Effective Design Briefing Practices

Your next design project won’t fail if you ban this word first. Here's why I consider "good" the enemy of growth. I see this a lot. A web dev agency hires a new designer. They hand over the brief. They expect "good work." But they never define what good means. So what happens? • Endless revisions • Slack messages full of “almost there” • Frustration on both sides Not because the designer’s bad. But because “good” was a moving target no one pinned down. Before you bring someone on, define it: • What does good design look like for this project? • Is there a style guide? • Are there reference sites? • Should the design work on mobile first? • What’s the measurable outcome? "Good" isn’t universal. It’s contextual. And if you don’t set the context, you’ll waste time clarifying it later. So here's what I suggest to agencies to actually define "good": 1) Use measurable goals, not just adjectives. Don’t settle for "make it modern" or "clean design." You have to set clear, measurable outcomes. For example - "Reduce homepage bounce rate by 15%" or "Deliver three responsive design options by next Friday." Use KPIs or SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based) to set expectations everyone can track. 2) Try the OKRs framework. Define an objective, such as "Deliver a user-friendly, mobile-first website." Then set key results, such as "Score 90+ on Google PageSpeed for mobile," "Achieve 4.5/5 average user feedback on design," or "Complete all assets by the 20th of the month." And finally, review progress regularly so "good" is always visible, not vague. 3) Document and share standards. Create a style guide, reference sites, or sample deliverables. Make sure everyone knows what "good" looks like before work starts. 4) Communicate early and often. The most important part. Make sure to align on goals and metrics in your kickoff meeting. And check in regularly to ensure everyone’s on the same page and adjust if needed. I am sure by the end of it, you want smoother projects. You want less back and forth. So don't just hire. Define "good" first With metrics, clarity, and shared understanding. That’s how you turn expectations into results. --- ✍ Question: Do you design "good" in your projects?

I learned this the hard way… 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼, I worked on a design project that ended in complete disaster. Why? 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳! So, if you ever hire a graphic designer, make sure you brief them properly. It saves time, effort, and revisions. Here’s your 𝟭𝟮-𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 to brief a designer the right way: ➝ 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲  ↳ What’s the goal of this design? ➝ 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲  ↳ Who is this for? ➝ 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀  ↳ Provide colors, fonts, and styles. ➝ 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀  ↳ What must be highlighted? ➝ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲  ↳ Specify format & deliverables. ➝ 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀  ↳ Share past work or inspiration. ➝ 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁  ↳ Provide text, images, and assets. ➝ 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀  ↳ Set clear timelines. ➝ 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀  ↳ Clarify financial constraints. ➝ 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀  ↳ Define revision policies. ➝ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻  ↳ Preferred contact method. ➝ 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀  ↳ Agree on schedule & method. A well-structured brief = a successful design project. Don’t let vague instructions ruin your creative vision! Tag a designer who will find this useful! #GraphicDesign #DesignTips #ClientCommunication #Branding #CreativeProcess #AsadAhmed #CreatorAsad

Oldie but Goldie: Why Good Briefings Matter More Than Ever ✨ With AI transforming the way we work, the need for clear, precise, and well-structured briefings has never been greater. 🚀 Why? Because in a world where AI tools assist in content creation, data analysis, and automation, vagueness leads to chaos. Whether you're working with agencies, internal teams, or AI-driven solutions—garbage in still means garbage out. A strong briefing isn’t just a formality; it’s the foundation of efficient collaboration, impactful results, and fewer frustrating revisions. Here’s how to craft a briefing that sets you up for success: 📌 Define Your Goal with Clarity – What do you really want to achieve? The more precise your objectives, the better the outcome. 📌 Know Your Audience – Whether it’s a creative agency, a data team, or an AI tool, each requires specific context to deliver the best results. 📌 Be Specific About Strategy & Execution – Ambiguity is the enemy of efficiency. Set clear expectations on messaging, tone, and deliverables. 📌 Provide the Right Inputs – AI and humans alike rely on quality data, insights, and references to create relevant, high-quality work. 📌 Set Boundaries, But Leave Room for Creativity – Structure helps, but great work often comes from a mix of guidance and freedom. With technology accelerating everything around us, one truth remains: Great results still start with great briefings. How do you ensure your briefings set the right direction—whether for agencies, teams, or AI-powered tools? #Marketing #Procurement #Collaboration #Strategy #BusinessSuccess #ClearCommunication #BriefingMatters #CreativeBrief #Leadership #WorkSmarter

A recent survey from ANA asked agencies and brands about characteristics that enable great creative work. The number one response (82% of brand and 79% of agency respondents) was “a tight brief with clearly defined objectives.” Respondents ranked a tight brief higher than 11 other attributes including “constructive and timely feedback from brands” and “creative testing” as the most important factor for creative success. I had an opportunity to contribute a white paper to ANA’s latest report on briefing, and share a real life United Airlines brief-to-campaign-to-results scenario while speaking at ANA Masters of Marketing last week. I spent most of my marketing career on the agency side where I saw some good briefs and A LOT of bad briefs. When I joined United I had an opportunity to refine our briefing approach. Over the past two years, we wrote new templates, defined roles, grew the team, revised the templates, redefined the roles, and continuously iterated. Of all the briefing process adjustments we tried at United, one thing made the biggest difference. Before anyone kicks off a project, there must be a brief and that brief must be approved by our entire brand marketing leadership team. The full report including my white paper is available to ANA members at ana.net/betterbriefs. Here are a few key takeaways: -Invest time in writing a brief. Make it clear and sharp and then walk the halls with it. Make sure everyone who has a say in the work has seen and approved the brief. -Discovering differing expectations or internal misalignment before you kick off agencies and partners means your briefing process is working. Embrace these moments. Your investment is paying off. -All briefs require a senior advocate who is deeply involved in getting the brief approved. -Great strategists are also great diplomats who can resolve conflicting ideas and build consensus. 

Here is my rock solid approach to getting briefs right. I developed this approach by running it 50+ times - in the US, UK, China. Across industries. The idea is to prototype the brief. Not write it. It takes some effort to build the practise but once you do, it becomes a powerfull tool. Here’s how it works: 1. Define the challenge with a crossfunction team 2. Explore 3 radically different solutions 3. Build a simple, lo-fi prototypes for each solution 4. Rent an Airbnb for 3 days 5. Book 15–20 users to visit 6. Role-play your key scenario with each user using the prototypes. 7. Capture reactions and iterate the prototypes - many times per session. 8. Regroup, improve and repeat after each session Day 1 is always chaos Day 2 brings clarity Day 3 nails the details By the end, you will be left with one prototype. The answer will be build in to it through all the iterations. And the brief? It will be surprisingly easy for the cross functional team to write. On the spot. But the real win isn’t the brief. It’s the shared experience. Months later, when problems arise or new priorities have to be set in the project. These shared experiences are used by the team as a way to make decisions. Feel free to steal this playbook. Or make it better. Do you see ways to improve this playbook? Or do you have good experiences aligning teams around the brief? Please comment.