What Is a Design Brief?

Every successful design project starts with a single document that keeps everyone on the same page. This document acts as the foundation for creative work, guiding decisions from concept to completion. A design brief is a project document that outlines the objectives, scope, requirements, and expectations for a design project, serving as a roadmap for designers and stakeholders alike. Without this critical tool, projects often drift off course, budgets balloon, and final deliverables miss the mark.

Miscommunication between clients and designers remains one of the biggest challenges in creative work. Unclear expectations lead to endless revision cycles, wasted resources, and frustrated teams on both sides. A well-crafted design brief eliminates these problems by establishing shared understanding before any design work begins.

In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about design briefs—from their core components to step-by-step creation instructions. You’ll find practical examples, downloadable templates, and expert tips that work whether you’re a seasoned designer or creating your first brief as an entrepreneur.

What Is a Design Brief?

It serves as a communication tool between clients and designers to ensure alignment throughout the creative process. Think of it as a contract of understanding—not legally binding, but essential for project success.

This document captures everything a designer needs to know before starting work. It includes business context, visual preferences, technical requirements, and success criteria. Design briefs apply across all design disciplines, from website wireframes to mobile apps to print materials.

Both designers and clients benefit from a thorough brief. Designers gain clarity on expectations and creative direction. Clients receive a reference point for evaluating deliverables. Project managers use it to track scope and prevent feature creep. The brief becomes the single source of truth that everyone can reference throughout the project lifecycle.

Design Brief Definition

A design brief—sometimes called a creative brief or project brief—is a written document that defines the parameters of a design project. The term “brief” comes from its original purpose: providing a short summary of essential information. However, modern design briefs often include detailed specifications depending on project complexity.

The document typically answers fundamental questions: What problem are we solving? Who are we designing for? What does success look like? What constraints exist? While the format varies by industry and project type, the core purpose remains consistent—aligning all parties before creative work begins.

Purpose of a Design Brief

A design brief serves multiple critical functions throughout a project’s lifecycle. It transforms vague ideas into concrete requirements that teams can act upon.

• Alignment: Ensures clients, designers, and stakeholders share the same vision and expectations from day one
• Communication: Provides a common language and reference point for discussing project requirements
• Scope management: Defines boundaries that prevent scope creep and unauthorized additions
• Accountability: Creates a documented agreement that both parties can reference during disputes
• Efficiency: Reduces back-and-forth questions by answering common concerns upfront
• Quality control: Establishes success criteria for evaluating final deliverables

According to the Project Management Institute, poor requirements documentation is a leading cause of project failure. A comprehensive design brief addresses this risk directly.

Key Components of a Design Brief

Every effective design brief contains six essential components that provide designers with the information they need to succeed. While specific sections may vary based on project type, these elements form the foundation of any comprehensive brief:

1. Project overview and background
2. Goals and objectives
3. Target audience
4. Scope and deliverables
5. Timeline and budget
6. Brand guidelines and style preferences

Let’s examine each component in detail to understand what information belongs in each section.

Project Overview and Background

The project overview provides essential context about the company and the problem being solved. This section helps designers—especially those new to the client—understand the business landscape and project history.

Include information about your company’s mission, products or services, and market position. Explain what prompted this project: Are you launching a new product? Rebranding? Addressing user complaints? Describe any previous design work and why changes are needed now.

Key questions this section should answer: What does your company do? What problem does this project solve? What has been tried before? Why is this project happening now?

Goals and Objectives

Goals represent the broad outcomes you want to achieve, while objectives are specific, measurable targets. This distinction matters because vague goals lead to subjective evaluations of success.

Apply the SMART framework to your objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Instead of “improve the website,” write “increase homepage conversion rate by 15% within three months of launch.”

Common design goals include: increasing user engagement, improving brand recognition, boosting conversion rates, reducing user errors, and enhancing accessibility. Each goal should connect to a measurable business outcome that guides design decisions throughout the project.

