Whether it’s a logo and brand design, brochure, flyer, website or any other kind of visual content, good design matters. To get the right design for your business, you need to think about how you want the finished product to look and then brief your designer accordingly.

The ‘design brief’ is your chance to set out your design thoughts and preferences up front. Think of it like a prompting tool, helping you and your designer brainstorm ideas and develop design concepts that are perfect for your business. Then it’s over to your designer to bring those creative ideas to life!

But what should you include in your design brief? At OCTOPUS, we’ve found the following elements are essential:

• About your business. If you’ve never worked with the designer before, they’ll need to know a little bit about your company, such as what you do, your target market and unique selling proposition. If you have one, include your marketing strapline in the brief.
• Your company values. Have fun and list some keywords that describe your business’ personality, values and culture. Here, it’s helpful to think about what you want the design to say about your business. What are you trying to tell your target audience through design?
• Style preferences. It’s really helpful to give examples of other designs that you love and hate. Also describe your preferences for colour, typography and font types – taking into account any existing branding you may have. So, are you looking for an overall look that’s bold and modern, calming and neutral, or traditional and trustworthy? Finally, if your business is aiming at an international audience, consider any cultural differences that may affect your choice of colour, language, imagery etc.
• Technical specifications. For example, if you’re having materials printed, is there a minimum resolution required? Or, if you’re having a logo designed, what file format do you need? Should the logo be horizontal or vertical? On a white background, black background or transparent background?
• Any other useful guidelines. If you have existing brand guidelines or house style guidelines that are relevant to the design, go ahead and attach them to your brief. Your designer will thank you for it!

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask your designer for help writing the brief. They may have an existing template you can use (like we do at OCTOPUS) that will capture the right information they need.

Tell us about your design ideas and we’ll create the perfect picture for your business.