Writing a Graphic Design Brief: What You NEED to Include (+ Free Template!)

If you’re going to be working with a graphic designer, here’s EXACTLY what you need to include in your graphic design brief.

When working with a graphic designer, creating a clear and comprehensive brief is crucial for ensuring that they’re able to understand your vision – and can deliver the results you need.

A well-crafted graphic design brief will not only save time and money, but also lead to a more successful collaboration.

In this article, we’re going to look at a detailed guide on what you need to include in a graphic design brief, and you’ll also get a free template to help you get started!

1. Project Overview

The first thing you’re going to want to do is give the graphic designer some context on the project. So at the very top of your brief, start with a concise overview.

This section should include the purpose of the project, what you aim to achieve, and the key deliverables. It sets the stage for the rest of the brief and provides essential context for the designer, for example:

We need a new logo for our tech startup that reflects our innovative approach and appeals to our target audience of young professionals. The deliverables include a primary logo, a secondary logo, and a favicon.

2. Company Background

Provide some background information about your company. This helps the designer understand your brand's history, mission, values, and market positioning. Each company and each industry is different, with their own quirks and ways of doing things.

So the more your graphic designer knows about your business and industry, the better they can tailor their designs to fit your brand identity. This can look something like…

Our company, InnovateTech, was founded in 2018 with the mission of making technology accessible to everyone. We value innovation, simplicity, and user-centric design. We operate in the tech industry, primarily targeting young professionals who are early adopters of new technology.

3. Target Audience

Clearly define your target audience, as this will provide even more context for your graphic designer. Knowing who the end users are will help the designer create visuals that resonate with your intended demographic.

Include details such as age, gender, location, interests, and any other relevant characteristics that will help your graphic designer create a product that’s right, both for your brand AND your customers. For example:

Our target audience consists of males and females aged 25-35, living in urban areas, with a strong interest in technology and innovation. They are tech-savvy, value efficiency, and prefer modern, minimalist designs.

Note: This doesn’t need to be super detailed in the graphic design brief. However, including your dedicated customer persona documents when sending the brief will be hugely helpful.

4. Objectives and Goals

Outline the specific objectives and goals of the project. What do you want to achieve with the design? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or improve user experience? Clear goals help the designer understand the purpose of their work.

It’s important to keep in mind that your ultimate goal for the project will greatly influence the final product that your graphic designer creates. So because of this, be very clear about what it is you want to achieve with the partnership. You can write it like this:

The primary objective of the new logo is to increase brand recognition and convey our innovative spirit. We aim to create a logo that is memorable, versatile, and reflects our commitment to cutting-edge technology.

Bonus: When working with a freelance designer, you may need to help manage the project. Here’s how you can do just that!

5. Branding Information

Specify any design requirements you have. This can include colour schemes, typography, imagery, and any other elements that are essential to your brand. Be as specific as possible to guide the designer in the right direction.

For example, something like this would work:

Colours: Primary colours are blue (#0056b3) and white (#ffffff). Secondary colours are grey (#333333) and green (#00cc66).

Typography: Use the Helvetica font family.

Imagery: Include abstract shapes or technology-related icons.

Please note, however, that this isn’t by any means a substitution for a full and complete brand guideline. So much like how we discussed sending the customer personas, you should also your brand guidelines document when sending the brief.

6. Style and Tone

Describe the desired style and tone of the design. Do you want something modern and minimalist, or bold and playful? Providing examples of designs you like (and don't like) can be very helpful.

Whilst it’s the designer’s job to come up with a design that works with the brief, giving them as much guidance as possible will benefit both them and you. By giving them examples of what you like – and often more importantly, what you don’t like – you can help them be much more efficient, giving them something to base their work on.

When writing your graphic design brief, this can look something like this:

We prefer a modern and minimalist style. The design should be clean and straightforward, avoiding overly complex or busy elements. We like the simplicity and elegance of Apple’s branding. Particularly we like the logo of Acme Co, but really dislike the logo of Lorem Industries.

