Hello guys!
Today, I’d like to discuss our ‘favorite’ stage of the design job — briefing with a client. In particular, the questions you should ask your client before you even think about designing their brand identity.
Every designer has their own way of the briefing, and their own questions to ask. However, working a few years in the industry, I managed to point out 5 answers you should have, point-blank. As always, I will attack some of my reasoning thoughts to maybe convince you to add the questions to your won brief. Enjoy :)
Why even bother?
I won’t ever be too tired of saying that knowing the project you’re designing for is a key for any functional design. IF you want your design to work the way it’s supposed to, and not only be pretty, you have to put something into it. A vision, understanding, values. You will only find that if you brief deeply enough.
Your Qs, Their As
Without further ado, let’s get to the questions themselves.
- What opportunities does your brand offer to its customers?
New opportunities entail changes in people’s life. The design you will end up creating should back up the opportunity the brand promises. An example: A brand offers a new life, with higher status (let’s say they are selling cars). For that brand, you will never create something too colorful and silly. Your choice would be something slick, modern, silver & black — the colors of business, privilege, and elegance.
Ask the client to list everything they are offering: not only product-wise, but also emotionally, and socially.
2. What should a customer think after using your product, or facing your brand in any way?
This one is important for graphic designers in order to use elements strategically. Graphic design is not only a powerful marketing tool, it is also a psychological tool as well. So, if a client lists you every association they what people to have with them, you can help them with that.
Example: The preferred associations are mysterious, elegant, intimate.
The designer’s choice: Purples & blacks, reds & pinks. Sharp shapes. Half transparent, floating designs.
Yes, of course, the design only won’t work. Design can create the initial impression, and create only a hint of the association while the brand’s strategy and actions are needed to back it up. Yet, we all know how important first impressions are.
3. What beliefs drive your brand?
Knowing the brand’s values are important for designers to understand the brand better, and get to the same wavelength with the team and founders. At this point, you can assess if the brand surely knows its values, and has everyone share them. If not, you can explain to them that generic values with no meaning behind them, well, mean nothing. They will not help unify the team.
On the other hand, they will not also be helpful to your customers. People love brands they share common values with. Generic ‘Innovation’ and ‘Trustworthiness’ won’t do much for the clients.
Explaining this, I am sure, you will start looking more professional in your client’s eyes as a branding specialist.
4. What personality traits does your brand communicate? Or wants to?
Every brand should have a personality. The first reason is to remain consistent with their messaging throughout all channels, and another one is to appeal to the right people.
The personality traits will be showing in the designs, exactly the way preferred associations would. Your job as a (branding) designer is once again to explain why they are so important for the brand and its strategy.
5. What are your brand’s tone, manner, strong and weak sides?
Knowing the tone and manner the brand speaks to its audience is obviously crucial. But why do you need to know the strong and weak sides? Well, strong sides are needed to emphasize them with the designs. Let’s get back to the example of an elegant and privileged car-selling brand. The strong side of the brand is the feeling of power it offers. This is what you will need to accentuate in your designs: strong imagery, interesting photo angles, bold statements, and fonts.
On the other hand, knowing directly the weaknesses of your client, you know what to conceal. Where to use smaller fonts, where to direct the attention of the customer, etc.
All done! Those were the questions I recommend asking your client before diving into designing a brand identity. Will you end up adding something to your brief? Share the questions that are must-haves in your briefs!