Target Audience

Understanding who will use the final design is critical for making informed creative decisions. This section describes your ideal users in enough detail that designers can empathize with their needs and preferences.

Include demographic information like age, location, income level, and education. Add psychographic details: What motivates them? What frustrates them? What are their goals when interacting with your product? User personas provide an effective format for organizing this information.

For digital products, include technical context: What devices do users prefer? What’s their technical proficiency? Are there accessibility requirements to consider? This information shapes everything from layout choices to interaction patterns.

Scope and Deliverables

The scope section defines exactly what the project includes—and equally important, what it excludes. Clear boundaries prevent the gradual expansion of requirements that derails timelines and budgets.

List all expected deliverables with specific details. For a website project, this might include: homepage design, five interior page templates, mobile responsive versions, and source files in Figma format. Specify the number of revision rounds included.

Explicitly state what falls outside the project scope. If you’re designing a mobile app interface but not the icon set, say so. If development and coding are separate engagements, clarify that boundary. This prevents assumptions that lead to conflict later.

Timeline and Budget

Realistic timelines account for design iterations, stakeholder reviews, and unexpected challenges. Break the project into milestones with specific dates for drafts, feedback rounds, and final delivery.

A typical timeline might include: initial concepts (week 2), first revision (week 3), final designs (week 4), and asset delivery (week 5). Build buffer time into each phase—projects rarely proceed exactly as planned.

Budget information helps designers propose appropriate solutions. A $5,000 budget calls for different approaches than a $50,000 budget. If budget is flexible based on scope, indicate the range and priorities for where to invest more resources.

Brand Guidelines and Style Preferences

Visual consistency requires clear documentation of existing brand elements. Provide designers with all assets they need to maintain brand integrity while creating new work.

Essential brand assets include: logo files in various formats, color palette with hex codes, typography specifications, and imagery style guidelines. If you have a formal brand style guide, attach it to the brief.

For style preferences, include mood boards, reference websites, or examples of designs you admire. Explain what you like about each reference. Also share examples of styles you want to avoid—knowing what doesn’t work is equally valuable. Tools like digital mood boards help communicate visual direction effectively.

Types of Design Briefs

Design briefs adapt to different project types and industries. While the core components remain consistent, each type emphasizes different elements based on the specific requirements of the work. Understanding these variations helps you create briefs tailored to your project’s needs.

Creative Brief vs Design Brief

These terms are often used interchangeably, but they serve different purposes in practice. Understanding the distinction helps you choose the right document for your project.

Use a creative brief when planning integrated marketing campaigns. Use a design brief when commissioning specific visual work like a website redesign or app interface.

UX Design Brief

A UX design brief focuses on user experience outcomes rather than purely visual elements. It emphasizes research, usability, and how users interact with the product over time.

Unique elements in UX briefs include: user research findings, persona documentation, user journey maps, usability goals, and accessibility requirements. Deliverables typically include wireframes, prototypes, user flows, and usability testing plans.

UX briefs often reference existing analytics data, user feedback, and competitive analysis. They define success through metrics like task completion rates, time-on-task, and user satisfaction scores rather than subjective visual preferences.

Web Design Brief

Web design briefs address the specific requirements of website projects, including technical considerations that don’t apply to other design types.

Key elements include: site map and page hierarchy, content requirements per page, responsive design specifications, CMS preferences, and integration requirements. The brief should address SEO considerations, page load performance targets, and browser compatibility needs.

Functionality requirements deserve special attention: contact forms, e-commerce features, user accounts, search functionality, and third-party integrations. Each feature affects design decisions and development complexity.

Graphic Design Brief

Graphic design briefs cover print materials, brand identity work, and static visual assets. They emphasize production specifications that differ from digital projects.

Include print-specific details: dimensions, color mode (CMYK vs RGB), bleed requirements, paper stock preferences, and quantity. Specify file formats needed for different use cases—print-ready PDFs, web-optimized images, and editable source files.

