Trumpet’s creative brief template for a brand identity design project.

​You have done your market research. You know who your customers are and you know what your competitors are doing. You have defined what makes your business truly unique and you have found a gap in the market. You know what you stand for. (If you do not have a name yet, read my blog post called ‘Name your business ’.)

Now you want to tell your story. 

You want to build a strong connection with your customers through telling them your brand story and I can help you with this by designing a clear and unique brand identity.

Brand identity are communication components related to your business, product or service. I will design your logo along with Brand Identity Guidelines that will allow your brand to be recognised for its attitude to imagery, fonts, colours, choice of photography, tone of voice, personality and writing style. 

A comprehensive Brand Identity Guideline should include the following:
• Main logo and secondary logos
• Brand marks
• Color palette
• Typography and font styling
• Brand patterns / Icons / Illustrations
• Photography direction
• Tone of voice
• Stationery design
• Social media key visuals
• Editorial / Print design

In order for me to start designing your brand identity we need to establish a clear objective and I will need all relevant information about your business. This is called a creative brief.

A creative brief is a communication tool that outlines a project’s requirements, expectations and resources. It helps ensure that everyone involved in a project are on the same page. I spent several years working as a freelance designer for various design studios and advertising agencies. They all had different ways of writing a creative brief. There is no absolute ‘right way’ to go about this but key elements to be included for a brand identity project are:

The objective. 
Be very clear about what you want from this brand identity work. Why do you need it? What are you hoping to achieve with it? What are your goals? How will you measure success? 

Who are you? 
Information about your business, service or product. How would you describe your business? What background info is relevant? What are the benefits and features of your product or service?
 
Who are you here for? 
Mindset that unites the complete target audience. If possible, try to describe a person you know. What is the most relevant desire, need, hope or fear held by target audience that your business can address?

Competitors and obstacles. 
Understanding what the competition can offer will provide a clearer picture of where your product or service stands in the market. List main business challenges. 

What is your brand ambition? 
Where do you want your product or service to be in the mind of the target audience? 

Brand personality. 
What tone of voice will the target audience best react to? 

Tagline. 
What are the key points that need to be communicated?  

Practical considerations.  
List all elements that need to be included. Are there restrictions of any kind, like certain colours that can’t be used etc?

Budget. 
A ballpark idea of budget sets the parameters for how much time I have to work with. Are other resources required? 

Scheduling. 
We need a realistic time frame to keep the project on track. This schedule should include design presentations, client feedback, content delivery and approval dates.
It is vital to list all the work to do and to be clear on who are responsible for what.

​I appreciate any guidance as to what inspire you so please include a few examples of designs you like or don’t like. Not for the intention of copying, though. I know Picasso said that ‘good artists copy, great artists steal ’ but if you want to copy someone else’s design you are better off asking another graphic designer to do it...

Click here to download the Trumpet Creative Brief template.

Before I end this blog post I’d like to talk about managing expectations. I develop brand identities and the foundation of your brand is your logo, your website, packaging and promotional materials. However, I do not build brands. 

Branding extends to every aspect of your business, whether it is with your staff, product, the price you charge, how and where you advertise, social media (etc, etc, etc). As concluded in my January blog post: ‘A brand is your business reputation’. 

“Before beginning, plan carefully”.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

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