The single biggest thing that decides whether a design project goes smoothly isn’t the designer’s talent. It’s the brief. A clear brief gets you better work, fewer revisions, and a smaller bill. A vague one gets you guesswork, back-and-forth, and a project that drags.
I’ve taken hundreds of briefs over 20 years, working with businesses across Luton among them, the good, the bad and the “just make it pop.” Here’s exactly what to include so you get the result you want without paying for rounds of mind-reading.
Why a Good Brief Saves You Money
Most of the cost in a design project that goes wrong is rework. The designer makes something based on what they understood, it’s not what you pictured, and you go round again. And again. Every round is time, and time is the bill.
A solid brief front-loads the understanding. The designer gets it close to right the first time because they actually know what you need. Fewer rounds, faster delivery, lower cost. The hour you spend writing a proper brief is the cheapest hour in the whole project.
The Checklist
Here’s what a strong brief covers. You don’t need all of it for every job, but the more you can answer, the better.
1. The objective
What do you actually want this design to do? Get people to buy, book, call, sign up, remember you? Start here, because everything else follows from it. “I need a logo” is a task. “I need a logo that makes a premium skincare brand feel trustworthy” is a brief.
2. The audience
Who is this for? Age, location, interests, what they care about, what they’re worried about. A design aimed at retired homeowners on the Old Bedford Road should look very different from one aimed at students near the university campus, and Luton has both within a couple of miles of each other. The more specific you are, the more targeted the work.
3. The single key message
If your audience remembers one thing, what is it? Pick one. The temptation is to cram in everything (your sale, your new product, your story, your hours) and the result communicates nothing. One message, clearly.
4. Your brand assets
Anything that already exists: logo files, colour codes, fonts, brand guidelines, photos. Send the real files, not a screenshot of your logo from your website. If you don’t have these, say so, that’s useful to know too.
5. Examples you like (and don’t)
This is gold. Show two or three designs you love and a couple you hate, even from other industries. It tells the designer your taste far faster than words can. “I like this because it feels clean and confident” is worth a paragraph of description.
6. The copy
Words take longer to sort out than people expect, and a design can’t be finished without them. Have your headline, body text and call to action ready, or tell the designer upfront if you need help writing them. Designing around placeholder text and swapping it later usually means redoing the layout.
7. The specifics
The practical details: what sizes and formats you need, where it’ll be used, any technical requirements. A social ad needs different dimensions for feed and stories. A logo needs to work tiny and huge. Print needs different setup from screen. Spell out where it’s going to live.
8. Budget and deadline
Be upfront about both. Budget isn’t something to hide, it helps the designer scope the work to fit. A realistic deadline lets them plan properly. “As soon as possible” isn’t a deadline, it’s a source of stress.
Why This Matters in Luton
Luton is a genuinely mixed town, a busy airport economy, a wave of graduate start-ups coming out of the University of Bedfordshire, long-standing trade businesses, and a town centre going through ongoing regeneration with new units opening up. That mix is exactly why the audience section of your brief matters more here than in a more uniform town. “Local businesses in Luton” isn’t specific enough to brief against, because a design that lands with commuters at the station doesn’t necessarily land with students near the campus, and a brand built for the traditional high street trade might miss a new unit’s younger customer base entirely.
The other Luton-specific thing worth flagging in your brief is speed. A lot of the businesses I brief here are moving fast, a new unit opening, a launch tied to a regeneration deadline, a seasonal push around the airport’s passing trade, so the clearer the brief, the faster I can turn it around without the guesswork eating into your timeline.
A Few Things That Trip People Up
- “Just make it pop.” This means nothing on its own. If you mean more contrast, bolder colour, or a stronger focal point, say that.
- Too many decision-makers. If five people need to approve, agree internally first. Conflicting feedback from a committee is the fastest way to a muddled result.
- Holding back the budget. Designers aren’t trying to spend all your money. Knowing the budget helps them give you the most for it.
- No reference points. Without examples, the designer is guessing at your taste. Always include a few.
You Don’t Have to Get It Perfect
If this feels like a lot, don’t worry. A good designer will fill the gaps by asking the right questions. When someone briefs me, I’d rather have an honest “I’m not sure, what do you think?” than a confident answer that turns out to be wrong.
The point of the brief isn’t to do the designer’s thinking for them. It’s to give them the raw material they need to do it well. Even a rough brief that hits half these points puts you miles ahead.
This applies whether you hire a freelancer or an agency, though the dynamics differ a little. I compared the two in freelancer versus agency if you’re still deciding.
What a Good Brief Looks Like Filled In
Theory is easy, so here’s a rough example of a brief that would make me happy to start. Imagine a cafe in Luton wanting a new logo:
Objective: A logo that makes us look like a proper independent coffee spot, not a greasy spoon, so we can attract the weekend brunch crowd. Audience: Locals aged 25 to 45, families at weekends, remote workers during the week. People who care about good coffee and a nice space. Key message: Quality, warmth, independent. Assets: No existing brand. Our colours lean warm. We love a serif font. Examples: We like [two cafe brands], clean and confident. We don’t like anything that looks corporate or cartoonish. Specifics: Need it for the shop sign, takeaway cups, Instagram, and a future website. Budget and deadline: Around £600, and we’d like it for our reopening in two months.
That’s it. Not long, but it gives a designer everything they need to get the first round close. Compare that to “we need a logo, make it look nice,” and you can see why one of those projects goes smoothly and the other drags.
What Happens After You Send It
Once I’ve got a brief, I read it properly and come back with any questions before I start designing, not halfway through. Then you get a small set of considered options rather than a pile of throwaways, a couple of revision rounds to refine the chosen direction, and the final files in every format you’ll need. A clear brief at the start is what keeps that process short and keeps the cost down.
Ready to Brief Me?
If you’ve got a project in mind, a logo, a website, or some ads, you don’t need a perfect brief to start. Tell me what you can and I’ll ask the rest.
I work with businesses across Luton, as well as Milton Keynes and the wider area. Send me your brief, however rough, email me@louislantos.com, or call 01582 206160. First chat and quote are free, with no obligation, and I reply within a day.