First, what is the brief for?
We perceive a new object, whether printed or on screen, first through sight: does it catch my attention, do I want to click, to flip through it? It's only after this first step (decisive) that it becomes possible to access the contents and decide whether what's inside is worth the effort. Just as it's disappointing to see a great cover with little substance behind it as it's a shame to offer excellent content poorly presented, it's important that the form matches the substance.
To do this, when you contact a graphic designer, they will first need to understand who you are, why your media exists, and what it stands for, in order to use appropriate visual language.
A good creative brief will boost efficiency by establishing the directions you want — or don't want — to explore, ensuring you're headed the right way from the start. Since this is ultimately your project, you likely already know where you want to take it. Your graphic designer will help you operationally and culturally crystallize your own intuitions, while also re-examining and deepening these ideas.
Questions to help you
- What are your needs? (Art direction, but perhaps also communication visuals, magazine layouts, mapping, infographics, website mockups, newsletters, etc.)
- What is the context for this need? (Media creation, product launch, redesign, etc.)
- What spirit or atmosphere do you wish to convey? (Are you creating a playful, literary, luminous, curiosity-awakening, itinerant, calm, contemplative, erudite, dreamlike, botanical, mechanical, architectural, combative, serious, scientific, digital, vulnerable, living, dynamic…environment?)
- What are your values? What ideas and worldview do you stand for?
- Who are you talking to? That's the famous question of targets, of personas.
- Do you have examples of other works that, in one aspect or several, you like, are similar to what you wish to convey, or conversely — and this is equally important — are the opposite of what you are, and can thus define boundaries beyond which not to venture?
- What are your deadlines? I'll take the opportunity to add that it's better to get in touch early — it's not ideal for anyone to have to come up with ideas or make decisions under very tight time pressure.
- What deliverables will you need? What format, or for what purpose? Do you need only exports, or also editable source files? Do you need a style guide explaining usage rules?
- Are the documents intended to be printed and/or viewed on screens? (This matters for choosing colors: backlit pixels and inks on coated paper render differently.)
- What is your budget estimate? This last point will help your designer understand the scope of the project: the more budget there is, the further we can go and undertake an ambitious project — conversely, if finances are tight, we need to simplify the processes. The timeline and budget can also depend on each other.
And what elements should be passed on?
If your visual identity already exists and you need productions that are consistent with it, to delight your designer, ideally share:
- The logo(s) in vector format — not JPG please — along with your partners' logos if applicable, in vector format ;
- The brand guidelines listing usage rules, color codes, fonts to use, etc. If you don't have one, you can indicate your usual practices and provide examples of work already produced;
- Images, hyperlinks, text to be displayed, and ideas about hierarchy—what's most important.
Want to go further?
- Since you always need to start with a target audience, consult our how-to guide to learn how to define your personas.
- Read previous articles to understand typographic terminology, learn how to choose your typefaces, and care for illustrations related to your images. And don't forget a key topic on article formatting: Why so much bold?
- A few examples about readability, accessibility, hierarchy and structure, and practical cases to discover on my portfolio.
