Brief: what is it and why should the customer take the time to fill it out?

Clients don't like briefs, any project manager will tell you that. Some people have to run after and beg, and as a result, a voice comes to the TG: “You are professionals, do it beautifully!” So what then: the copywriter writes good text, but does not fall into the pain of the target audience and business goals. The designer works according to the texture that exists, and creates a series of promotional posters and packaging for the Black Cat coffee brand for Pinterest, with lavender gradients and vintage grain - the project can be posted on Behance, but the client is dissatisfied. Because he wanted pop art in the spirit of the American 60s, with comic fonts, lemon yellow buttons and a hero in the form of a super spy cat.

Long edits and approvals can be avoided at the start if you fill out the brief. This is a project GPS that helps the team understand what you really want, why it is needed, who your audience is and what they expect. This article explained how to compose it correctly, what mistakes even large companies make, and how to make it work.

What is a brief and why is it needed?

Let's make it official: this is a document that describes the key points of the project, the client's expectations, additional materials about the company, its target audience, and provides references and counter-examples. It does not have any strict structure; it is assembled like a construction set from standard blocks for a specific task. For example, for development of the brand's corporate identity the agency needs to know:

• what the company does - production, sales, b2b, b2c, etc., at least in a few words;

• what already exists - logo, colors, brand book, and what they are not satisfied with;

• who is the target audience - large corporations, students, mothers of angels, gestalt psychologists;

• Why do you need a corporate identity - the old one is outdated (or it didn’t exist at all), you want to enter a new market/level, etc.;

• what wishes do you have - in style (we want it like Apple, only our logo is in the shape of a capybara), in color (I like green and turquoise, absolutely not in red), in fonts and others;

• what emotions should arise in the client when meeting the brand - “oh, it’s cheap here!”, “interesting, I want to try” or “expensive, high-status, not for everyone - but just for me”;

• what definitely shouldn’t be - memes, cats, Comic Sans, gradients or monochrome.

It’s great when the customer includes links to what he likes and what he doesn’t like. This doesn't mean that the designer will simply copy Apple's conventional style, but the general direction (white background, clean lines, gray and black accents, lots of air in the layout) will be clear.

The brief does not allow one to escape from the tone of voice, visual code and common sense, even if the designer suddenly realized at 2 am that there is an acute lack of neon icons here. With this document, the team does not have any misunderstandings either with each other or with the client. In addition, it will be an argument in controversial situations: if you have questions about the work, you can always refer to the brief.

Types of briefs

Based on the level of complexity, three types of briefs can be distinguished:

1. Basic. The client needs a poster, banner, landing page, and minor changes to the logo. To do this, a brief introduction about the company, examples, formats, and CTA is enough.

2. Tactical. Here they solve problems with KPIs: promotions, lead generation, website redesign. The brief should contain a goal, description of the target audience, offer, channels, restrictions.

3. Strategic. Here we are talking about a big project, for example, rebranding, entering a new market, etc. The brief is as complete as possible, with business tasks, insights, positioning, analytics.

It is convenient to have several versions of the brief at hand: instead of a huge form of 40 points, you give the customer a sane structure for the project or task. This increases the chance that the document will be read and completed.

We have collected in a table the types of briefs depending on the project.

These are not all possible options, in fact there are more. But we have described the general approach.

Key elements of the brief

Regardless of the format and tasks, any brief should contain the following blocks:

1. Description of the project. What we do, why and in what format.

2. About the company. Who are you, what do you do, how long have you been on the market, what is your tone of voice.

3. Target audience. Who are your clients, what are they afraid of, what do they love, and what will turn them off. Age, profession, expectations.

4. Project goals. What should change: sales will increase, website traffic will increase, brand awareness will increase, etc.

5. References and anti-references. Preferably with a comment about what you like/dislike and why. A bare link to a website or a screenshot doesn’t mean anything.

6. Limitations. What definitely cannot be used at work.

7. Technical details. For example, where the result will be used (website, social networks, outdoor advertising), what formats the file is needed in, etc.

