Design brief template: what your designer needs to get it right first time
A free design brief template: goal, audience, the one message, sizes and formats, brand rules, examples, must-haves, dates and approver. Copy it and get fewer design revisions.
Designers redo work when the brief leaves out sizes, brand rules or the one message. This template covers all of it on one page.
When to use it
For any design request: ads, social posts, slides, web pages, packaging, a logo. Use the creative brief generator to fill it in on screen.
The template
Design brief · [project] · due [date] · designer [name] · approver [name]GOAL[What should this design make people do or feel?]AUDIENCE[Who will see it, where, and for how long]THE ONE MESSAGE[If they remember one thing]DELIVERABLES- [Item] · [size in px or mm] · [file format]COPY[Final text, or "copy to come by date"]BRAND RULESColors: [hex codes] Fonts: [names] Logo: [placement, version]EXAMPLESLike: [link + why] Dislike: [link + why]MUST INCLUDE- [Logo, legal line, date, button]MUST NOT- [Stock photos of handshakes, old logo, competitor colors]DATESFirst concepts: [date] Final files: [date]
A filled example
Design brief · Spring webinar ads · due May 9 · designer Priya · approver DanaGOALGet operations managers to sign up for the June 12 webinar.AUDIENCEOps managers scrolling LinkedIn on their phones. Two seconds of attention.THE ONE MESSAGERun your weekly review in 20 minutes.DELIVERABLES- LinkedIn single image · 1200 × 627 px · PNG- LinkedIn square · 1080 × 1080 px · PNG- Email header · 1200 × 400 px · PNGCOPYHeadline: "Your weekly review, in 20 minutes." Button: "Save my seat"BRAND RULESColors: #2A5BB8, #0D1B31 Fonts: DM Sans Logo: top left, full colorEXAMPLESLike: our March ad, because one big line and lots of spaceDislike: busy ads with three messagesMUST INCLUDE- Date and time (Eastern), the two speakers' facesMUST NOT- Pricing, stock photosDATESFirst concepts: May 6 Final files: May 9
Tips
- Give exact sizes. "For LinkedIn" is not a size.
- Final copy first. Designing around placeholder text means redoing it.
- Show examples, and say why. "Like this" is vague. "Like this because of the white space" is not.
Where M-Tracker fits
Keep your brand guide in M-Tracker's standards library, and the brief on the task. When the designer attaches the files, the first review checks them against both before the approver sees them. No screenshots and no activity tracking.
Try M-Tracker free14-day trial. No credit card. No employee surveillance.
Questions people ask
Design brief or creative brief?
A creative brief is about the message. A design brief adds sizes, formats and brand rules. Most design jobs need both, so this template has both.
What if I do not know the sizes?
Name the places it will appear and ask the designer to confirm sizes before starting.
Work you can trust, without redoing it.
Your team gets feedback before work reaches you, or your client.
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