Client briefs are one of the most important documents that a client and agency can share. They provide a clear understanding of the project goals and objectives, the target audience, timeline, and budget. It’s essential for any successful client-agency relationship to start off on the right foot by having an effective client brief. In this blog post, we will discuss what client briefs are, why they are important, and how to write one.
Research
Research is vital to establish your target audience and their interests, so it’s essential that you set aside time in the client brief for research. Start by developing a few key questions that will help you better understand the goals and expectations of the project. Some examples include:
- What is the purpose of this project?
- Who is the target audience for this project?
- What emotions do you want viewers to feel while viewing the design?
- Is there an established brand image/style guide that should be used as inspiration or adhered to?
- Does any additional collateral need to be created (e.g. business cards, social media graphics)?
- Are there any colours or fonts that should be used consistently throughout the project?
Practice Overview
Provide as much background information about the dental practice as possible. Include information such as mission statement, competitors, size of market, and target audience. If the client is a new practice, what makes them unique and how they plan on differentiating themselves from the competition? This will help us get a better understanding of the brand and what you hope to achieve with the brief.
Target Market
Do you know who your target audience is? What are their characteristics and where do they live? Or are you more focused on providing services for specific clients with specific needs? Knowing the target market will inform the client brief. Once you’ve identified your target market, think about how the project can help them. What does your potential customer need from this project and how can it meet their needs?
Your Vision
Additionally, provide information about the tone and overall look of your project, such as colours, fonts, and style preferences. If you have examples of designs that you like, attach them to your brief and explain why they appeal to you. This will give your designer an idea of what type of aesthetic you’re going for and enable them to come up with even more creative solutions. Be as detailed as possible to make sure your designer fully understands what you’re envisioning and can bring it to life.
Your Goal
It is important to have a clear goal in mind when starting a design project. Think about what you hope to achieve with the end result. Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Generate leads or sales? Educate people on your services? Get customers to take action? A designer needs to understand what type of results you are hoping to see in order to create a successful campaign. Once you have an idea of what success looks like, share it with your designer. This will give them the best chance at creating something that truly meets your expectations.
Vision to convey
Explain what feeling or message the design needs to communicate. It may seem silly but this detail can make a big impact on the style, colours and fonts used by the designer. To illustrate this point, imagine if you as a client wanted to convey enthusiasm in your branding materials: you would want to use bold fonts and energetic colours like oranges and yellows instead of something like navy blue or grey. Alternatively, if you wanted to project an image of trustworthiness, you would be looking for a classic serif font with calming blue tones. The overall mood should be incorporated into any visual elements you create for them so it’s important to establish it from the beginning of the brief.
The Deliverables
A design brief should include a list of deliverables that are expected from the designer. This could include elements such as a logo, website, marketing materials, and/or other visual content. The more specific you are in defining what is needed and the type of content that you expect, the better. Additionally, if you have any deadlines or milestones associated with each deliverable, make sure to include these in the brief. You can also provide examples or reference material for the designer to draw inspiration from.
Having a well-defined design brief will help ensure the designer has all of the necessary information to produce creative and effective work that meets your expectations. Keep in mind that communication is key – no one knows your vision better than you do, so it’s important to be clear about what you want and don’t want in the design. A good design brief will save you time, money and frustration down the line.
