The One-Page Project Design Brief
The One-Page Project Design Brief is a bite-sized part of a larger network of documents — a filtration system for what will become your brand and visual brand. Based on basic information provided by the client about their business, it offers a high-level view of the business’s primary goal and how their current challenges hinder it.
The Value Of The Brief
I always tell clients that “the brief is the foundation for the look and feel of their visual brand” or that “it highlights the position of your brand and where you can fly your freak flag.” And it’s true — both are aspects crucial to getting a client from where they are to where they want to be. But the brief is also “the value of a client to the client’s business.”
For example, for my client XN General Insurance, their windscreen package for 1 client is $2500 -$10,000 TTDs. With over 500 clients and 4 types of insurance packages, they stand to make a lot of money with a clear voice that attracts the type of clients they’re going after.
Regarding The One-Page Project Design Brief and the work that followed, CEO of XN General Insurance Ltd, Kristen Scott-Beckles, said, “I am satisfied! I believe the bigger goal was accomplished!”
So, what is 1 client worth to you — $21K-$50K in monthly retainer fees? What are you willing to invest to ensure your services are positioned to speak directly to your ideal clients so they’ll hear and respond?
Read: The Difference Between Brand, Branding And A Visual Brand
Sometimes difficulty holding the vision behind a project is a reflection of a deeper problem. For example, some businesses (despite their success) haven’t moved out of the “red ocean” of competition yet, which by extension leads to forgetting the core reasons for their visual branding efforts and abandoning a project.
The catch-22 is the struggle to recognize the need for branding keeps local small service businesses in the “red ocean.” Their reluctance to act on the need for differentiation prevents them from achieving the very differentiation that could help them escape their current situation.
How The Brief Addresses These Problems
Regarding “the artwork not working”, for example, the brief strategically highlights specific concepts or behaviors the client has that weaken the brand and threatens the project’s purpose. It then offers recommendations to avoid these pitfalls.
Many businesses claim expertise without a genuine grasp of the problems being solved for clients and how to solve them. This often results in a superficial brand voice that lacks depth and commitment. Too many local small service businesses use impressive language without backing it up — everything is always “too difficult” to take the time to do.
“Clients come to us because we’re able to produce the amount of content they need at the level they need it to be within a certain time frame.” but sometimes with no idea of the basic steps involved nor any interest in finding out how you get your client from point A to point B. Yet, claiming it as a stand-out feature of the services you provide? True expertise doesn’t work this way!
These inconsistencies weaken your brand voice and overall credibility.
After unearthing the cock n bull stories witnessed in TheBrandConductor design interview, I focus on the visual reference points shared by the client concerning the design of their website.
The Layout For The Website And Sitemap:
Visual References and Website Layout-
Years ago, I used wireframes to show my clients what their website would look like, but I observed that it had very little impact on their expectations of the finished product for a few reasons.
So over the past five years, I’ve been asking clients for visual examples within their industry to use as reference points in their briefs. This practice has served me well as it helps punctuate what their visual branding project will resemble, ensuring that their expectations align more closely with their positioning.
Customized Sitemap-
This section of the brief also shows the relationship each page associated with the layout has with eachother.
Each sitemap is unique to the experience each client is trying to create for their ideal client. But each sitemap is also unique to each client’s situation. For example, clients keep associating the CEO Michael Richards with PhastraqVFX.
What did I say to the CEO of PhastraqVFX, Michael Richards, a few days ago to help him hone his visual branding strategy? When does a client need a teams page? Is a picture worth a thousand words — could the right type of photography show something words can’t discribe? Base on the success of his business where was the best opportunity for him to niche down? Despite the company’s target audience, whose their ideal client and why?
Read: Ideal Clients Aren’t Mythical Creatures
Its said, when you can’t attract leads, you’ve got a branding problem and when you can’t convert leads, you’ve got a marketing problem.
PhastraqVFX isn’t attracting ideal clients through the website they currently have, so the CEO came to TheBrandTUB to help him brand and market his services.
Book TheBrandConductor™ design interview to uncover the notes you need to hit to send the right message.
Deliverables Of The Brief
Once the scope of the project is fleshed out, determining what’s needed to execute the project is the next step.
A list of deliverables for the project and the deadline they need to be handed in is included in the brief so the client can’t say they didn’t know about these things. I try to take as much responsibility off the client’s hands but there are just some things the client has to give you. For example, XN General Insurance had to supply:
- Email addresses and passwords
- The Company Credit Card information (to purchase)
-Their URL
-Their local directory listing
-Their Hosting
-Their Business email accounts - Photography (taken by Nicholas Maxwell)
-For The Home Page
-For The About Page
-For The Blog Page
-For The easyCLAIMZ Page - Videography (done by Nicholas Maxwell)
-For The easyCLAIMZ Page - Logos files
- Redirect links to Beacon Insurance (the parent company)
- Their Claim Forms
-Motor
-Property - Disclaimers
- Privacy Policy
- Copyright Policy
- Agreements
- Terms of Use
The Design Brief Isn’t A Proposal
Each project you strategically undertake builds your knowledge and expertise, making you more discerning and efficient in future projects. Consequently, the brief created by someone with real experience is forged from results and backed by practical experience. This level of expertise distinguishes it from a document produced by someone without such a background. When you’re uncertain about what to say and why, you’ll end up making suggestions instead of giving solid advice.
In sum, when the client signs off on the brief, they acknowledge that it is the foundation of their project, which has already commenced. They are confirming their understanding and acceptance of all recommendations, deliverables, and timelines outlined in the brief, essential for the project’s successful execution. They also recognize that any deviation from this document will be treated as a new project, necessitating additional payment and the rescheduling of another design interview.
I am the Founder and Visual Brand Strategist at The BrandTUB
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