Before you start designing it’s really important to have a very clear vision of what is required. This is especially true if you are designing for a specific client or with a specific outcome in mind. Let’s face it, who wants to waste time creating a design only to find out that you were on the wrong track from the beginning. To eliminate this happening, we’re going to take a look at 5 questions you must ask before starting a design brief. Show Let’s start by answering the question, ‘what is a design brief?’ A design brief is a set of instructions that designers will use as boundaries from which to work within. The detail and number of instructions will vary from brief to brief. Now that we understand what a brief is, let’s have a look at 5 questions you must ask before starting a design brief. 1. Target MarketKnowing who your target market is imperative before you start designing. Let’s consider a few different scenarios: Scenario 1: You’re asked to create an apparel design for toddlers girls Scenario 2: You’re asked to create an apparel design for women aged 45 to 60 years old Scenario 3: You’re asked to create an apparel design for men aged 25 to 40 How is knowing this information important before you start designing? This information will determine many factors in regards to your design including the colours and motifs you use. It could also affect the repeat size you are able to use. Let’s take a closer look at these scenarios. For scenario 1, the toddler girls design you may be asked to create a design using butterflies and fairy motifs in a pretty pink palette but this would probably not work for the other 2 scenarios. In comparison, you may be required to use textured, graphic prints for the men’s design which may not work for the other 2 scenarios. When considering your target market, you should also consider whether you are producing for mass market or high end. This could potentially determine your colour and theme direction. 2. ColourYou should always ask your client if they have a specific colour palette that they’d like to use. They may even have specific Pantone numbers that you will need to adhere to within your design. If you could ask them for images or colour references of colours that they would like you to use. You also need to ask how many colours you can use within the design. There’s no point creating a gorgeous design using 8 colours only to be told that the maximum number of colours that can be used is 6. The number of colours will most often be determined by production limitations and cost so it’s important to know this information before you start designing. To find out more about using colour within your designs, head over to my blog post here. 3. Theme/InspirationWithout knowing the theme or inspiration for a design, you won’t know where to start. The theme will give you a strong sense of the design direction. The client should be able to let you know what sort of look they’re after e.g. a geometric design, a traditional floral design etc. In my experience, I find that people are better at explaining their ideas visually so I always ask clients for reference images of inspirational images that could help inform the design process. 4. Repeat Size/TypeA design can be created at any size and this will completely change the look of the design e.g. a large oversized floral will look different on a dress than the same flower as a small ditzy floral. Ask your client what scale they would like the design and if they have a particular repeat type in mind. To find out more about the different types of repeats, head over to my blog post here. 5. DeadlinesIt’s important to know what your deadlines are before you start designing. This could even determine whether or not you accept the job. Make sure that the timeline is realistic and you deliver what the client requires within the time frame. By being organised and asking the right questions at the beginning stages of designing, you will save yourself lots of time in the long run and will have a better chance of creating a successful design that sells.
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Designing a logo isn't a case of just dashing off a quick sketch and hoping the client likes it. A professional logo designer will first get to know the company, its strategies, ambitions and goals.
Crucially, the best designers will take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to this task. Just asking for a brief isn't enough. You need to employ all your skills and experience to uncover what lies beneath the company or brand. To help you out, we've put together a handy list of questions to answer your client. Run through all of these, and you'll soon have a much better idea of what they're all about… and often, they will too! It will give you the crucial knowledge and understanding you need to bring their vision to life in a living, breathing design that will be scalable, adaptable, and future-proof. Section 1: Questions about the companyFirst things first. You need to gather basic information about the business, such as when it started and why, how many employees it has, who its competitors are, etc. While some of this may be available online, it's always preferable to gather these details from the horse's mouth. That's partly because information on the internet is often unreliable, so this way you can be sure of getting accurate answers. But also because the interpretation of even the simplest queries can be controversial, and this in itself be very revealing. For example, even the founding date of a company can be a source of debate, especially if the organisation had multiple names and guises in the past or emerged due to multiple mergers. In such a case, what's ultimately deemed the "correct" answer isn't actually the important thing. It's getting your clients to open up and talk about the business in a way that doesn't sound like dry marketing speak but is grounded in real-world honesty and emotional attachment. 1. What is your company/organisation/product/service name? 2. Can you describe your business? 3. What services or products do you provide? 4. How big is your company? (number of employees? revenue?) 5. How long has your company been established? 6. Why was your company started in the first place, and what was the motivation? 7. Who are your main competitors? 8. How do your competitors market themselves? 9. What sets your company apart from the competition? 10. What are the strengths of your company? 11. What are your weaknesses? 12. What are the long-term goals of the company? Where do you see your company in five years? Ten years? 30 years? 