Project Brief

The Essentials To Starting a Design Project

A project brief is a practical and useful tool used as a first step in summarizing creative projects. It is used as foundational framework for developing strategic creative solutions to real-world project challenges.

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A Design brief is a written document for a design project developed by a person or team (the ‘designer’ or ‘design team’) in consultation with the ‘client’. They outline the deliverables and scope of the project including any products or works (function and aesthetics), timing and budget.
– Wikipedia

Project Brief Example:

View a Project Brief Example (Google Doc)

Make a Copy of the Project Brief Doc

Client: Client Name

Brief Summary:

The Summary is a quick introduction to the project in a single paragraph form. It should be a brief overview of the project, similar to an editorial nut graph in journalism. Suggested length is 4-5 sentences. Things to consider: the who, what, why, when, and how.

Primary Objectives:

These should short, clear, and actionable.
List as many as you need, but try to keep this list short (under 1-3).

Target Audience and Primary Stakeholders:

List all parties that are involved, affected, invested, and impacted by this project.

Deliverables:

List all items that will be created and delivered.
Tip: Do not be vague and general, be clear and exact.

Features & Functionality:

List all important features and functionality here, such as technology-related items.

Project Schedule, Timeline, & Key Deadlines:

If known, list the key dates for each deliverable. If unknown, consider listing an approximate schedule with proposed deadlines
Example:
- Phase I: Project Kickoff Meeting: May 15
- Phase II: Early Prototype – June 1
- Phase III: Designs
  - Initial Designs (3): June 15
  - Revised Designs (2): July 1
  - Final Designs:: July 15
- Phase IV: Development
  - First Draft: August 1
  - Revised: August 15
- Phase V: Diligence
  - Final Product Launch: September 1

Assets needed:

List all things that you need to gather to complete the project, such as client assets (e.g. logo), copy (e.g. text), imagery (e.g. photography, video), any custom graphics needed (e.g. icons, illustration), and audio (music, voice over, sound effects)

Competitive Analysis:

Become a “mini-expert” in your client’s field by listing relevant competitors.
Tip: Consider showing visual examples from each listed competitor.
Tip: in addition to listing direct businesses in the same field/industry (e.g. local companies), consider listing national and international competitors in the same and/or related field that might be relevant to note and share as part of your research.

Visual Precedents:

As you do conduct your background research, be sure to collect visual examples of existing products that are relevant and potentially important to this project.

Initial Things to Consider

As you write up a project brief, be sure to consider the following questions

What is the primary design problem that needs to be solved?
Who are the target users and what are their primary goals? What specific tasks are they trying to do?
What interesting conceptual solutions might there be? Any out-of-the-box original ideas that are both aesthetic and functional?
What is the scope of this project? Can I realistically complete it successfully within the existing timeframe and budget?

Essential Elements to Include

Be sure to note the items in bold

Project Name
Client Name
Brief Summary
Primary Objective(s)
Target Audience and Primary Stakeholders
Deliverables (be sure to define them clearly)
Features, functionalities, & technologies
Project Schedule with deadlines
Assets needed
Competitive Analysis (examples of competitor sites)
Visual Precedents (be sure to include screenshots)

Other Elements to Consider Including

These might be helpful to identify and define upfront with your client at the very beginning of the project

User Profiles (Personas) & User Scenarios (specific user situations with clear goals and tasks)
User Flow Charts (diagrams for how users might interact with the product)
Surveys and Questionnaire questions to gather user data
Keyword lists to help identify conceptual themes that will match and enhance the client brand

User Profile & User Scenario Examples:

This user is in this environment (e.g. in car on cell phone, or at work on a laptop) and wants to achieve this goal. To do so, this user tries to do this task. He/she tries this subtask, then this subtask, then this subtask. In the current user scenario, this user ends up with this result (was the goal achieved? yes/no? yes, but struggled? yes, but too many steps?)

Conclusion

Project briefs can be a simple as a brief, half-page text document (for small projects) and can be as complex as multi-page reports containing detailed background information, project specifications, and a fully designed layout. There is no one-size-fits-all project brief for all client projects, so each project brief should be custom designed to help clearly define the project to all parties involved (e.g. so both the client and the designer are on the same page).

More importantly, project briefs are good opportunities to explore interesting conceptual possibilities and solutions before getting too far committed in the design and development process. So take advantage of this exercise and have fun with it!

Author Notes

This was written specifically to help aspiring web designers as they aim to:

Define and plan for client-based projects in a clear, concise, and organized manner.
Apply best practices for user centered design using user research methods and guidelines.
Communicate project-related goals, deliverables, issues, and concerns to both clients and internal team members (co-workers).