The Finishing Post

Here at The Finishing Post we thought it might be helpful to put together our top 10 tips for writing a brief!

1. Start off with a company profile - don't assume your designer will know anything about your product, service or industry. Tell them what your organisation does, who your competitors are, how you fit into the industry and what your USP (unique selling point) is.

2. What are your aims and objectives? Do you want to create interest in your product or service? Generate sales? Gain new leads? Capture data for future mailiings or campaigns? What is your main message?

3. Who is your audience? What kind of people are you aiming your product/service at? Are you business to business or consumer focused? Where would your audience be likely to find out about your offering? Think about your audience demographic such as their sex, age, where they might shop, what their job is, what they might drive. This will all help to build a profile of your potential consumer.

4. What is your budget? Even if it's only a rough figure you have in mind, it will help the designer understand whether you are looking for a full all-singing, all-dancing campaign or if your budget is a bit more limited. They can then work out the best solution according to your funds available.

5. Timescales ? have a think about when you would like to see something at each stage of the project. Give dates for receiving the initial estimate, viewing first stage concepts, feedback, development and final artwork. If you have an advert deadline or final print date in mind it is helpful to work back from this to plan when the final artwork is required.

6. Previous examples of your branding and/or campaigns will be useful to the designer to form an idea of your company image. If you have brand guidelines all the better - company colours, fonts, imagery etc. Is the existing style to be followed or are you looking for new concepts? Do you have existing photography/illustrations you would like to use? It will also be helpful to provide any information you have on your competitors, be it literature, advertising etc.

7. Copywriting - will you be supplying copy or will you be expecting the designer/copywriting to produce this for you? If so you will need to at least supply some key points you would like to get across and some back up information about your product/service.

8. Research - has any been carried out about your product or industry? This can be useful for the designer to steer the project in the right direction or avoid anything that has been unsuccessful in the past.

9. Application - are you looking for a logo, stationery, a brochure, leaflet, website, advertising and if so are there any limitations? The designer can consider these options for you, but for instance if the brochure must be A4 to fit into an already printed folder or if you have booked advertising space to certain dimensions.

10. Finally - communicate! A good client/designer relationship involves good communication. Where account managers are involved these will be an invaluable resource in driving your project forwards. They will keep you up to date of timescales, your budget, design development and expectations, but in turn you can help by providing the information they need to complete your project - copy, files, images, purchase orders. These can all help to move your project forwards and ensure you have a successful outcome and you are a happy client!

Back to posts