Brand Brief; things to prepare before talking with your designer
Your business needs a strong brand. You may have a good idea of the brand you’d like to build for your business but it can be difficult to convey ideas effectively to a designer.
It’s always good to be prepared, so we’ve put together a list of the things you need to know if you’re preparing for a brand brief.
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Who are you?
The first question your designer will ask you is who you are. Of course you already know your business so this may seem obvious. But you need to be able to express the nature of your business in a clear and concise way to someone who has no prior knowledge about your business. From this your designer then knows exactly how your brand should reflect who you are as a business.
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Where do you want to go?
Before your brand brief you need to consider what you want from it. What are your business goals and when are you aiming to achieve them? By having clear goals for your business, you give your designer a clearer structure of what you expect from their work.
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What are your key products/ services?
You’ll need to make clear what the main products or services your business offers. Again, this may seem like an obvious question to you. But think about it from the perspective of a new customer. What is the best way to explain what your business has to offer? Use this to explain it to your designer in a concise way.
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Who are your customers?
Your designer will want to know your exact target audience – the types of people you want to reach and appeal to. This is not necessarily the same as the audience you already reach. So you need to consider your ideal customer – from this your designer can produce materials to target customers more specifically.
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Who are your competitors?
This question is mainly to give your designer further insight into how you regard your company. Come up with a list of 5 businesses you see as competitors. Whether they have products/ services similar to yours now, or how you want your business to be in the future.
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The extent of the project.
Your expectations of how much material needs to be produced is something your designer will want to nail down early on. So you need to be exact about what you want from them and how often you’ll need materials. Is it just some new material for a product/ service or is it a full rebrand? Consider this beforehand, so you won’t have to decide on the spot.
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What is your budget?
Your budget is essentially a guide for your designer. It tells them how much time you expect from them and will save you both from confusion or miscommunication. Secure a budget to start with, baring in mind that you can change it further down the line depending on how well it works and your situation.
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Previous marketing
Prepare to answer detailed questions about the history of your business’ marketing. If you can’t remember off the top of your head, make sure to take notes with you.
Following this guide will help you to answer every question your designer may throw at you, and lead you to have a very successful design brief!
Find out more about why your business needs a strong, well thought out brand.
