A design brief is a comprehensive written document for a design

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

 project developed in concert by a person representing the business

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

 need for design and the designer

Designer

A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...

. The document is focused on the desired results of design – not aesthetics.

Design briefs are an extremely important part of the functions of companies and corporations, especially engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 firms. A regular design brief will use the following layout:

1. Title page
2. Table of contents
3. History
   • Company history
4. Company Profile
   • Specializations
   • Designer Profile
   • Company Name
   • Past Accomplishments
5. Problem Statement
   Problem statement
   A problem statement is a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them before they try to solve the problem. When bringing together a team to achieve a particular purpose provide them with a problem statement...
   
   
   • Problem Description
   • Constraints
   • Budget
     Budget
     A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
     
     
   • Time
   • Needs of the Problem
6. Goal
   Goal
   A goal is an objective, or a projected computation of affairs, that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve.Goal, GOAL or G.O.A.L may also refer to:Sport...
   
   s
   • What you plan to accomplish
     • Due dates
7. Solution Analysis
   • Risks/Benefits
   • Planned Solutions
   • Sketches
     Sketch (drawing)
     A sketch is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work...
     
     
8. Synopsis
   • Evaluation
   • Conclusion/Summary

See also

• Creative brief
  Creative brief
  A creative brief is a document used by creative professionals and agencies to develop creative deliverables: visual design, copy, advertising, web sites, etc. The document is usually developed by the requestor and approved by the creative team of designers, writers, and project managers...
  
  
• Product design specification
  Product design specification
  A product design specification is a statement of what a not-yet-designed product is intended to do. Its aim is to ensure that the subsequent design and development of a product meets the needs of the user. Product design specification is one of the elements of product lifecycle management.The PDS...
  
  , a comprehensive document that develops from the design brief.

External links

• Advice about writing design briefs