7. Budget and Timeline

Include your budget and timeline for the project. You should specifically outline the amount of money you have to work with, and when you’d like the project delivered.

Knowing all of this helps the graphic designer understand the scope of the work they can realistically propose, and a clear timeline ensures that both parties have realistic expectations for delivery. This can look like…

Our budget for this project is £2,000. We need the final designs completed within two months – on DATE, with initial concepts presented within the first two weeks.

As a note to anyone looking to work with a graphic designer: good design takes time. Try to avoid any incredibly tight deadlines, as this will often result in rushed work that neither you nor the graphic designer are happy with.

8. Deliverables

List all the final deliverables you expect from the graphic designer. This can include specific file formats, sizes, and any other technical requirements.

Keep in mind that if you don’t know the exact files you need, the graphic designer will, and they’ll be able to advise on the ideal file requirements.

But if you do know this, outlining specific file types like this is great:

Primary logo: .ai, .eps, .png, and .jpg formats.

Secondary logo: .ai, .eps, .png, and .jpg formats.

Favicon: .ico and .png formats.

All files should be provided in high-resolution and web-ready versions.

9. Additional Information

We already mentioned things like this throughout the guide, but I just wanted to include a reminder here so nothing is overlooked.

When sending out a brief, please make sure to include any other relevant information that might be helpful for the graphic designer. This could be details about your competitors, brand guidelines, customer personas, or anything else that might influence the design:

Attached is our brand guidelines document for reference. Additionally, here are links to our top competitors’ logos for context, as well as information on our ideal customers and who we’re looking to target.

Bonus: Learn how to give excellent feedback to a graphic designer with this great guide.

Conclusion

The graphic design brief is the backbone of every design project. It acts as a guideline for not just what needs to be created, but also a centralised place where information on branding, demographics, deadlines, and more can be found.

And depending on at what point in the relationship with the graphic designer the brief is sent, it can be hugely helpful when it comes to them putting together a proposal.

When your graphic designer knows exactly what it is you’re looking for, they have a much better chance of creating a final product you’re happy with.

Template: Graphic Design Brief

As promised, here’s a simple template you can use to create your own graphic design brief using the guide you’ve just read:

Project Overview

We need a [deliverable] for our [business] that reflects our [details] and appeals to our target audience of [demographic]. The deliverables include [specific deliverables].

Company Background

Our company, [name], was founded in [year] with the mission of [mission]. We value [thing], [thing], and [thing]. We operate in the [industry], primarily targeting [demographic].

Target Audience

Our target audience consists of [genders and ages], living in [location], with a strong interest in [interests]. They are [details of persona].

Please note that I have attached our full customer personas presentation to this email.

Objectives and Goals

The primary objective of the [deliverable] is to [goal(s)]. We aim to create a [deliverable] that is memorable, versatile, and reflects our commitment to [company value].

Branding Information

Our brand information is as follows:

• Colours: [HEX codes].

• Typography: [Typefaces].

• Imagery: [Imagery related to brand].

Please note that I have attached our full brand guidelines document to this email.

Style and Tone

We prefer a [thing] and [thing] style. The design should be [thing] and [thing], avoiding [thing] or [thing] elements. We like the [thing] and [thing] of [existing company] branding. Particularly we like the logo of [existing company], but really dislike the logo of [existing company].

Budget and Timeline

Our budget for this project is [total]. We need the final designs completed within [time frame] – on [specific date], with initial concepts presented within the [time frame].

Deliverables

We’d need the final files to be delivered in the following formats:

• [Deliverable]: [.format], [.format], [.format], [.format]

Alternatively: Please advise on what would be the correct and ideal formats for this project.

Additional Information

Attached is our brand guidelines document for reference. Additionally, here are links to our top competitors’ logos for context, as well as information on our ideal customers and who we’re looking to target.

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