The Perfect Briefing for Designers

A good design briefing is the difference between a result that delights you and one that “somehow does not fit.” It is not a bureaucratic document — it is your best investment in a project before a single pixel gets placed. And the good news: it is simpler than you think.

The short version: describe the problem, not the solution. Say who you want to reach, not what colour the logo should be. And be honest about budget and expectations. With that alone, you have done more than 80% of all clients who commission design work.

Why Most Briefings Fail

Every designer, every art director, every agency has stories about briefings that did not work. Not out of bad intent — but because the foundation was missing.

The most common scenarios:

The “make something nice” briefing. No goal, no target audience, no parameters. The designer works on a guess. You see the result and say: “That is not what I had in mind.” Of course not. Because you did not say what you had in mind.

The “I know exactly what I want” briefing. You have already decided: blue logo, sans-serif font, minimalist. The designer executes what you say — and the result does not work. Because you prescribed the solution instead of describing the problem. Designers are problem-solvers. When you give them the solution, you take away their tools.

The “everyone has input” briefing. Five people have five opinions. No hierarchy, no decision-maker. The result is a compromise that pleases nobody.

According to a survey by the Design Council UK (2023), 62% of design projects fail not because of lack of skill but because of unclear briefings. Two thirds. That means the most important design decision you make happens before you even hire an agency.

What a Good Briefing Contains

A solid briefing answers seven questions. No more, no fewer. And it fits on two to three A4 pages. Anything beyond that will not be read — and anything less leaves too much open.

1. Who Are You?

Sounds obvious. It is not. The designer needs to understand who is behind the commission. Not your entire company history — but the essentials:

• What does your company do?
• How long have you been around?
• What makes you different from the competition?
• What values matter to you — genuinely, not just on paper?

If you struggle here, that is not a briefing problem. That is a positioning problem. And it should be resolved before you invest in design. Our branding checklist can help you work through the foundations.

2. Who Do You Want to Reach?

Your target audience determines everything: colours, language, style, medium. A logo for a law firm serving corporate clients looks completely different from a logo for a yoga studio targeting young professionals.

Describe your audience as concretely as possible:

• Age, industry, role (for B2B)
• What concerns them? What do they want?
• Where do they encounter your brand? (Online? Print? Trade fairs?)
• What do they expect from a provider like you?

3. What Is the Goal of the Project?

Not “a nice logo.” Rather: what should the design achieve?

Examples of clear goals:

• “We want to be perceived as a premium provider so we can charge higher prices.”
• “We want to attract younger clients without alienating our existing ones.”
• “We want to look professional enough to attract partnership enquiries from larger companies.”

The clearer the goal, the better the designer can work towards it. And the easier it is to evaluate whether the result actually works.

4. What Already Exists?

Is there a logo already? Colours? A website? Brand guidelines? Past designs that worked well or poorly?

Everything that exists is relevant. Including what did not work — sometimes especially that.

Send the designer all existing materials. Not as “this is how it should look,” but as context. So they understand where you are coming from — and where you want to go.

5. What Is the Framework?

Budget: Yes, you should name the budget. I know many clients resist this. But think about it: if you tell an architect “build me a house” without naming a budget — will you get a design that suits you? No. You will get either a mansion or a container.

In Switzerland, professional brand design typically costs between CHF 5,000 and CHF 15,000, depending on scope. Knowing this range helps — both you and the designer. For a detailed overview, see what branding really costs.

Timeline: When do you need the result? Is there a hard deadline (trade fair, launch, season)? Or is it flexible?

A rule of thumb: good design takes time. A logo project in Switzerland typically runs four to eight weeks. A complete brand system, six to twelve weeks. If you need a corporate design in two weeks, you get a rush job — not the best work.

6. Direction and Anti-Direction

This is where the briefing delivers its biggest value.

