Design Brief

A design brief is the most essential ingredient for any major design project. A well-crafted design brief (sometimes referred to as a creative brief) can function as a contract, an easy-to-follow road map for the entire design process, and an invaluable tool for securing project approval at the end of the process. —Peter Phillips, Strategy Consultant, and author of “Creating the Perfect Design Brief”

Objective: Develop a document that presents the project as a whole to include the who, what, and how of the site.

1. Develop a questionnaire which enables you to understand your client, who they are, their goals and objectives.

Sample questions:
—What is your non-profits mission statement?
—Describe the goals of the non-profit?
—How does this process differ from similar non-profits
—What other non-profits should I look at to get a greater understanding of these services?
—Who is your targetted audience?
—How do you communicate with your audience?
—What is the primary message you want to communicate with your audience?
—What are some key insights about this audience?
—How are you percieved within the non-profit sector
—Is this perception congruent with your goals?
—If not, what would you like it to be and how do you see that changing?
—How would you best describe your non-profits style (example relaxed, secure, fast-paced ...)
—Additional comments about your agency.

2. Questions to ask yourself when developing your design brief.

A Goals and purpose of site
– what does the user know about the non-profit
– what is the main/subordinate message(s) to be communicated?
– why are these messages important?
B Audience
– discuss who they are and what are their unique needs?
– how does this audience find/access to the site? (experience/skills with computers/ internet)
– type of computer or internet access they have?
C What are the information needs of the audience?
– what topics would they look for?
– what’s most or least important?
– how would they use the site?
– would they use the site just once, occasionally, or frequently?
– would the site be viewed and controlled by a single user?
– would the site be projected in front of a group?
– what similar sites do they use now?
– what do they like and dislike about those sites, and why?
D What is the audience’s emotional attitude preferences, and interests?
– is the audience enjoying browsing/exploring, or are they impatient, wanting information quickly ad easily?
– what does the audience want visually/emotionally?

3. Develop a design brief based on your questionnaire and research that outlines your ideas into a concrete form. The brief becomes a document you can refer to when gathering and organizing content. Create a one/two page document that discusses the following issues regarding your site:

• Define the direction of your site
• What is the goal of your site (what information will it convey)
• Who is your intended audience (design students, educators, or general public)
• What are the unique needs of your audience (specific to your audience)
• What types of information will your audience expect to gather from your site (repeat above information plus anything unique to user)
• What value-added components can you incorporate into your site (such as, interactive movies, calendar, blog)
• What structural paths will you take with your site (begin to think about site map)
• Research additional web resources and list the URL’s that closely address your site goals.

Due Date

Wednesday, 4/28
—Post PDF of design brief to site