How to Brief a Design Agency (Free Template)

The quality of creative work is decided before anyone opens a design tool. A clear brief gets you more accurate quotes, fewer rounds of revisions and work that solves the real problem. A vague one gets you a pretty answer to the wrong question.

This guide explains what to put in a design brief, how to give feedback once the work starts, and includes a free template you can copy and paste into an email.

Why the brief matters so much

Designers make hundreds of small decisions on every project: what to emphasize, which color carries the most weight, what the first button says. Each decision is a guess unless the brief answers it.

A good brief:

• Gives you comparable quotes from different agencies
• Shortens the project, because fewer directions need to be explored
• Reduces revision rounds, because the first concepts are closer
• Creates an agreed reference point when opinions differ later

The 10 parts of a strong brief

1. About your business

Two or three sentences: what you sell, who buys it, where and how. Add your website and social links.

2. The problem or goal

This is the most important section. Describe what is wrong or what you want to happen, ideally in business terms.

• Weak: "We need a new website."
• Strong: "People find us on Google but rarely call. We want more quote requests from homeowners in our area."

3. Your audience

Who are you trying to reach? Age, role, situation and what they care about. If you have more than one audience, rank them.

4. Deliverables

List what you think you need: a logo, a five-page website, 12 social posts a month, a landing page for a campaign. If you are unsure, say so. A good agency will recommend a scope.

5. What already exists

Logo files, brand colors, fonts, photography, copy, current website logins. Note what must stay and what can change.

6. Likes and dislikes

Share three to five examples you like and a few you dislike, and say why. "I like how this site feels calm and expensive" is far more useful than a link on its own.

7. Competitors

Name two or three competitors and how you want to be different from them.

8. Budget range

Give a range. It lets the agency propose the right scope instead of guessing. Most studios, including ours, publish starting prices, so you can sense-check before you write. Ours are on the pricing page.

9. Timeline

Your ideal launch date and any hard deadlines, such as an event, a product drop or an investor meeting. Mention your own availability for feedback too.

10. Decision makers and success

Who gives feedback and who has the final say? How will you judge whether the project worked: more inquiries, more sales, a successful launch, a consistent look?

The free design brief template

Copy this into an email or document and fill it in. Short answers are fine.

DESIGN BRIEF

1. Business
   Name:
   Website and social links:
   What we sell and to whom (2 to 3 sentences):

2. The problem or goal
   What is not working today:
   What we want to happen instead:

3. Audience
   Primary audience:
   Secondary audience (if any):
   What they care about most:

4. Deliverables we think we need
   (e.g. logo, website pages, store, social posts, landing page)

5. What already exists
   Logo / colors / fonts / photos / copy:
   Must keep:
   Free to change:

6. Examples
   We like (with links and why):
   We dislike (with links and why):

7. Competitors and how we differ:

8. Budget range (USD):

9. Timeline
   Ideal launch date:
   Hard deadlines:
   Our availability for feedback:

10. People and success
   Main contact:
   Final decision maker:
   How we will measure success:

Anything else we should know:

How to give feedback that helps

Once concepts arrive, feedback is the second brief. A few habits make a big difference:

• Collect it in one place. Gather comments from everyone and send one consolidated message per round.
• Describe the problem, not the fix. "This feels too serious for our customers" lets the designer find the best solution. "Make it orange" might not.
• Refer back to the brief. Ask whether each concept meets the goal and audience, not only whether you like it.
• Be specific. Point to the exact element: the headline, the icon, the third section.
• Say what works too. It tells the designer what to protect.

At OOPS Mango we show ideas rough first, as sketches or simple layouts, because feedback is cheapest and most useful before anything is polished.

Working well with a remote agency

Remote work is normal now, but it rewards a little structure. Agree on these at the start:

• One point of contact on each side. Fewer mixed messages.
• Update rhythm. For example, a weekly summary and a call at each approval stage.
• Where work and feedback live. Email, a shared folder or a project tool, but one place.
• Response times. Our contact hours are Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 2:30 PM Eastern, with replies within one business day.
• Approval stages. Know exactly when you are signing off a direction versus final files.
• Ownership. Confirm when files, source files and accounts transfer to you. With us it is on final payment, and sites, stores and logins are set up in your name.

A real example of a sharp brief

The brief behind our Tanishkha fashion store fit in two sentences: most customers shop on a phone, often on a patchy connection, and many are paying a new shop for the first time, so the store has to feel trustworthy in the first three seconds. That one constraint shaped everything, from the delivery promise strip above the fold to sizes shown right on the product cards.

Notice what the brief does not say: no colors, no layout, no list of features. It describes the customer and the problem. That is what a good brief does.

Extra questions by project type

Add a few lines depending on what you are commissioning:

Logo or brand identity

• Where will the logo appear most: signage, packaging, app icon, social avatars?
• Do you have a name you are certain about, and has it been checked for trademark conflicts?
• Which words should the brand feel like, and which should it never feel like?

Website or landing page

• What is the one action you want visitors to take?
• Who writes the copy, and is it ready?
• Which platform do you prefer, or should the agency recommend one?
• What should happen to your current site and its search rankings?

Shopify or online store

• How many products and variants, and do you have good product photos?
• Which payment, shipping and tax setups do you need?
• Which apps do you already pay for and want to keep?

Social media design

• How many posts a month, and on which platforms?
• Who writes captions and who posts?
• Are there seasonal dates, launches or offers coming up?

Mistakes that make briefs less useful

• Listing features instead of the goal
• Leaving out budget, then rejecting every quote
• Sharing 30 inspiration links with no explanation
• Letting five people give conflicting feedback directly
• Changing the goal halfway through without saying so
• Forgetting to mention a hard deadline until week three

What happens after you send a brief to us

1. A real person reads it and replies within one business day.
2. We ask any questions, usually in a short call.
3. You get a written quote: what we will make, the rounds of changes included, the timeline and the price.
4. Once you approve and pay the deposit, we book your slot and start with rough ideas.

Related reading: logo and identity budgets.

Ready to send yours?

Fill in the template above and send it with our contact page, or browse our services to see which package fits. If you are not sure what you need, just tell us what went oops. A few lines is plenty to start.