Examples you like: Show the designer websites, logos, brands, posters — anything that points in the right direction. Not as a template to copy, but as orientation. And say what exactly you like about them. “The colours” is too vague. “The reduced colour palette with the strong contrast between navy and white” gives the designer something to work with.

Anti-examples: Equally important. What do you absolutely not want? Which style does not fit you? “Not too playful, not too corporate, not too colourful.” This eliminates large areas and helps the designer find the right corridor.

According to research by the British Design Council, the quality of the briefing improves client satisfaction with the final result by up to 40%. The single biggest factor: visual references with concrete reasoning.

7. Who Decides?

This sounds like an organisational detail. It is the most important point in the entire briefing.

Who gives the final “yes”? One person? A committee? The CEO who overrides everything at the end?

Define in advance:

• Who is the point of contact during the project?
• Who gives feedback in which round?
• Who makes the final decision?

In Switzerland, where consensus is valued, the temptation to include everyone is strong. Do not. Or at least: not everyone at the same time, not everyone with equal voting rights. A design project steered by a committee ends in mediocrity. Every single time.

The best briefing I ever received was one page long. One page. But every sentence had substance. I knew immediately who the client was, who she wanted to reach, and what the design needed to achieve. The worst briefing was 14 pages — and I had more questions afterwards than before. — Miriam Beck

The Three Most Common Briefing Mistakes

Taste over strategy. “I do not like yellow” is a preference. “Our target audience associates yellow with budget offerings” is a strategic statement. Good design does not work for you — it works for your customers.

Not naming a budget. Many clients in Switzerland shy away from this. The opposite happens: without a framework, the designer misses the mark — too big or too small.

Briefing too late. Some come when the website is built and just needs “a logo on top.” Or the trade fair is in three weeks. A briefing under time pressure is almost always a bad briefing.

The Briefing Checklist

Here is everything at a glance. Print it, fill it out, send it to your designer. Done.

About you:

• Company name and industry
• Year founded and size
• Mission / values (in one sentence)
• What sets you apart from the competition?

About your target audience:

• Who are your ideal clients?
• What do they expect? What do they need?
• Where do they encounter you?

About the project:

• What needs to be done? (Logo, website, brand system…)
• Why? (What no longer works? What should change?)
• What should the result achieve?

Framework:

• Budget (a range is fine)
• Timeline / deadline
• Existing materials (yes/no, which?)

Direction:

• 3–5 examples you like (with reasoning)
• 2–3 anti-examples (what you do not want)
• Keywords for desired effect (e.g., “professional, warm, reduced”)

Decision structure:

• Point of contact
• Feedback process
• Final decision: who?

The Difference Between a Briefing and a Workshop

A briefing is what you prepare. A workshop is what happens together. Both have their place.

Good agencies do not simply execute your briefing. They use it as a starting point and go deeper in conversation. They ask the questions you did not ask yourself. They probe when something stays vague.

If you are looking to choose a branding agency in Switzerland, pay attention to how they handle the briefing. An agency that simply implements what you say without asking questions is not a good agency. One that takes your briefing as a foundation and develops a deeper understanding from it — that is a partner.

Brief Well, Build Better

Take an hour (one single hour) and fill out the checklist. It will save you weeks of revision loops, misunderstandings, and frustration.

Tanner Schadstoffsanierung, a newly founded remediation company, came to us with a very clear briefing: who they are, whom they want to reach, what they need, and what they hope for. The project ran exceptionally smoothly. Shortly after launch, the first contracts came in from channels that their new presence had made possible. A good briefing is not a nice-to-have. It is the start of good work.

If you notice that you cannot answer the first questions — “Who am I? Who do I want to reach? What makes me different?” — then you do not need a briefing. Then you need clarity on your positioning first.

That is exactly what our Essential package from CHF 15,000 is for: a positioning workshop plus the visual foundation that turns your next briefing into the best one your designer has ever received. You can also start with a free Brand Check to figure out where you stand.