Design Brief
The problem, the constraints and the success measures, agreed before design starts.
Definition
A design brief records what is being solved and for whom, what is fixed, and how the outcome will be judged. It should be written before solutions are proposed.
Craft convention. True because the industry converged on it. Breaking it costs familiarity, not correctness.
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Problem
Who has the problem, in what circumstance, and what it costs them. No solution words.
What you know and how you know it. Separate findings from assumptions.
The primary audience, and explicitly who it is not for.
Constraints
Technical, legal, commercial, brand and timeline limits that cannot be negotiated.
Naming these opens design space that would otherwise stay closed.
Success
Measures with a current baseline and a target, or a defined qualitative signal.
Scope boundaries recorded up front prevent expansion later.
Who signs off, who advises, and when they are involved.
Continue from here
Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.
Applies when you are designing
Often used with
These usually appear in the same screen or the same decision.
- Design Brief to Wireframe DirectionAI workflow
- Jobs to Be DoneResearch method
- Product SpecificationTemplate
- Design CritiqueWorkflow
- DiscoveryWorkflow
- Problem FramingWorkflow