A successful client/design firm relationship comes down to how well you understand the problem at hand, what is achievable, and what the client will consider a success.

You can be an incredible designer, typographer, or illustrator. You can have solid skills and technical proficiency. While they count for a lot by themselves, they’re not enough. It would be best if you also could read and understand the situation. That comes from experience, from working with many people, clients, industries, products, and services.

The politics, corporate structure, and the agendas of the various stakeholders also factor into it. Downloading and absorbing all this information from the client is essential in establishing a shared understanding of its goals.

The perfect tool for accomplishing this is the creative brief. Many people have a question mark over who is responsible for the brief. Ultimately, I think collaboration with the client produces the best briefs, and an accurate brief is a foundation for success. 

If you don’t know the goals, you’ll never find a way to achieve them.

I think it’s a good idea for the design firm to have an outline they like to follow. Asking the client to take the initial shot at providing the answers is an effective way to get direction. Then you can work together to tighten up the parameters, objectives, and success measures.

In addition to establishing common understanding, a clear brief also gives you the information you need to assemble the project’s best team.

At a minimum, the creative brief should provide:

• Background: What are the details of the project? Why is it being done?

• Goals and Objectives: What are the goals and primary objective?

• Audience: Which markets will we target? Relevant demographic and psychographic profiles? What do they already think about you? Profile of the typical user or consumer? Where will we reach this audience?

• Messaging: What is the primary message? What is the most critical item the audience needs to know? What is the single thing to be remembered? How will they believe what we say? Is there anything that we should avoid?

• Requirements: Procedures that require adherence? Mandatory elements; logos, icons, imagery, address, phone number?

• Voice and Tone: Brand voice is what you say, and brand tone is how you say it (e.g., scientific, serious, light-hearted, humorous).

• Central Insight: What do we know about the market’s attitude toward the company, brand, or product?

• Desired Outcome: How will success be measured (e.g., sales, membership, brand awareness, press mentions)?

• Deliverables: What is to be used to give the audience the message (e.g., website, brochure, advertising, video, social media)?

• Timeline: How many revisions will this project undergo? What is the completion date?

• Budget: What is the budgetary range to get this project developed?

• Approvals: Which stakeholders need to give the green light to proceed?

The quality of the input determines the quality of the outcome.

Because it is such an essential part of a strong client relationship, we must create a brief for every project. In the first project, it sets the tone of the working relationship. It allows you to advise the client with strategic and tactical recommendations for reaching the goal in subsequent projects.

Over time, the insight that comes from jointly developing various briefs ultimately improves your ability to read and understand the client’s situation. That can lead to your seeing things that need to be accomplished, sometimes better than the client. At that point, you move from being a design vendor to being a valued collaborator. In brief, to mutual success.