How to Write a Web Design Brief

17 Jul, 2012

What is the starting point for any web design project? Yes, it’s the brief. It is also used as a reference as the project progresses. The problem is that the first brief that the client sends is usually lacking in major information and creates a problem for the company. Maybe they don’t know how to write a proper brief. Do you?

“A thorough and articulate design brief is a critical part of the design process.”

Writing a good brief is not only important but it also determines the relationship with your team and the success of your project. There are four briefing documents and each one is discussed in detail below:

The Client Brief

It is the initial brief from a client and it can also be in the form of a phone call or an email. In rare cases you might get some preliminary research results and detailed budgets and timescales. Basically an initial brief is an introduction which is validation for the client that the web design company will be getting a price to them. Think of it as a start of a conversation.

The Technical Brief

This brief has to be almost always requested. It is advisable to create one from whatever sources you can if you aren’t give one. What you can do is take chunks from the client brief or talk to the client and take quick notes. The idea is to find out what development is being done.

The Creative Brief

In case of a large team, you will need to pull out information from the Client Brief in order to tell your team what they have to do. The aim of this document is to brief your team and to keep checking whether you’re on the right creative track. You will be creating this brief from scratch which will involve asking the client questions and speaking to a lot of people about diverse aspects of the project. Here are a few examples of such questions:

What are the brand guidelines?
Who will be building the website?
Who will be responsible for feedback and changes?
Who are all the people involved?
What research is available?

The Idea Brief

The project aims are discussed in one line in the idea brief. Think of it as a problem statement looking for a solution. It can be a challenging task to right the idea brief because it needs to be short, concise and open. It is good to start the sentence by asking a question which the designer will have to answer.

Briefs That Work

You may have four documents but the brief still maybe something that lacks call to action. Why may that happen? Read the following types of briefs and you’ll know!

Flowery Briefs: It’s one that uses language which is full of acronyms, complicated terms and abbreviations with no focus. It usually leaves your head full of questions.
Woolly Briefs: If your brief is vague, lacking specifics and provides little insights into the direction of the project, then it’s a woolly brief. Everything remains unclear.
Tight Briefs: These kinds of briefs spell out the requirements and provide a solution so the designer just has to implement them. These are the worst kind of brief to receive!
Loose Briefs: These are too open and not focused at all. They will not tell you anything and ask you for ideas.
Ideal Briefs: So what makes the ideal brief? It’s one that is not too loose, too tight, not woolly nor flowery. It is just right.