The DSDillon Group / Reviewed 18 September 2026
Explain what someone can buy.
Describe your main service or product in everyday language. Who buys it? What are they trying to achieve? What do they need to understand before making an enquiry? Include the operating market and any practical limits.
A useful example is: we prepare weekly payroll for small employers, and we want owners to understand what they need to send us before the first pay run. That is a fictional brief example, included to show the level of detail.
Say why the project is happening.
A launch, new audience, service change or inconsistent identity each creates a different brief. Describe the problem in terms someone can check. Share relevant enquiries or materials you have permission to use.
Avoid treating a colour preference as the business problem. Explain what an existing design gets wrong, or what a proposed direction should help a customer understand.
List the assets and constraints.
Tell the designer where the identity will appear, what already exists and what must remain. Include the name, legal wording, approved logo files, existing photography and supplier requirements where available.
Put the deadline, budget range and decision-maker in the brief. Mention production, event or website dependencies that affect the schedule. These details help identify what can be delivered sensibly.
Use references with an explanation.
A few examples can help communicate a preference. Explain what you like about the spacing, tone, colour or use of photography. They are references for discussion; the finished work needs its own direction.
Also explain what feels wrong for the business. A playful style may suit one audience and create unnecessary confusion for another. The reasoning is more useful than a long collection of unrelated images.
Agree how decisions will be made.
Nominate one person to collect the team's feedback and one person with approval authority. Record what the final handover needs to contain. Agree how changes to the brief will be handled.
Our Brand Lab includes a brief builder that turns a few practical answers into a downloadable starting document. Keep confidential customer information and account credentials out of that exercise and the public enquiry.