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How to Brief a Graphic Designer: Getting the Best Results for Your Business
We discuss the first step of the design process – the design brief, what makes it so important and how to write one.
In previous articles, we provided a guide to crafting a memorable brand identity, described our entire web design process in detail and walked you through the stages of designing a logo at our agency. In these articles, our goal was to give you an idea of what to expect if you get in touch with a designer or agency about your project.
In this article, we will focus on the first step of the design process – the design brief. We will discuss what makes it so important and how to write one. As we will show, writing a strong brief to your designer is a great way to put your project on the right track and get the best possible results for your business.
Starting a business is a thrilling experience, but with it comes a host of challenges. One of them is building a strong brand that stands out. In today’s visually-driven world, great design is at the heart of any successful business—whether it's your logo, website, packaging, or promotional materials.
However, if you’ve never worked with a graphic designer before, the first time doing so can be a little intimidating. The sight of a slick agency website can be enough to overwhelm you with doubt about your ideas and a vague anxiety that you don’t know precisely what you want. Also, you may feel that you lack the vocabulary to express it. This is made worse by the design and web jargon used by agencies and freelancers alike, which is supposed to make them sound slick and cool but can often become a detriment to your experience. Finally, you may begin to doubt your ideas – what if they are entirely inappropriate and the experts laugh at you?
Trust us, we’ve been there. We get it.
But we’re here to say that you don’t really need to be a design expert to approach one with your project. You don’t need to know the ins and outs of the industry, the slang, the software, the names of file extensions. In fact, a great designer or agency should be able to explain it all in simple terms so you can make the right decisions for your business. Also, you should expect the right design partner to pick up on your ideas, even if they are still vague, try to understand them as clearly as possible, provide feedback on them and propose solutions. In short, you don’t need to be a design expert yourself to get great results from working with one. What you do need is a clear, well-thought-out brief which describes as clearly as possible what you want from the designer.
As a brand agency ourselves, we receive briefs of all shapes and sizes – long or short, descriptive or concise, send via email or Slack or Viber. Whatever form is most convenient, whatever language feels most natural to you, we are happy to read it. In the brief, you should include as much relevant information as possible about your business, your brand, who your clients and competitors are, what you’re trying to achieve, what designs you want, how you want them, and when. In short, the brief is there to help the designer understand you and guide them to your vision. In this way, the brief becomes the foundation of the entire design process.
Think of the brief as a recipe, then imagine trying to bake a cake without one —you might know the basic ingredients, but without clear instructions, the result might not be what you had in mind. A graphic design brief works much the same way. It gives your designer the information they need to “bake” the perfect design for your business. Without a clear brief, your designer is left guessing about what you want, which can lead to miscommunication, delays, and, ultimately, a final product that doesn't meet your expectations. A well-prepared brief sets the stage for success, saving you time, money, and ensuring you get exactly what your business needs.
As every project and client is different, there is no magic formula for writing the perfect brief, but you also don’t need to overcomplicate it. Simply place yourself in the designer’s shoes, think of how clients approach your own business. You will surely like to know as much as possible about their needs and wants, in order to address them. You wouldn’t like to work on vague instructions. A designer wouldn’t either.
Before you can explain what you need from a designer, it’s important to know what your business is all about. Your brand is more than just a logo—it’s the personality of your business, the values you represent, and how you want customers to perceive you. Start by asking yourself a few key questions: Who are you as a business? Are you fun and approachable, or serious and professional? What makes you unique? What kind of impression do you want to leave on your customers?
Even if you don’t have all the answers right away, thinking about your brand identity will help you communicate more clearly with your designer. They’ll be able to understand the tone and style that will best reflect your business in a visual format. In fact, we believe that a large part of the value created in the design process often lies in you getting to know your brand better by having an opportunity to really think about it and discuss it with the designer, benefiting from their experience and outside perspective.
One of the first things you’ll need to clarify is the specific scope of work. Are you looking for a logo design, a new website, or marketing materials like business cards or brochures? It’s important to be as specific as possible about what you need. Let’s say you’re launching a café. You might need a logo, a menu design, signage, and some social media graphics. Let the designer know exactly what you need upfront, and if you’re unsure about certain elements, don’t hesitate to ask for their advice.
Great designers are skilled in helping businesses figure out what kind of visual assets are necessary for success. This is especially the case if they have industry-specific experience.As we discussed in another article, you should ideally look for a designer who has experience with clients of similar size, industry and background as you.
The next critical piece of information your designer will need is who your target audience is. Understanding who you’re trying to reach helps the designer craft visuals that speak directly to them. After all, a design that works for a tech startup might not suit a bakery or a boutique clothing store. Be as descriptive as possible about your audience. Share details like their age, gender, income level, lifestyle, and even their values. The more specific you are, the better your designer can create something that resonates with your potential customers. For example, if your business targets a young, eco-conscious audience, the design might need to be modern, minimalistic, and environmentally friendly in its messaging.
As we said earlier, one of the best ways to communicate your vision is by showing your designer examples of designs you like—and even those you don’t like. Browse through competitor websites, other businesses, or even design galleries for inspiration. This will help give the designer a clearer sense of your aesthetic preferences. If there’s a particular color palette you love or a style you envision for your business, share that with your designer. Maybe you want something sleek and modern, or perhaps you’re aiming for a vintage, retro feel. Giving them visual references can significantly speed up the process and reduce the need for multiple revisions.
On the flipside, it’s equally helpful to mention what you don’t want. If there’s a specific style that doesn’t fit your brand, point it out. This can be just as valuable in helping the designer avoid pitfalls and better understand your tastes. Of course, there are no right or wrong answers here. In our view, you should treat all of your ideas as equal, even if they sound strange at first. Perhaps the designer can find a way to realize them or incorporate them in some form in the final design.
A great example is to share an inside joke with the designer, something unique to your business. Perhaps it’s the joke that gave your brand its name! A designer might find a way to use it as a reference in your logo. This will bring you one step closer to standing out and being truly unique.
The flipside of treating all your ideas as equally important when sharing them with your designer is that they might not work in practice. That’s why it’s important to trust your designer and their expertise. You can be sure that they’ve seen thousands of designs that don’t work, thousands of ideas that sound good on paper, but fail in the real world. After all, juggling multiple ideas to find the best one, then doing their best to turn it into reality is what they do all day, every day. In fact, a wealth of experience is what you pay for when you hire a design professional or agency. Make good use of it! While the brief outlines your own vision, a great designer will propose suggestions or alternatives you had never considered.
In our experience as a design agency, it very often happens that the final design chosen by a client is one that emerged in the working process, not one outlined in the initial brief. This is the magic of working on your brand with a professional. To achieve it, a great designer will continuously provide feedback, ask questions along the way and involve you. Every step of the way, they will clearly explain what they’ve done and why they’ve done it, they will share drafts and concepts for you to review. In summary, it is important to trust your designer as a professional. Instead of dictating every detail, work collaboratively with them and consider their feedback. Of course, the final say is yours.
As we have shown in this article, a design process that leads to outstanding results is often complicated and involves multiple steps. To start off on the right foot, it is important to present your designer with a clear and detailed brief. In it, you should provide all information relevant to the project and explain your ideas as clearly as possible.
A good designer will review your brief and will ask questions if anything important is missing. They will collaboratively discuss the details with you to make sure that everything is clear. Once the project is underway, you should be open to communication with the designer, answer their questions, review their feedback and consider their proposals. Doing so will allow you to benefit from their professional experience and knowledge.
If you’re looking for a design partner you can trust, send us the brief for your latest project!
Get in touch today!