Common graphic design projects include logo design, business cards, brochures, packaging, signage, and social media graphics. Each has unique technical requirements that the brief should address.

How to Write a Design Brief (Step-by-Step)

Creating an effective design brief follows a logical sequence that builds from context to specifics. Whether you’re a client preparing requirements or a designer guiding a client through the process, these six steps produce comprehensive briefs that set projects up for success.

1. Define the project background
2. Identify your target audience
3. Set clear goals and success metrics
4. Outline scope and deliverables
5. Establish timeline and budget
6. Include visual references and brand assets

Step 1: Define the Project Background

Start by documenting the context that shapes this project. Write a brief company description, explain your industry position, and describe the specific challenge or opportunity driving this work.

Answer these questions in your background section: What does your organization do? What products or services do you offer? What market do you serve? Why is this project necessary now? What happens if the project doesn’t succeed?

Example: “GreenLeaf Organics is a direct-to-consumer organic food subscription service serving health-conscious families in urban areas. Our current website, built five years ago, no longer reflects our expanded product line or brand evolution. We need a redesign to support our goal of doubling subscribers within 18 months.”

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience

Document who will interact with the final design. Go beyond basic demographics to understand motivations, pain points, and behaviors that influence design decisions.

Create user profiles that include: age range, occupation, income level, location, goals, frustrations, and preferred devices or platforms. If you have existing customer research, reference key findings. If not, document your best understanding and note assumptions that need validation.

For multiple audience segments, prioritize them. Which group matters most? How do their needs differ? Designers can’t optimize for everyone equally—clear priorities guide trade-off decisions.

Step 3: Set Clear Goals and Success Metrics

Transform vague aspirations into specific, measurable objectives. Each goal should connect to a business outcome and include criteria for measuring success.

Apply the SMART framework: “Increase mobile conversion rate from 2.1% to 3.5% within 90 days of launch” beats “improve mobile experience.” Include both primary goals (must achieve) and secondary goals (nice to have) to help designers prioritize when constraints force trade-offs.

Common design metrics include: conversion rates, bounce rates, time on page, task completion rates, error rates, and Net Promoter Score. Choose metrics that align with your business objectives and can be tracked with your existing tools.

Step 4: Outline Scope and Deliverables

List every deliverable the project will produce, with enough detail to prevent misunderstandings. Specify formats, quantities, and variations for each item.

For a mobile app design project, deliverables might include: user flow diagrams, low-fidelity wireframes for 12 screens, high-fidelity mockups for iOS and Android, interactive prototype, design system documentation, and asset export package.

Document exclusions explicitly. State that development, copywriting, photography, or other services fall outside this engagement unless they’re included. Specify the number of revision rounds and what constitutes a “revision” versus a “new direction.”

Step 5: Establish Timeline and Budget

Create a realistic schedule with milestones that account for review cycles and potential delays. Map out when drafts are due, when feedback is expected, and when final delivery occurs.

Sample milestone structure: Project kickoff (Day 1), Initial concepts presented (Day 14), Client feedback due (Day 21), Revised designs presented (Day 28), Final approval (Day 35), Asset delivery (Day 42). Adjust timeframes based on project complexity.

State budget clearly or provide a range if flexibility exists. Indicate whether the budget is fixed or negotiable based on scope adjustments. If certain elements are higher priority for budget allocation, note those preferences.

Step 6: Include Visual References and Brand Assets

Provide all materials designers need to understand your visual direction and maintain brand consistency. This section prevents guesswork and reduces revision cycles.

Attach existing brand assets: logo files (vector and raster formats), color specifications, typography files or names, photography style examples, and any existing brand guidelines documentation.

Include inspiration references with annotations explaining what you like about each. “I like the clean navigation on this site” or “This color palette feels premium without being cold.” Share examples of styles to avoid with similar explanations. Visual references communicate preferences more effectively than written descriptions alone.

