Design Brief Template

A design brief tells a designer what to make, who it's for and what "done" looks like, before any pixels move. Below is one core template plus short add-ons for websites, logos and graphic design work, so you can send the right questions for the job.

The design brief template

Start with the core. Every design job needs these fields, whatever the format.

DESIGN BRIEF

Project name
  A short name for emails and file names.

About the client
  What the business does, in one or two sentences.

What we're designing
  The thing itself: a website, a logo, a brochure, a set of ads.

Goal
  What should this design make happen? One sentence.

Audience
  Who will see it, and what they care about.

Feel
  Three words for how it should come across. For example: calm, expert, local.

Examples you like
  Two or three links or images, with one line on what you like in each.

Examples you don't like
  One or two, with one line on why. Often more useful than the likes.

Must include
  Logos, copy, legal lines, colors or elements that have to appear.

Must avoid
  Styles, colors, images or competitors that are off limits.

Files we have
  Logo files, fonts, photos, brand guidelines. Where they are.

Deadline
  When it's due, and what that date is tied to.

Approver
  The one person who signs off. Name and email.

What each field is for

Every field in the core is there to stop a specific kind of redo. Here's what each one protects.

• About the client gives the designer context without a call. Two sentences on what the business does changes how a logo or homepage gets approached.
• Goal keeps the work honest. "Get homeowners to request a consultation" leads to a different homepage than "look more modern".
• Audience decides the tone, the type size and the photos. A site for retirees and a site for students should not look the same.
• Feel turns taste into words. Three words are easier to check work against than "something clean".
• Examples you like and don't like do more than any description. Ask for one line on each, because two people can like the same site for opposite reasons.
• Must include and must avoid catch the details that come up at the last minute: the badge, the legal line, the color the owner hates.
• Files we have shows the gaps early. A logo that only exists as a low-resolution PNG is a problem for week one, not launch week.
• Deadline should come with a reason. "April 1, before spring bookings" is a real date. "End of the month" often isn't.
• Approver is one person. Two approvers means two sets of feedback that don't agree.

Website brief add-on

A website brief needs structure and content questions on top of the core. Most website delays come from missing copy, not missing design.

WEBSITE BRIEF ADD-ON

Pages
  List every page you expect. Mark the ones that matter most.

Main action
  The one thing a visitor should do: book a call, buy, sign up, call.

Content
  Who writes the copy? Is it ready, in progress or not started?

Photos and video
  Do you have them, or do we need to source or shoot them?

Current site
  The URL, and what you want to keep or drop from it.

Platform
  Any platform you need it built on, or "no preference".

Must work with
  Booking tools, shop, newsletter or forms the site needs to connect to.

Logo design brief add-on

A logo brief is about where the mark will live and what it has to say. Ask about use before style.

LOGO DESIGN BRIEF ADD-ON

Name and tagline
  The exact name, spelling and capitals. Tagline if there is one.

Where it will be used
  Signs, packaging, app icon, social avatar, embroidery, vehicles.

Smallest size
  The smallest place it has to work, such as a favicon or a pen.

What to keep
  Anything from the current logo that customers recognize.

Words to avoid
  Associations the logo must not suggest.

Files needed
  Formats you need at the end: SVG, PNG, PDF, one color, reversed.

Graphic design brief add-on

For brochures, ads, social posts and print, the details that matter are specs. Get them up front and you skip a round of resizing.

GRAPHIC DESIGN BRIEF ADD-ON

Formats and sizes
  Every size needed, listed out. Include bleed for print.

Quantity
  How many pieces or variations.

Copy
  Final copy attached, or who is writing it.

Print details
  Paper, finish and printer specs, if printed.

Where it runs
  Platform, publication or venue.

A filled-in example

Here is the core plus the website add-on, filled in for a small web agency's client, a two-person landscaping company.