13. If you had to describe your business in one word, what would it be and why? 14. What are your company's values and/or mission statement? Section 2: Questions about the brandingIn most cases, a logo design will actually be a logo redesign or a more minimal logo refresh. You won't be starting from scratch but building on and evolving the existing logo design, or at least taking a couple of cues from it. So it's important to ask a lot of questions about how the client feels about the current logo, as well as the wider visual identity and brand purpose as a whole. In fact, even if you're ripping everything up and starting again, you need to ask these questions lest you end up repeating things about the old branding they didn't like! 15. What is the current logo? 16. Do you have a strapline or slogan that goes along with your logo? 17. Why are you looking to change the logo? 18. What words describe how you feel when looking at your current logo and branding? 19. What do you like and dislike about the current logo? 20. What do you want the new logo to accomplish? 21. What three attributes would you like your target audience to think of when looking at your new branding? 22. Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Traditional or modern? 23. Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Friendly or corporate? 24. Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? High end or cost-effective? 25. Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Consumer or Trade? Why does your current branding use those colours, fonts, etc.? Section 3: Questions about the target audienceWhen designing a logo, you need to know who you're designing it for. And that's not necessarily the existing audience if the company wants to move away from that audience and target a different bunch of people. Indeed, a logo change is typically part of a wider strategy to move the appeal of a brand, for instance, from a middle-aged to a younger demographic. Only your client knows where they want to go with the brand, so it's vital to ask a comprehensive series of questions like the ones below. 26. Who is the primary target audience? 27. What is the target audience's age group? 28. Are they mainly male or female? 29. Where do most of your audience live? 30. What is the average household income of your target audience? 31. How do most of your customers find out about your company? 32. How do you plan to communicate with your target audience? 33. If your customers had to describe your company in one word, what would it be and why? 34. Are there any new markets you'd like to break into? If so, what would they be and why?
Section 4: Design preferencesYou'll notice that, so far, we haven't really talked about what the client wants the new logo to look like. And that's not accidental. Because until you understand the broader purpose of the logo design, diving into specifics like preferred colours will only get everybody off-track and muddy the waters. However, let's assume that you now have a thorough understanding of the company, what it stands for, and what it's trying to achieve. It's time to start talking about the design itself. At the same time, though, you still need to keep discussions grounded in the overall business purpose of the logo. It shouldn't be about people's personal preferences ("I really like this shade of green"), but how, for example, a specific colour palette can help the logo achieve its business purpose. These questions can help you steer the discussion in that particular direction. 35. What colours or colour palettes does the company typically use, and why? 36. Where will the logo be mainly used? Print, web, etc.? 37. Are there any elements from the existing logo you'd like to keep, and why? 38. Are there any restrictions to consider when designing the new logo? 39. Is there anything that must be included, like existing brand elements, words or icons? 40. Looking at your rivals' branding, what logos do you think work, and why? 41. Are there any logos you don't think work, and why? 42. In your opinion, what defines a successful logo? Budget, timescales & managementIn meetings with clients, you can brainstorm all the ideas in the world for creating a great new logo. But in practice, making them actually happen takes a lot of organisation, planning and preparation. So as well as all that "blue-sky thinking", it's good to ground your discussions early on by asking the following questions. 43. Do you have a budget in mind for the new logo? 44. Do you have a deadline that needs to be considered? 45. Who will be the internal decision-makers on this project? Giving feedback and approvals? (Stress to the client that the fewer decision-makers, the better!) 46. Will there be anyone else involved in this project? Any third party sub-contractors or other agencies/freelancers? 47. How frequently would you like to meet? Weekly? Monthly? 48. How many revisions or concepts would you like to see? (consider how many you can offer – this varies from designer to designer) 49. What form would you like the final work to take? What materials would you like to see due to this new logo? Would you like a 'brand guidelines' pack for future reference? 50. Is there anything else you'd like to add that we haven't already covered? ConclusionGetting solid and thought-out answers to all these questions will help propel you on your way to a successful logo design project for two reasons. Firstly the information you gather will be invaluable in helping you nail the brief. And secondly, the very act of answering them will help get your clients in the right frame of mind for co-operating on the project. Most importantly, if they're inexperienced in working with designers, it will help them understand that what they're paying for is not just a quick design in Photoshop but a thorough and comprehensive process of evaluating the company and its brand and developing new designs that are well-thought through and fit for purpose. Of course, that doesn't always mean everything will go smoothly. Clients can change their minds along the way, and business strategies can change in an instant due to external factors (just look at the pandemic for an obvious example of that). So you need to be prepared for the project spec to change and have a robust contract that specifies what happens if extra work is needed. The sooner you get that in place, the sooner you'll be able to relax and enjoy a logo design project that's fruitful, productive and, dare we say, hopefully, a lot of fun. |
What should you ask your client before creating a design brief?
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