Many projects begin life in a brief. A brief defines project needs and sets the path towards a solution. A design brief helps in the document-intensive job of project definition and execution.
The American design industry veteran, Peter L. Phillips, writes in a recent book that people use various terms as synonyms for “design brief”. They include “creative brief”, “marketing brief”, “project brief” or “job ticket”. In Europe, he says a common term is “innovation brief”.
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The level of detail Phillips expects to be in a design brief (see below) makes it clear his book is only really focused on corporate product development design briefs.
From over 20 years of experience in Australia it is clear that the design brief templates required by local small and medium-sized enterprises require content that is generally much shorter, simpler and focused on specific needs.
Far less product development takes place in Australia than in the United States. Also, Australia has only a small group of large corporates involved in product development at a level that may warrant detailed design briefs. Locally, very common are use of design briefs for product packaging, logos, Website development, premises refurbishment, entertainment industry product development and other niche needs.
What is the typical format and content of a design brief?
There is no magic formula for the content, layout and length of a design brief. They should be determined by the purpose of the brief. This is also the case for many of the other types of template documents used in project management, for example:
- product profiles – eg product definition and product map, glossary and graphics
- contracts, ie legally binding agreements
- planning documents – project plans, product plans, organisational plans, strategic plans
- policies and procedures
- tender documents
- feedback forms
If you need to prepare a “big end of town” design brief, the most useful part of the book by Phillips is one of its final chapters. It sets out a template design brief with sections as follows (simplified here for brevity).
1. PROJECT OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND
2. PROJECT TIMELINE
3. CATEGORY REVIEW
4. TARGET AUDIENCE REVIEW5. COMPANY PORTFOLIO6. BUSINESS OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN STRATEGYThis is a very useful process matching:
7. ATTACHMENTS
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The above list of contents should be used merely to inspire thought. Slavish use of template documents is a bad idea. Customise the list by applying due process.
A design brief comes early in a process which may lead to deal making, and then onwards towards contracting, and in time to records management, document management, contract management, and asset management.
Proper content in design briefs and all such other process documents improves your products and services and the results that you can achieve. Even if a legally binding contract is to be a roof over the top of a project, it may be best to build solid foundations with an appropriate design brief. Engage with experienced lawyers for project-specific advice on the best way to proceed.
Contact the author if you want samples of any of the templates mentioned in this post or want to have a conversation on how you might whip your next project into shape.
Reference: Peter L. Phillips, Creating the Perfect Design Brief: How to Manage Design for Strategic Advantage, Allworth Press and Design Management Institute, New York, 2004.
Photos: The exquisite photos for this post are in Flickr. The first is by photographers Amiko and Buttersweet, and the rest are by Buttersweet on her own.
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