• Project name: Greenline website rebuild
• About the client: Greenline designs and builds gardens for homeowners in one county. Most jobs come from referrals.
• What we're designing: A five-page website to replace a one-page site from 2019.
• Goal: Get homeowners to request a garden consultation.
• Audience: Homeowners aged 35 to 65 who have just moved or are planning a renovation.
• Feel: Natural, trustworthy, unfussy.
• Examples you like: Two other landscapers' sites. "Big project photos, very little text."
• Examples you don't like: One site with a video background. "Too slow, feels like an ad."
• Must include: Phone number on every page, the trade association badge.
• Must avoid: Stock garden photos. Bright green.
• Files we have: Logo as PNG only, about 60 project photos in a shared folder.
• Deadline: Live by April 1, before spring bookings start.
• Approver: Sam, co-owner.
• Pages: Home, Projects, Services, About, Contact. Projects matters most.
• Main action: Request a consultation through a short form.
• Content: Sam is writing it. About half done.
• Current site: Keep the reviews section. Drop everything else.
• Must work with: Their existing booking calendar.

Two things stand out. The logo only exists as a PNG, so a vector version goes on the to-do list now. And half the copy isn't written, which is the real risk to April 1. A good brief surfaces both on day one, while there's still time to fix them without moving the launch. If clients tend to skip your questions, this guide to creative briefs clients will fill in shows how to cut the form down.

How to use it

1. Pick the add-on that matches the job. Send the core plus one add-on. Don't send all three.
2. Send it when the request comes in, before you quote. Half the questions change the price.
3. Pre-fill what you already have. If the logo files and brand colors came in at onboarding, fill them in so the client doesn't answer twice.
4. Summarize it back. Send a short paragraph: what you're designing, for whom, by when, and what's still missing.
5. Get the approver's yes on the brief. The same person signs off on the design. Then it goes through your normal client approval process.

Common mistakes

• Asking for style before purpose. "What colors do you like?" before "what should it do?" gets you a pretty design that misses the point.
• Skipping the "don't like" examples. Clients often know what they hate far better than what they want.
• Leaving content out of a website brief. The design is ready in three weeks and the copy arrives in three months.
• Treating the brief as a form, not an agreement. If the brief changes halfway through, say so in writing and get a new yes. A brief that quietly drifts is how a five-page site becomes nine pages for the same fee.

How Dora does this for you

Clients rarely send a design brief. They send "we need a new website, can you help?" and a link.

Dora writes the brief from that first message, from the portal, from email or from the client's own AI tool, and asks the client only for what's missing: the page list, the deadline, the logo files. If they go quiet, she follows up. Every file and decision stays on the request, and when the design is ready the client approves it in one click. If nobody replies, it auto-approves after a few days.

The hours you spend chasing a client for copy and logo files are hours you don't bill. See how Dora works as an AI account manager, inside a branded client portal for each client. The first client is free, then $10 per client per month with unlimited team seats. See pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a design brief and a creative brief?

They overlap a lot. A creative brief focuses on the message and the audience, and often covers copy and campaigns. A design brief focuses on the thing being designed: format, specs, files and visual direction. Many teams use one template for both.

What should a website brief include?

On top of the core design brief, a website brief should list every page, the one main action visitors should take, who writes the copy and whether it's ready, photos and video, the current site, the platform and any tools the site has to connect to.

What should a logo design brief include?

The exact name and tagline, everywhere the logo will be used, the smallest size it has to work at, anything to keep from the current logo, associations to avoid, and the file formats needed at the end, such as SVG, PNG and one-color versions.

How long should a design brief take a client to fill in?

Ten to fifteen minutes for most jobs. Pre-fill anything you already have, such as brand files from onboarding, and send only the add-on that matches the job so the client isn't answering questions that don't apply.

Who approves a design brief?

One named person on the client side, ideally the same person who will approve the finished design. Agreeing the brief with them first means feedback later is about the design, not about what the project was meant to be.