My name is Soumyadeep Bhowmick, Project Manager, 10 years managing branding and design projects.
I’ve managed enough branding and design projects to notice a pattern.
The projects that run smoothly usually don’t start with better designers.
They start with better-prepared clients.
That doesn’t mean the client needs to understand design terminology, know exactly what the final design should look like, or arrive with a 20-page brand strategy document.
In fact, some of the best briefs I’ve received have been surprisingly simple.
They told us what the business does, what needed to be designed, who it was for, what information had to be included, what they liked, what they didn’t like, and what the final design needed to achieve.
The difficult projects usually had the opposite problem.
The first message was:
“We need a modern, premium design. Please share some options.”
That’s not really a brief.
It’s a starting point.
What happens next is usually a long chain of questions, revisions and assumptions.
So, if you’re hiring a designer for the first time, here’s what I recommend preparing before you start.
Table of Contents
1. Start With What You Actually Need Designed
This sounds obvious, but it is one of the most important things to clarify.
“Branding” can mean very different things.
You might need:
- Logo design
- Complete brand identity
- Packaging design
- Website design
- Social media templates
- Brochure
- Presentation deck
- Business stationery
- Product catalogue
- Advertisement creatives
If you need multiple things, list them.
For example:
Project: New skincare brand identity
Required: Logo, color palette, typography, brand guidelines and packaging direction.
That’s already much more useful than:
“We need branding for our company.”
If the scope is unclear, the designer cannot accurately estimate time, cost or deliverables.
2. Explain What the Business Actually Does
Don’t assume the designer already understands your industry.
Give them a short explanation.
You don’t need a corporate presentation.
Three to five sentences are often enough.
Explain:
- What you sell
- Who buys it
- Where you operate
- What makes you different
- What stage the business is at
For example:
“We manufacture premium herbal skincare products for women aged 25–45. We currently sell through our website and selected retail stores and plan to enter premium marketplaces next year.”
That tells a designer far more than:
“We are a premium skincare company.”
The first version gives context that can influence design decisions.
3. Identify the Actual Target Audience
One of the most common briefing problems is saying:
“Our target audience is everyone.”
It isn’t.
Even if your business serves a broad market, your design still needs a primary audience.
Tell the designer who you’re trying hardest to convince.
For example:
- Parents buying educational services
- Startup founders purchasing SaaS
- Premium skincare customers
- Architects sourcing materials
- Corporate procurement teams
- Young consumers buying packaged food
Age isn’t always enough.
Explain what matters to them.
Are they price-sensitive?
Do they expect premium quality?
Do they care about technical credibility?
Are they making an emotional purchase?
These details give the designer something useful to work with.
4. Collect Existing Brand Assets
Before hiring a designer, gather everything that already exists.
Depending on the project, this might include:
- Existing logo
- Brand guidelines
- Fonts
- Color references
- Product images
- Product information
- Packaging dimensions
- Existing marketing material
- Previous advertisements
- Website
- Social media accounts
- Photography
- Illustrations
- Icons
Don’t worry if some of it is inconsistent.
That’s often exactly why you’re hiring a designer.
The point is to give them the current picture.
5. Tell Them What Must Not Change
This is one of the most useful pieces of information in a brief.
Sometimes a client says:
“Redesign our brand.”
But there are actually several things they want to preserve.
Maybe the company name cannot change.
Maybe the existing logo symbol has strong recognition.
Maybe the packaging dimensions are fixed.
Maybe a specific product color must remain.
Maybe the founder wants to retain the existing typography.
Write those constraints down.
A good brief should tell the designer both:
What can change
and
What cannot change.
That can save an enormous amount of unnecessary exploration.
6. Provide References—but Explain Why You Like Them
Reference images are extremely useful.
But sending ten screenshots with no explanation isn’t a great brief.
Instead of saying:
“I like this.”
Explain what you like.
For example:
- “I like the typography.”
- “I like the amount of white space.”
- “I like how the product information is structured.”
- “I like the restrained color palette.”
- “I like the premium photography.”
- “I don’t like the decorative illustrations.”
This distinction matters.
A designer shouldn’t simply copy the visual appearance of a reference.
They need to understand the reason behind your preference.
Also provide negative references where useful.
Showing what you dislike can be just as valuable.
7. Prepare the Actual Content
This is one of the biggest differences between smooth and difficult projects.
The design starts.
Then the client sends new content.
Then more content.
Then someone changes the headline.
Then the product description is rewritten.
Then the contact details change.
Now the approved layout needs to be redesigned.
If the project requires specific content, collect it before design begins.
