HOW TO
WRITE A CREATIVE BRIEF
FOR A DESIGN AGENCY
It's unlikely that you write a creative design brief every day.
So, when it comes to actually writing one, knowing where to start can be confusing.
That's why we've put together this helpful guide, so knowing
how to write a creative brief becomes second nature.
1. Background Information
To create a refined and polished design, your creative agency will first need to understand the bigger picture. Giving insight into what's happening within your company and your market will allow your agency to tailor their design to complement these circumstances. When introducing your creative design brief, consider the following:
What's happening
within your business?
Are there any objectives you are aiming to meet or any wider campaigns you're working on that your agency could benefit from knowing about?
What's happening
within the wider market?
Are their any industry changes on the horizon that they could play towards? What are your competitors doing that's working or not working?
2. Objective
It's always a good idea to let your creative design agency know what your objective is.
When they know exactly what it is you're trying to achieve, they can tailor their design towards this. For example, if you were trying to raise awareness with an audience of females aged 18-24, your agency will tailor their design to suit this market. Whether a campaign focused objective, or a broader business objective, any steer you can give your agency will be a great help.
3. Target audience
Defining your target audience is an essential step of your creative design brief.
Knowing who you are targeting makes all the difference when getting the design right.
To define your audience, consider a few things:
• Age • Gender • Location • Job role • Other characteristics which are important to your brand
4. Overview of project
In this section of your creative design brief, you should give an overview of what you're looking for.
You'll go on to talk about specifics later in the brief, so this section is to give a wider understanding
of what you want to achieve. For example, you might consider:
• What are you trying to promote?
• What type of design work are you looking for? Is it a poster? Is it for digital use?
• What are your themes or messages?
5. Focus
Now you've given your creative design agency an overview of what you're looking for,
it's a good idea to let them know which aspects are most important.
Which are your key messages? What are you really trying to say through the design? Is their any key information which must be included?
By providing your agency with this information from the outset, you'll ensure the project gets done right the first time; making sure your project
comes in on time and within budget.
6. Brand guidelines
Proving your design agency with brand guidelines is vital.
If your design is going to pack a punch, it needs to be consistent to what your customers, and potential customers, might have seen from you before.
It's likely you already have a brand guidelines pack together. But if you don't, it's a worthwhile investment to get one for your business.
Think about the colors, fonts, turns of phrase and tones of voice you want your business to be recognized by.
7. Why might your customer buy?
When writing your creative design brief, it's essential to consider why your customer might buy.
What makes you different to your competitor? What problem does your product or service solve for the customer? What other benefits does your product or service have? It might be clear to you, but if you don't tell your design agency, the chances are it won't come across in their work.
8. Specifics/deliverables
This is the part of a creative design brief which you immediately think of.
What exactly is it you're looking for from your design agency. A few things to consider include:
• What type of design product are you looking for? (e.g. POS, packaging etc.)
• What copy do you want to be included in your design?
• Is your logo to be included? If so, which version?
• What style are you trying to go after? Are there any particular images of graphics you want to include?
9. Schedule/deadline
To make sure your project is delivered on time, be sure to include a schedule of
important deadlines within your creative design brief.
Ready to get started on your creative design brief? Download our template below and fill out the gaps!
DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE
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