topic

Design guides

for

Founders and marketing leads

date

2026-10-26

How to brief a design studio (with a template)

A good brief fits on one page. It saves a week of revisions, because the first draft aims at the right target. Here’s what to include, what to leave out, and a template you can copy.

What to include

• The goal: the business result you want, like more demo bookings or a successful raise.
• The audience: who will see this, and what they care about.
• The one message: the one thing people should remember.
• Deliverables: what you need, in which sizes and formats.
• Must-haves and limits: brand rules, legal text and technical constraints.
• References: two or three examples you like, and why you like them.
• What’s not working now: what’s wrong with the current version, if there is one.
• Success: how you’ll judge the result.
• Timing: the deadline, and the date it goes live.
• The decision-maker: the one person who approves the work.

What to leave out

• Solutions in disguise, like “make the logo bigger”. Describe the problem instead.
• Your company’s full history. Link to it if it matters.
• Twelve references. Three good ones with reasons are more useful.

Template

Copy this into a doc and fill it in:

1. Project: what are we making?
2. Goal: what should it achieve, in one sentence?
3. Audience: who is it for?
4. Message: what is the one thing they should remember?
5. Deliverables: which files, sizes and formats?
6. Must-haves: what has to be included?
7. Limits: what can’t change?
8. References: which examples, and why?
9. Success: how will we know it worked?
10. Deadline: when is it due, and when does it go live?
11. Approver: who signs off?

Tips for faster feedback

• Describe problems. “It feels too playful for banks” helps more than “use navy”.
• Send one list. Collect feedback from everyone first, then send it together.
• Use real content early. Placeholder text hides problems.
• Share access on day one. Brand files, the product and analytics all help.

How we use it

Our contact form asks for the basics, and a 20-minute call covers the rest. Within 24 hours you get a one-page plan with the scope, the date and a fixed price.