspects such as design successes and failures. These can serve as barometer readings for the market environment where a brand proposes to launch its design solution.
Design Goals and Objectives: What Do We Want to Achieve?
Clearly defined goals and objectives help distinguish between the project's overall purpose and the measurable steps to success.
Budget and Timeline: What Are the Project Constraints?
It’s critical to outline the project budget and timeline to manage client expectations and ensure the project remains on track with complete transparency.
How to Write a Design Brief in 5 Simple Steps
1. Define Your Objectives and Goals
To write a design brief that delivers outstanding results, clearly define your objectives and goals. With a clear sense of what you aim to achieve, your design project will likely stay on course. This step is crucial for both an in-house and external design brief.
In-house Briefs
Aligning objectives and goals is often easier when working with an in-house design team because the team is already familiar with the organization’s mission and vision. However, providing a specific project context and clear goals within the broader company objectives is essential.
External Briefs
When collaborating with external designers, you must provide detailed information about your organization, its mission, and the specific goals you want to achieve with the project. The external designers may have a different level of familiarity with your brand,
so clarity is key.
Start by asking yourself and your team a series of questions:
- What is the purpose of this design project?
- What do we want to communicate or achieve through this design?
- Who is our target audience and what are their preferences and expectations?
- Are there any specific problems we are trying to solve through this design?
- What is the desired budget and timeline for the project?
- You can establish a solid foundation for your design brief by answering these questions.
Ensure that your objectives and goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Relevant
- Achievable
Within a timeframe to facilitate later evaluation of the project’s success.
2. Research and Understand Your Audience
Design is not just about aesthetics. It’s about communication, too. To write a design brief that appeals to and understands your target audience, you must thoroughly research them. This step is crucial for both an in-house and external design brief.
In-house
It’s essential to keep audience preferences and behaviors current. This step requires regularly revisiting audience research.
External
Provide comprehensive information about your target audience, including demographics, psychographics, and behavior. External designers may need to be more familiar with your audience, which will help them tailor their work to connect with your audience effectively.
Consider including the following in your audience research:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Other demographics
- Interests, preferences, and lifestyle
- Pain points, needs, and desires
- How they consume information (online, print, social media, etc.)
Study your competitors and the design trends in your industry. Knowing what’s already out there can guide your designers to create something fresh and innovative while keeping you one step ahead!
3. Establish Key Messages and Brand Identity
You’ll need to define the key messages you want to convey through your design and reinforce your brand identity. This is important for both an in-house and external design brief.
In-house
The main advantage for working with an in-house design team is that they’re already experts on your brand’s mission, vision, and core values. That being said, it’s still crucial to communicate any specific changes or updates in brand identity.
External
External designers need a comprehensive understanding of your brand, its mission, and its core values. Provide them with brand guidelines like:
- Color schemes
- Fonts,
- Imagery
Clarify the tone of voice your brand should convey to make things as clear as possible for external designers.
Key elements to include in your design brief:
- Your brand’s mission, vision, and core values
- Any brand guidelines, such as color schemes, fonts, and imagery
- Your brand’s tone of voice
- Any existing marketing materials or campaigns that your design should align with
This information will help your designers ensure the design is consistent with your brand’s identity and effectively communicates your intended messages.
4. Set Clear Deliverables and Specifications
Clarity is crucial in a design brief, whether you’re working with an in-house or external design team. Your designers need to know exactly what you expect from them to receive top-notch work in return.
In-house
In-house designers may better understand the organization's technical specifications and preferences. But it’s still essential to specify the type of design, dimensions, file formats, and any other technical details, leaving no stone unturned.
External
When working with external designers, provide precise guidelines for deliverables and specifications. This may include details like the type of design:
- Logo
- Website
- Brochure
- Social media graphics
- Dimensions
- Resolution
- Preferred file formats
- Color specifications some text
- PMS
- CMYK
- RGB
By providing precise guidelines, you minimize the potential for misunderstandings and revisions later in the project. Indicate any preferred design style or inspiration sources to guide the designers further.
5. Define the Project Timeline and Budget
Every design project needs a timeline and a budget. Without these constraints, projects can easily spiral out of control.
In-house
In-house design projects may have more flexibility in terms of timelines and budgets. Establishing realistic budgets and timelines to manage expectations and resources effectively without putting extra stress on the design team is still important.
External
When working with external designers, specify the expected timeline for different project phases, from initial concepts to final delivery. Include milestones and deadlines to keep the project on track and ensure your timeline is clear and thorough.
Budget considerations are critical. Be transparent about the financial constraints and expectations. As with everything, we don’t know if it will go to plan. There are always hurdles and last-minute challenges, which can lead to changes in your timeframe. It’s advisable to have a contingency for unforeseen expenses or changes, regardless of whether the design team is in-house or external.
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Design a Brief Example to Get You Started
Example of a Design Brief
Project Title:
Redesign of "EcoWave" Portable Water Purifier
Background Information:
EcoWave is a leading brand in portable water purification devices aimed at outdoor enthusiasts and travelers. The current product line has been well-received for its effectiveness and durability. User feedback indicates that the design could be more ergonomic and aesthetically appealing.
Objective:
To create a redesigned version of the EcoWave water purifier that balances functionality, user comfort, and modern aesthetics, while maintaining or improving its current performance and sustainability standards.
Target Audience:
Primary Audience:
- Outdoor adventurers (e.g., hikers, campers)
- Travelers in regions with unreliable water quality
Secondary Audience:
Emergency preparedness users (e.g., disaster relief)
Everyday consumers looking for portable water solutions
Scope of Work:
Research Phase:
- Analyze competitor designs in the portable water purification market.
- Conduct user interviews and surveys to identify pain points with the current design.
Design Phase:
- Develop initial sketches and wireframes for the new product design.
- Create 3D models and prototypes for testing.
Testing Phase:
- Conduct usability tests with a focus group from the target audience.
- Iterate on the design based on feedback.
Final Deliverables:
- CAD files ready for manufacturing.
- A detailed report explaining design choices, materials, and expected production costs.
Key Features to Address
Ergonomics:
- Easy-to-grip design for long periods of use.
- Compact and lightweight for portability.
Aesthetics:
- Modern, sleek design appealing to younger demographics.
- Available in 3 color options (forest green, ocean blue, and charcoal gray).
Functionality:
- Integrated indicator to show filter life.
- Improved nozzle for faster water flow.
Sustainability:
- Recyclable or biodegradable materials where possible.
- Minimal packaging made from recycled materials.
Brand Considerations:
- The design must align with EcoWave's eco-friendly and innovative brand identity.
- The logo should be prominently displayed but harmonize with the overall aesthetic.
Budget:
- Total budget: $50,000
- Research and user testing: $10,000
- Design and prototyping: $30,000
- Miscellaneous expenses: $10,000
Timeline:
- Week 1-2: Research and competitor analysis.
- Week 3-4: Initial sketches and concept approval.
- Week 5-6: Development of 3D models and first prototype.
- Week 7-8: Usability testing and feedback iteration.
- Week 9: Final design submission and presentation.
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NUMI is a framer web design agency that world-class framer developers and product designers power. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI handles your startup's sourcing, vetting, and hiring design needs. We have a fabulous design team that ensures that all of your design work is being done well.
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NUMI helps with product design, web design, framer development, Webflow development, mobile design, prototyping, UX design, and all your startup's design needs! Subscribe to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed on your team today.
Schedule a call with us today to learn more!