The graphic design brief is a toughie. It is the bridge between the communication strategy and its visual interpretation.

Take time with this brief and make sure everyone is in agreement with it (We prefer to get everyone to sign and commit to it). If it needs to be revised a couple of times then by all means do so. By agreeing the objectives and parameters upfront, your team will be able to design more quickly, and you will be able to better evaluate the final product.

The Bracco HPF (Graphic) Design brief

What are we producing?

• [ A straightforward description of what we are to design. ]  This is a description of what is to be designed so that the rest of the brief is put into the proper context. It may be a single item (an advertisement) or several items (an identity suite followed by a website etc.).

Evocative company description

• [ What the company does, what they sell, and their personality. Much of this will come from Messaging Brief’s “Elevator Speech”] We want to give a flavor of the company we are designing for - this helps give context in terms of feel, tone and style. Much this can be pulled from the Messaging Brief’s “Company Description.”

Our target audience

• [ Who are we talking to and what are they like? ]  In compelling language, who is this person? What do they get excited about, what appeals to them and what turns them off?

The communication goal

• [ What do we want to convey and how will we measure our success? Note: this is not the same as the marketing goal. ] It is important to remember that the communication objective is different, and precedes the realization of the marketing objective. Marketing’s objective may be to “sell” something - communications can not “sell,” but they can “encourage” a prospect.

The messaging hierarchy

• [ In terms of what we are communicating, what takes priority? ]  These are the key points that we need to convey. This should include the hierachy of messages, specific phrases, taglines and copy points, call-outs, plus any specific product visuals that may be required.

Visual strategy - or - examples and where to look for inspiration

• [ Established visual guidelines plus the direction we would like to go in. ]  If visual guidelines exist or if there are campaign materials that are to be built upon reference them here. This should also be a description of the direction you want to visually go in inclusive of: imagery, colors, atmosphere, typography, etc.

Delivery formats

• [ Presentation, Production, Final ]  Design projects have several types of deliverable formats. The ultimate production format (size, stock, etc.), the format of the production files (file type, dpi, etc.), plus it is helpful to state how you would your internal review materials prepared.

Key dates

• [ Review and deliverable dates ]  List internal review dates, client review dates, final deliverable dates. Be sure to agree them with everyone internally before committing to them with the client.

Remember, a crisp clean brief will help lead to crisp clean design. Be brief and be clear. And most of all, make sure your designer is comfortable with the brief.

• We have prepared a word.doc version that you can download and use.
• If you would like a brief customized to the way you work, contact us.

The Design Brief is the third in a four part series on developing creative briefs . The briefs are designed to work in concert with the Bracco HPF brand development tools, yet are straightforward enough to be used as stand alone guides.

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Tags: brand tools, creative brief, graphic design