The slowest part of most design projects isn't the design. It's the first couple of weeks of back-and-forth working out what the project actually is. A short, clear brief removes most of that. It doesn't need to be long or polished; it just needs to answer five questions.
1. What does your business do, in one sentence?
Write it the way you'd explain it to a friend, not the way it reads in your pitch deck. "We help dentists fill last-minute cancellations" beats "an AI-powered scheduling optimisation platform." If you can't fit it in one sentence yet, that's useful to know too.
2. Who is it for, and what should they do?
Name the one type of person the website, brand or product screens are mainly for, and the single action you want them to take: book a call, join a waitlist, buy, sign up. Everything else in the project gets designed around that one action.
3. What exists already?
List what you have: a logo, brand colours, copy, photos, a current site, product screenshots. Then say honestly what you're unhappy with. Knowing what to keep is as useful as knowing what to replace.
4. When does it need to be live, and why?
A real date with a real reason, such as an investor meeting, a launch event or a trade show, shapes the scope more than anything else. If the date is fixed, the scope flexes to fit it, not the other way round.
5. What does "done" look like?
Describe the finished result in a sentence or two, then add two or three sites or brands you like and one specific thing you like about each. "The pricing table on X" or "the calm colours of Y" saves hours of guessing on both sides.
What you can skip
- A full feature list for version one
- A competitor analysis
- A mood board, unless you already have one
- Polished writing; bullet points are fine
Send it before the first call
Our Start form asks a short version of exactly these questions: what your business does, which package you're looking at, and when you need it. Send that, and we'll reply within one working day with a yes and a launch date, or an honest no and a pointer to somewhere better.