How to write a brief correctly

A 12-screen document in Excel, even if it contains only important issues and is agreed upon by all departments, will most likely remain unread in the mail. The agency’s task is to obtain the information that is really needed for the job, but to arrange it in such a way that the client does not have to brush off the managers by voice. For examples and inspiration, see brief for design development by the Veonix team.

For the brief to really work:

1. Change it to suit the task. Don’t sculpt everything, from the company’s history since the 90s to KPIs and analytics. For example, a landing page does not need a 50-point form; it will take more time to fill it out than the page itself.

2. Offer the client a convenient format. Many people don't like filling out Excel or Word (although there are those who still write by hand). You need data: so make a form with drop-down lists, at least in Yandex Forms. You can also receive voice messages; neural networks will translate the voice into text, and you will only have to add it to the brief.

3. Simplify your language. Get away from bureaucracy and slang, not “your USP”, but “what you have that your competitors don’t have.” Write example answers directly on the form next to the questions.

   
   

4. Break the brief into steps. If you have a large project, you can send not all questions at once, but in parts: first the goals, then the audience, then wishes for the visual.

5. Explain why this is needed. Either in personal correspondence with the client, or directly in the brief, indicate why you need the requested information. When people understand what they will get if they describe the style and provide references, they respond more willingly.

Common mistakes when compiling

If you downloaded a template on the Internet and did not think through the questions, the result will be poor, even if the customer fills out everything in good faith. Imagine what information you need for the project and ask the client for it.

Another mistake is “specify colors in RGB/CMYK and specify fonts.” Maybe let the customer assemble the model himself at the same time? There is no need to shift responsibility onto him; it is better to ask for references and examples, the emotions that the project should evoke.

Try not to use too broad formulations like “describe the portrait of your target audience.” Better: “Who are your clients?”, preferably with an example answer.

Best practices

Involve all employees who will further work with the project in developing the brief. Ask what data a designer needs and what data a marketer needs. Be brief, but without acronyms and slang abbreviations, not everyone knows what CTR, CPC and CJM are, do not force the client to Google.

Before submitting or linking to a document, review everything again to ensure you don't miss anything and to remove anything that isn't a priority right now.

If the completion time is delayed, offer a call or a personal meeting, perhaps this will be more convenient for both you and the customer.

How to work with a completed brief

Brief should always be in front of your eyes; this is the main guideline when working on a project. Send it to all team members, upload it to your work folder for collaboration, and attach it to a task in the task tracker. If you use AI, write in the prompt or in the instructions so that the algorithm works according to the attached document.

The brief contains answers to all questions. Someone doesn’t understand why you do it this way and not otherwise? Does the client have new ideas? Open and check. If this is written down, everything is ok; if it’s not written down, changes are made only after general agreement. This approach will save you time, nerves and protect you from surprises at the final stage.

Creation Tools

To create a brief that the client will like, you can use:

1. Yandex Forms. These are simple tools where you can create surveys, questionnaires and briefs with required fields, and also integrate them with CRM systems, analytics services, and so on. You can even fill it out on your smartphone.

2. Editor “Zero Block” on Tilda (or other visual designer). In it you can create multiforms for collecting data with custom layout and publish a page with a brief directly on the site. This is convenient for clients and for the agency; you can combine the initial survey with an application form, then you can offer a solution to the problem on the first call.

3. Text or spreadsheet editors. The same Word, Excel and analogues. They work if the client is “used to doing everything in Word.” When designing, you can use corporate colors and a logo, enter hints, in general, almost like in electronic documents, only simpler and more familiar, although a little outdated.

4. Online services. For example, “Yapify” and others, their advantage is that you can make interactive briefs with questions, quizzes and gamification, and also accept voice messages. A notification about the completed document will be sent to the messenger; integration with CRM and collaboration is possible.

   
   

5. Neural networks. For a rough draft, quick questions, or template personalization, you can use ChatGPT or YandexGPT. For example, to adapt a document to a new niche, so as not to collect everything manually. There are also AI brief generators, but the final version is still better prepared by a human.

Brief in the digital age

Information today is your main resource. To get it, adapt to the client: juggle formats, give examples and explanations, and if necessary, accept replies by email, messenger and voice. A correct, fully filled out brief will help you quickly convey the point, avoid edits and start the project from the first take.