Design Brief Examples and Templates

Seeing real examples helps translate theory into practice. The following examples demonstrate how to apply design brief principles to specific project types. Use these as starting points and customize them for your unique requirements.

Website Design Brief Example

Project Background: TechStart Solutions provides IT consulting services to small businesses in the Pacific Northwest. Our current website is seven years old and doesn’t reflect our expanded service offerings or professional reputation. We need a modern redesign that generates qualified leads.

Target Audience: Small business owners (10-50 employees), ages 35-55, limited technical knowledge, frustrated with unreliable IT support, value responsiveness and clear communication over lowest price.

Goals:

• Increase contact form submissions by 40% within 6 months
• Reduce bounce rate from 65% to under 45%
• Improve mobile usability score to 90+ on Google PageSpeed

Deliverables: Homepage design, 6 service page templates, about page, contact page, blog template, mobile responsive versions, Figma source files. Two revision rounds included.

Timeline: 8 weeks from kickoff to final delivery. Budget: $12,000-$15,000.

App Design Brief Example

Project Background: FitTrack is a fitness startup launching a workout tracking app for casual gym-goers. Unlike apps targeting serious athletes, we focus on beginners who feel intimidated by complex fitness tools. This is our MVP launch.

Target Audience: Adults 25-40, new to regular exercise, own smartphones, motivated by simplicity and encouragement rather than detailed metrics, likely to abandon apps that feel overwhelming.

Goals:

• Achieve 60% day-7 retention rate
• Complete onboarding flow in under 2 minutes
• Maintain app store rating above 4.2 stars

Deliverables: User flow diagrams, wireframes for 15 core screens, high-fidelity designs for iOS (Android to follow), interactive prototype for user testing, basic design system components.

Timeline: 6 weeks. Budget: $18,000.

Free Design Brief Template

Use this template structure for your own projects. Copy and customize each section based on your specific needs.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

• Company name and description: [Your company info]
• Project type: [Website/App/Brand Identity/Other]
• Problem statement: [What challenge does this solve?]
• Project background: [Why now? What’s the context?]

TARGET AUDIENCE

• Primary audience: [Demographics, behaviors, needs]
• Secondary audience: [If applicable]
• User personas: [Attach or describe]

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• Primary goal: [Specific, measurable outcome]
• Secondary goals: [Additional objectives]
• Success metrics: [How will you measure success?]

SCOPE AND DELIVERABLES

• Included deliverables: [List with specifications]
• Excluded items: [What’s NOT included]
• Revision rounds: [Number included]
• File formats: [Required formats]

TIMELINE AND BUDGET

• Project start date: [Date]
• Key milestones: [List with dates]
• Final delivery date: [Date]
• Budget: [Amount or range]

BRAND AND VISUAL DIRECTION

• Brand assets: [List attached files]
• Style preferences: [Describe or attach references]
• Styles to avoid: [What doesn’t fit?]
• Competitor references: [Examples to differentiate from]

Common Design Brief Mistakes to Avoid

Even well-intentioned briefs can undermine projects when they contain these common errors. Recognizing these pitfalls helps you create more effective documentation.

1. Vague objectives: “Make it look modern” gives designers nothing actionable. Specify what “modern” means to you with examples and measurable outcomes.
2. Missing audience information: Designing without knowing the end user leads to solutions that look good but don’t work. Include detailed audience profiles even if based on assumptions.
3. Unrealistic timelines: Rushing creative work produces inferior results. Account for review cycles, revisions, and unexpected delays in your schedule.
4. No visual references: Words alone can’t communicate visual preferences accurately. Include mood boards, reference sites, and examples of styles you like and dislike.
5. Scope ambiguity: Undefined boundaries invite scope creep. List exactly what’s included and explicitly state what falls outside the project.
6. Too many stakeholders: When everyone has input authority, conflicting feedback paralyzes progress. Designate one decision-maker for final approvals.
7. Ignoring constraints: Technical limitations, budget restrictions, and platform requirements shape what’s possible. Document constraints upfront rather than discovering them mid-project.

