Print design brief template
Every question a print or presentation brief should answer, with a real example filled in. Copy the template, or send it as a guided brief.
The template, filled in
Example answers for Harbor & Pine, an architecture studio’s brochure.
What’s the business or brand called?
Harbor & Pine Architects
What does the business do?
A sentence or two is enough.
A six-person architecture studio in Portland, Maine. We design homes and small public buildings.
What should this project achieve?
A brochure that helps us win town library and school projects.
Who are we trying to reach?
The people this work is for: who they are and what they care about.
Town building committees: volunteers and officials, often not architects, who choose the firm.
What should people think or feel when they see it?
A few words is fine.
Trustworthy and local. Careful with public money, but not boring.
What do you like, and what should we avoid?
Brands, links and examples welcome.
We like big photos and lots of white space. Avoid the glossy corporate look and stock photos of handshakes.
Anything else we should know?
Key dates, must-haves, anything we haven’t asked.
We present to a library committee on November 14.
What are we making, and roughly how many pages?
Brochure, deck, poster, report…
A 16-page brochure: about eight projects, a page or two each.
Who supplies the words and images, and are they ready?
We’re writing the text now. Our photographer has finished the project photos.
Will it be printed, presented live, or sent as a PDF?
Printed to hand out at meetings, and a PDF to email before them.
If it’s printed: size, paper, quantity and printer?
Skip this if it’s digital only.
8.5 × 11 inches, uncoated paper, 100 copies, from a local printer we’ll pick.
What makes a good print design brief
A good print brief says how the piece will be used: printed, presented, or sent as a PDF. Then it pins down the page count and when the words arrive, because layout waits for content.
Why each question matters is in the print design questionnaire. For any other project, start with the design brief template.
Send your next brief as one link.
Your client answers one question at a time on their phone. Briefscope reads the brief, lists what’s missing, and lays out a plan with real dates.
Free during beta, and 3 months after. No card needed.