What is a briefing and how to do it, a brief guide for clients

Briefing, briefing… But what is that? Why is it done? How do i do it? If you have ever hired a design service, it is very likely that you have heard this word. In fact, and even if you don't know it, this word and the way you talk about it will inevitably condition your relationship with the designer and even the quality of your order. Understand what a briefing is, its usefulness and, above all, how it is done, will make your business have the best designs and that you will be adored by all designers.

Are you interested? I think so, and a lot. I promise it is easy to understand, which will not take you 5 minutes to understand how to do it. And that the benefits will be many. All adorned with an infographic that you can save so you don't forget anything. Shall we start?

What is a briefing

You walk into a store to order a tailored suit. And about said suit you have to describe a series of questions that will influence the result: for what type of event do you want it, what are your preferences in terms of shape and color, how much budget do you have? Right? Well, the same thing happens with design. And that explanation that you have to give to your seamstress, in the communication sector, is known as briefing.

The briefing is a document, a story, with which we explain to the designer who we are, what we want, what we want it for. We tell you everything that concerns our business: with words, with images, with data ...

How to do a good briefing

A good briefing is well written. Explain things bluntly, directly, without digressing. Illustrate your ideas with reference images to be taken into account by the designer. When we finish reading it, we have the feeling of knowing the business well, its history, its aspirations ... We have the feeling that the business is ours. And that's when we design as if it were for ourselves.

What happens when we don't write a briefing? The designer looks at us badly. Athough it does not seems. He will interview us (by e-mail or in person) so that we can write it together. In other words, you will be investing time in preparing a document that we as clients could have made. And this equates to a higher budget and more days to carry out the project. You see? Knowing how to do a good briefing pays off. It makes up for all of us.

Below, an image of the sections that should have at least one briefing.

Your business / Your product: Talk about them. Say your strengths, your weak points. Do not be afraid to do it, it is a confidential document that will remain between you and the designer in question, your competition will not know. Basic, basic section: without this we cannot do anything.
Your competition: Their name, what they sell, how they sell it, where, what they transmit, their colors, symbols ...
Your client: What kind of person it is? Young, adult, pre-adolescent, adolescent, mature, adventurous, conservative, with visual culture, loves fast food ...