Start with the change, not the deliverables
A brief that begins with page counts and feature lists often misses the reason the project exists. Explain what has changed in the business: a repositioning, new development, international audience, higher-value service, ownership change, launch or quality gap.
This gives the design team a commercial frame for decisions. It also helps distinguish essential work from inherited assumptions.
Define the audience by decision
Demographics alone are not enough. A useful audience description names the situation, stakes, questions and objections. A private buyer comparing residences behaves differently from an architect assessing fit, even if both meet the same wealth profile.
- What has brought this person to the site now?
- What do they need to believe before they enquire?
- What risks or doubts slow the decision?
- Who else influences the choice?
- What information should remain private until a conversation?
Bring evidence, including imperfect evidence
Share enquiry notes, sales questions, existing analytics, search queries, client emails, brand research, presentation decks and recurring objections. A redesign becomes stronger when it is built around real language and behaviour rather than imagined personas.
Be explicit when evidence is missing. That turns assumptions into questions the discovery phase can resolve.
State the operating constraints
Name who owns approvals, who writes and supplies content, which systems must connect, what legal review is required, when photography will exist and whether launch timing is tied to a real-world event.
A beautiful idea that depends on unavailable imagery or an unowned content programme is not a viable solution. Good constraints improve the work when they are visible early.
Define success without false precision
Choose a small set of outcomes appropriate to the business. These might include a higher share of qualified enquiries, clearer use by sales teams, stronger engagement with key pages, improved organic discovery or less dependence on PDF explanations.
Avoid promising a specific ranking or conversion uplift before the baseline, traffic quality and wider commercial system are understood.
A concise brief checklist
A strong first brief can often fit on three to five pages if it covers the right ground.
- Business context and reason for change
- Priority audiences and their decisions
- Current-site strengths and failures
- Competitive and cultural references
- Content and proof available
- Functional, legal and technical constraints
- Governance, timing and budget readiness
- Measures of success