Start your design brief with the places your brand needs to appear and what customers should recognise about your business.
That gives a logo design project a practical purpose and helps distinguish it from a broader brand identity.
I personally deliver logos, identities and graphic design for Adelaide businesses, including the materials that need to work alongside a new website.
Use the questions below to gather the information for a clear written scope.
Choose the work your business needs
| Your starting point | A useful design brief |
|---|---|
| A new business needs a recognisable mark | Logo design and the agreed versions for its intended uses |
| The logo exists but materials look inconsistent | A connected colour, typography and layout system |
| The identity is established and a document is needed | Graphic design using the supplied brand assets |
| A website and identity are changing together | A joined brief covering the brand decisions and website applications |
The branding service explains how those pieces fit together.
A logo brief can be a focused project.
A fuller identity brief should also explain how the business presents itself across pages, documents and other customer touchpoints.
Describe the customer and the business
Write down who you're trying to reach, the work you do and the qualities customers should associate with it.
Choose concrete language, such as approachable, precise, established or practical.
Then explain what those qualities mean for your business.
Include the trading name exactly as it should appear, along with any approved descriptor or tagline.
If your business already has a recognised name or visual element, say what needs to carry forward.
For an Adelaide business, describe the actual customer base and service area rather than relying on generic local imagery to do that job.
List the applications before choosing a design direction
A logo in a website header is viewed differently from the same logo on a printed document.
List the uses you need now and the ones you're planning for later.
The project can then account for proportions, readability and the required artwork formats.
| Application | Information to supply |
|---|---|
| Website | Current URL, planned page design and header requirements |
| Business card | Contact details, supplier specifications and approved wording |
| Proposal or report | Document length, editable-content needs and typical audience |
| Brochure or flyer | Final copy, page size, images and print specifications |
| Signage | Supplier requirements, placement and viewing context |
| Digital presentation | Slide format, content structure and brand assets |
Physical production, printing and installation can be identified separately from the design work in the quote.
For a specific document or piece of artwork, the graphic design page sets out the details that make the brief useful.
Gather the assets you already have
Supply the best original logo files available, the current colour references, font details and any brand guidelines.
Include approved photography, icons and illustrations where they're relevant to the work.
Record where each asset came from and any usage conditions that travel with it.
That lets the design scope account for the material your business already controls.
If you're updating an existing identity, include a few examples of current documents and website pages.
Explain what you'd like to retain as well as what needs changing.
Choose references for a reason
A small set of examples is more useful when each comes with an explanation.
You might like the readability of a wordmark, the restraint of a colour palette or the way a brochure makes detailed information easy to scan.
Use the examples to describe your preferences.
The design itself should reflect your own business, audience and intended uses.
I also ask what feels out of character for the business, so the brief establishes a clear direction before concepts are reviewed.
Agree the review and handover details
Nominate the person who'll combine feedback and approve the work.
List the applications that need to be reviewed, such as the logo at a small website size or a sample page using the proposed identity.
The written scope should confirm the design stages, feedback rounds, final deliverables and what happens if the brief changes.
For the handover, record the agreed file formats and which assets need to be editable.
A useful identity handover can include the approved logo versions, colour references, typography guidance and examples showing how the elements work together.
The exact contents depend on the brand identity scope.
Connect the identity to the website
When a new website is part of the project, settle the main identity decisions early enough for them to guide the page design.
The logo, type, colours and image direction should support the service information and enquiry journey.
Your website design brief can then refer to an agreed visual system.
For an existing site, a redesign plan can record the pages and assets that need to change together.
Send a brief that can be quoted
Include the business name, current assets, required applications, reference examples and preferred project timing.
Mark supplied copy and images as either approved or still in progress.
Branding and graphic design are quoted around the deliverables, so these details help make the scope specific.
Use the project planner to choose branding and design, then add the material or context you've already prepared.
I'll review it and confirm the work, handover and pricing in the proposal.