• Briefing Board
• Design Articles
• Design Bulletin

Taking time to go through all the criteria at the beginning of a project, will save both time and money in the long run.

Brief Encounters with Design

Designers and design projects come in various sizes and guises. Launching ideas of the page and into the mind of the reader requires a mixture of ingenuity and awareness, so the success of any solution depends to a large extent on the effectiveness of the graphic design brief.

Pointers to Creating the Brief

Before any mark can be made the designer needs to extract all the information about the business, organisation, service and product placement that relates to the project at hand. Taking time with the designer to go through all the criteria the material and strategy will have to fulfil and the elements it should contain at the outset, will save both time and money in the long run.

Fit for Purpose

Clear decisions on the approach, treatment, budget, quantities and time scales at the beginning of the project will prevent costly alterations in the latter stages of a project. If there is a specific campaign or strategy in place, briefing several projects to be implemented within a certain timeframe will bring a cohesive style and feel to all the brochures, logos, graphics and website components.

Developing the creative structure within these limits, whilst bringing together all the elements necessary to ensure that the value of a specific business is recognised should be the skills that every graphic designer brings to the brief.

An initial consultancy phase may be required to look at the project from different perspectives, such as business objectives, content development, technical considerations and operational requirements. The core purpose, specifications, structure and delivery of the design project can then be concentrated into a solution that adds value and makes a unique statement about the organisation.

Affordable Value

The most crucial reason for a thorough briefing process is to ensure that, as the client, you get the maximum worth from the money you spend and the material you receive.

Since the scale and complexity of any project is unique to each individual business, when budgeting for a project the best approach is to define clear aims, identify any existing material that can be recycled and any extra imagery that has to be sourced.

Having a minimum and maximum budget will allow your designer to match feasible solutions directly to the objectives of the brief. Agreeing final costs and aligning them to specific design stages, revisions, print finishes and quantities before production starts gives both client and designer peace of mind and should eliminate the need for any costly misunderstandings later.

Design Briefs

Some major design consultancies may have a minimum project fee structure, but many designers will accommodate smaller budgets rather than dismiss a worthwile project.

Once you're ready to make people sit up and take notice, the next stage is to find the resources to deliver a creative blueprint that can deliver the desired effect.