Matt Lyons
Matt Lyons is a leader in retail
design, having worked for nearly
twenty years in the business on
senior positions. He is passionate
about the wide benefits that
design can bring to business
and publishes about his views on
design, innovation and creativity at
www.definitely-design.com
and on his LinkedIn page.
Over the years I have worked up hundreds of design briefs
with all kinds of project teams.
I’ve developed and refined the process I follow for developing
design briefs, and I’ve learned a lot in the process. I don’t think
I’ve got to perfection yet, but I do have three suggestions that
I think will help you get closer to the ‘perfect’ design brief.
10 LITRS OCTOBER 2015
Three Tips for the
Perfect Design Brief
1
2
3
The ‘Anchor’
Definition
Let Me Tell You
What I Want!
Don’t Forget the
‘Boring’ Stuff
Project briefs can be long and
complex and have too much
information for most of us to
keep in our heads at one time.
A memorable, single statement
which sums up the project can
keep the project from drifting
away from the brief. It’s the
fundamental ‘what are we
really doing here’ question
and something to keep the
project anchored.
So often clients find it impossible
to articulate what it is they want
from a project; they’ll talk about the
solution rather than the problem,
and that can feel really frustrating.
To often design briefs overlook
some of the key information that
any design project needs to be
delivered successfully. Any brief
should include details about
costs and fees, a breakdown of
expected deliverables and a
time-plan for the project.
I worked once on a project
for Boots Opticians where
the anchor was ‘let’s make
the opticians consultation as
fun as a beauty consultation’.
This drove a design solution
which was much less clinical,
improved customer interaction
and generated a whole
different take on the look and
feel of the final design.
Getting to the ‘problem’ is actually
quite difficult, and we should let
clients describe the issue in any
way they choose. Isn’t it part of
our role, as designers, to interpret
that for the client? It can mean
we have to work hard iterating the
brief, but ultimately it should be
defined in the ‘Response to Brief’,
produced by the designers.
I find that allowing the client to
express themselves in a variety of
ways, such as by defining ‘what’s
out there’ in the market and why
they like it, or ‘what ideas they
currently have’, is a great way of
getting the ‘solution’ expressed. It
then reveals lots of clues that lead
to the real problem.
Sometimes, with very complicated
companies, information about the
decision makers and approval
rights of key stakeholders is also
valuable information to be shared
right at the start.
Most of the ‘difficult’ projects that
I have been involved with over the
years, have all come down to a lack
of clarity over the fees, what the
expectations were for the project or
late delivery; rather than anything to
do with the creative output.
These things might sometimes
seem boring, but are essential for
harmony in any design project!
OCTOBER 2015 LITRS 11