“Make it modern” is a starting point for a conversation. It is not enough direction to build a useful brochure, landing page, or sales presentation.
A design brief explains what the work needs to accomplish, who it needs to reach, and what the designer has to work with. It gives your team a shared basis for decisions before anyone starts choosing colors.
If you are wondering how to write a design brief, start with the business problem. You do not need to know the finished design. You do need to explain the job it must do.
1. State the goal and the next action
Describe why you are commissioning the project now. Are you introducing a service, helping sales explain a complicated offer, supporting an event, or replacing materials that no longer fit the business?
Then name the action you want the reader to take. “Promote our company” is broad. “Help property managers understand our maintenance program and request a consultation” gives the designer something concrete to organize around.
Separate the design deliverable from the business result. The designer may produce the brochure; your sales process, distribution, offer, and follow-up also influence what happens after someone reads it.
2. Identify the audience and the situation
Explain who will see the work and what they already know. A long-term customer reviewing an upgrade needs different information from a first-time visitor who has never heard of your business.
Include the questions, objections, and practical details that matter to that audience. Where will they encounter the material? Will a salesperson explain it, or must it stand on its own? Will they read it on a phone, hold it at a trade show, or scan it on a wall?
Those details affect type size, copy length, hierarchy, and format. They are more useful than a vague request to appeal to “everyone.”
3. Provide the message and content
State the single most important idea the reader should remember. Supply approved copy where available, including headlines, service descriptions, contact details, and the call to action.
If the copy is unfinished, say who will write it and when it will be approved. Writing and design often develop together, but major copy changes after layout may change the scope or schedule.
Flag claims that need verification, such as certifications, guarantees, product specifications, or performance figures. Assign someone in your business to confirm those details. Do not expect a designer to infer what you are legally or operationally prepared to promise.
4. List the deliverables and specifications
Be specific about what you need at handoff. A social campaign may require multiple sizes. A brochure may need a print-ready file and a separate version for email. A presentation may need an editable template as well as finished slides.
For printed work, provide the printer’s requirements or introduce the designer to the supplier before production begins. Confirm dimensions, folds, bleed, stock, finishing, and proof expectations. For digital work, identify the platform, dimensions, file type, and any size restrictions.
If you need editable source files, licensed fonts, or a template your team will reuse, discuss those requirements before approving the scope.
5. Supply assets and explain your references
Share approved logo files, brand guidelines, photography, illustrations, and examples of existing materials. Confirm that your business has the necessary rights or permissions to use supplied assets. A picture found online is not automatically available for commercial use.
References are most useful when you explain what works. “We like the clear hierarchy and generous spacing” gives direction. “Make ours look exactly like this competitor” creates the wrong starting point.
Describe what should remain recognizable and what is open to change. Mention styles you want to avoid. A few well-explained references are usually easier to act on than an unfiltered folder of unrelated images.
6. Set the schedule, budget, and approval process
Distinguish the date you need the finished files from the date the material must be printed, delivered, or launched. Include time for internal review and supplier production. Ask the designer which dependencies could affect the schedule.
Share the working budget or range so the proposed approach fits the project. Confirm what is included, how revisions are handled, and what happens when the scope changes.
Choose one person to consolidate feedback and one final approver. Five separate emails with conflicting instructions will slow the project. A single reviewed response makes the next revision much clearer.
A design brief checklist to copy
- Project: What are we creating?
- Business goal: What problem should it help solve?
- Audience: Who will see it, and in what setting?
- Main message: What should they remember?
- Action: What should they do next?
- Deliverables: Which formats, sizes, and editable files are required?
- Content and assets: What is approved, and what is still missing?
- Direction: Which brand rules and explained references apply?
- Budget and timing: What are the limits, milestones, and dependencies?
- Approval: Who consolidates feedback and signs off?
Review the design against the brief
Use the goal and audience to evaluate the first concepts. Instead of “make this pop,” explain the issue: “The service name is getting lost at phone size,” or “The contact step is harder to find than the product details.”
Ask the designer to explain the choices behind the layout. Give specific feedback about what is unclear or inaccurate, then allow room for a design solution. That keeps the review focused on whether the work does its job.
Bring the project into focus
Des Moines Creative helps businesses turn rough ideas into usable marketing materials. A brief does not need to be perfect before we talk. It should make the goal, available information, and open questions visible.
Explore our marketing support or contact Des Moines Creative with your project, deadline, and the materials you already have.