For example, a packaging project might require:
- Product name
- Product description
- Ingredients
- Net quantity
- Claims
- Manufacturer information
- Contact details
- Barcode
- Legal information
A website project might require:
- Page list
- Headings
- Body content
- Images
- Contact details
- Product information
- Calls to action
The content doesn’t always have to be final on day one.
But the designer should know what content exists and what is still pending.
8. Define Where the Design Will Be Used
A design can look completely different depending on its application.
Tell the designer where the final work will appear.
For example:
Logo: Website, signage, uniforms and social media.
Packaging: 100ml bottle, 250ml bottle and retail carton.
Brochure: A4 printed brochure and PDF.
Social media: Instagram posts, stories and LinkedIn graphics.
Presentation: PowerPoint and PDF.
This information can affect dimensions, hierarchy, file formats and responsive variations.
A designer who knows the final applications can design for the real world instead of designing only for a presentation screen.
9. Know How Many Versions You Actually Need
This is particularly important for packaging, catalogues and social media work.
One design can quickly become ten deliverables.
For example:
- 3 product variants
- 2 sizes
- 2 languages
That’s potentially 12 versions.
Tell the designer this before the quotation is prepared.
Don’t say:
“We’ll tell you the variants later.”
Those variations require additional artwork, checking and sometimes layout adjustments.
Defining them early makes the scope and pricing much clearer.
10. Decide Who Will Approve the Work
This is one of the biggest project-management issues I’ve seen.
A designer presents a concept.
Person A approves it.
Person B sees it and requests changes.
Then the founder makes another change.
Then the marketing manager changes it again.
The designer isn’t dealing with one feedback cycle anymore.
They’re dealing with several decision-makers.
Before starting, decide:
Who gives the final approval?
There can be multiple people involved in reviewing the work.
That’s fine.
But ideally, feedback should be consolidated before it reaches the designer.
One clear feedback round is much easier to manage than five separate opinions arriving throughout the day.
11. Establish the Timeline Before the Project Starts
Don’t just tell the designer:
“We need it urgently.”
Give them an actual date.
For example:
Project starts: 10 August
First concept: 17 August
Client feedback: 19 August
Revision: 22 August
Final approval: 25 August
Production/development: 26 August
This also forces you to consider your own availability.
If the designer delivers a concept on Monday but nobody reviews it until the following Friday, the project timeline has already moved.
A realistic timeline depends on both sides.
12. Be Clear About the Budget and Scope
You don’t need to hide your budget.
A budget range helps the designer understand what level of scope is realistic.
For example:
“Our budget for the complete identity is ₹40,000–₹60,000.”
That’s far more productive than asking:
“What’s your best price?”
The designer can then discuss what can realistically fit within that budget.
More importantly, define what you expect to receive.
Ask about:
- Number of concepts
- Revision rounds
- Final deliverables
- Source files
- Brand guidelines
- Number of variations
- Production-ready files
- Additional revision charges
- Timeline
A low price with a tiny scope isn’t necessarily better value than a higher price with the deliverables you actually need.
13. Prepare One Good Brief Instead of Ten Messages
This is probably the simplest improvement you can make.
Instead of sending:
“Hi, need logo.”
Then:
“Here is our website.”
Then 30 minutes later:
“Actually we also need packaging.”
Then:
“We have three products.”
Then:
“Can you also do social media?”
Put the information together.
A simple brief can contain:
Project
What needs to be designed?
Business
What does the company do?
Audience
Who is it for?
Objective
What should the design achieve?
Deliverables
What exactly do you need?
Applications
Where will the design be used?
Content
What information must be included?
References
What do you like and why?
Constraints
What must stay unchanged?
Variations
How many versions or SKUs?
Decision-maker
Who gives final approval?
Timeline
When does the project need to be completed?
Budget
What range has been allocated?
That’s enough to turn a vague enquiry into a workable project brief.
The Briefs That Go Smoothly Have One Thing in Common
After managing many branding and design projects, I’ve noticed that the smoothest projects aren’t necessarily the ones with the most experienced clients.
They’re the ones where expectations are visible from the beginning.
The client doesn’t need to know how to design a logo.
They don’t need to know what CMYK means.
They don’t need to tell the designer which font to use.
That’s our job.
But they should be able to explain what the business needs, who it needs to communicate with, where the design will be used, what information must be included, and what success looks like.
That’s enough.
And if you’re unsure about some of those answers, say so.
“We don’t know which deliverables we need yet” is useful information.
“We’re not sure whether the existing logo should be retained” is useful information.
“The packaging supplier hasn’t provided the final dieline yet” is useful information.
Uncertainty isn’t the problem.
Hidden uncertainty is.
The best brief doesn’t tell the designer how to do their job.
It gives them enough information to do it properly.