These mistakes often stem from rushing the brief creation process. Investing time upfront to create a thorough brief saves far more time during execution.

Who Creates a Design Brief?

Responsibility for creating the design brief varies depending on the project context and organizational structure. Understanding who typically owns this task helps ensure it gets done properly.

Client-side creation: In agency relationships, clients often provide the initial brief. Marketing managers, product owners, or business stakeholders document their requirements before engaging designers. This approach works well when clients have clear vision and design experience.

Designer-led creation: Many designers prefer to create briefs collaboratively with clients through discovery sessions. They ask structured questions, document answers, and produce a brief that both parties approve. This method often produces more thorough briefs because designers know what information they need.

Collaborative approach: The most effective briefs often emerge from partnership. Clients provide business context, goals, and constraints. Designers contribute structure, ask clarifying questions, and identify gaps. Both parties review and approve the final document.

For entrepreneurs and non-designers creating briefs independently, AI-powered design tools can help visualize concepts and communicate ideas more effectively than words alone.

How AI Tools Simplify the Design Brief Process

The gap between written requirements and visual execution has traditionally required significant design expertise to bridge. AI-powered tools are changing this dynamic by helping anyone translate ideas into visual concepts quickly.

Modern AI design tools can generate wireframes and mockups from text descriptions, allowing brief creators to include visual references they’ve created themselves. This capability is particularly valuable for non-designers who struggle to communicate visual preferences through words alone.

These tools also accelerate the iteration process. Instead of waiting for designers to interpret written requirements, stakeholders can generate multiple visual directions and include preferred options in the brief. This reduces misunderstandings and speeds up the path from concept to final design.

For design teams, AI tools help quickly prototype concepts described in briefs, validating feasibility before committing significant resources. They can also generate variations that spark creative directions the team might not have considered.

Design Brief Best Practices

Apply these proven practices to create briefs that lead to successful project outcomes.

1. Be specific, not prescriptive: Define what success looks like without dictating exactly how to achieve it. Give designers room to apply their expertise while maintaining clear boundaries.
2. Include visual references: Words are imprecise for communicating visual preferences. Always attach examples, mood boards, or rough wireframes that show what you mean.
3. Involve stakeholders early: Gather input from everyone who will approve the final work before the brief is finalized. Late-stage stakeholder additions derail projects.
4. Keep it concise but complete: Include all necessary information without padding. Designers won’t read 20-page briefs. Aim for 2-4 pages with attachments for detailed assets.
5. Make it a living document: Update the brief when requirements change rather than relying on verbal agreements. Version control prevents confusion about current specifications.
6. Define the approval process: Specify who has authority to approve deliverables and how feedback will be consolidated. Multiple conflicting approvers create chaos.
7. Include competitive context: Show designers what competitors are doing—both to differentiate from and to match where appropriate. Context shapes creative decisions.

Research from Nielsen Norman Group confirms that clear documentation of requirements significantly improves design outcomes and reduces project timelines.

From Brief to Design with Visily

Visily bridges the gap between design briefs and actual designs through AI-powered features that work for both designers and non-designers.

The text-to-design feature transforms written descriptions into wireframes and mockups instantly. Describe your app concept or website layout in plain language, and Visily generates visual starting points you can refine. This helps brief creators include concrete visual references rather than relying on verbal descriptions alone.

Screenshot-to-design functionality lets you capture inspiration from existing sites or apps and convert them into editable designs. Include these in your brief to show exactly what elements you want to incorporate or avoid.

Collaborative features allow stakeholders to comment directly on designs, keeping feedback connected to visual context. Teams can iterate quickly, testing whether proposed solutions meet brief requirements before investing in detailed execution.

Whether you’re a designer interpreting client briefs or an entrepreneur creating your first product concept, Visily helps move from written requirements to visual reality faster.