The Brand Blueprint: Creative Brief Builder

Because 90% of design disasters happen when designers guess what you want instead of knowing what you need. This questionnaire is the difference between getting a logo that generates revenue and one that makes you cringe. Skip it, and you'll waste months on revisions that could have been avoided in 20 minutes.

Answer what you know and be honest about what you don't. “I'm not sure yet” is a better answer than guessing. However, if you can't articulate who your business serves, your customers won't understand either. Use this questionnaire as a tool to clarify your own business positioning.

No. Get your quote first. Here's why: without knowing your budget and scope, you might spend 30 minutes crafting responses for a project that doesn't match your needs. Get the commercial side sorted, then dive into the creative brief. It saves everyone's time.

A phone call captures only 20% of the necessary detail. In conversation, nuances are lost, and memories fade. This written brief becomes the single source of truth for your project. Detailed and thoughtful responses correlate directly with a higher-quality design outcome.

Absolutely. Not so we can copy them, but so we know what to avoid. If every competitor in your niche uses a blue shield icon, we need to be aware of this so we can design something that disrupts that pattern.

Include your preferences, but don't handcuff the creative process. Share what you're drawn to and, more importantly, why. But remember—you're hiring a designer because they know what works, not just what you like. Trust the process whilst being clear about your non-negotiables.

A phone call accounts for only 20% of what this questionnaire captures. In conversation, you'll forget crucial details, I'll miss important nuances, and we'll both assume things that aren't true. This written brief becomes our single source of truth throughout the project—no “I thought you meant” moments later.

Pick your primary audience that drives 60-80% of your revenue. If you try to appeal to everyone, you'll connect with no one. Your logo needs to speak to your most valuable customers first. You can always create variations or sub-brands for secondary audiences later.

It's an advantage. We're building from scratch without having to work around existing baggage. But do your homework first—research your market, understand your positioning, and be clear about your ambitions. A startup with clarity beats an established business with confusion every time.

Be specific about the feeling you want to create, not the exact visual execution. Instead of “I want a blue circle with sans-serif text,” say, “I want to feel trustworthy and approachable but not boring.” Give me the destination, not the route—that's what you're paying for.

Minor clarifications? Absolutely. Complete rewrites because you've changed your entire business strategy? That's a new project. The questionnaire locks in the creative direction, so ensure you're confident in your answers before submitting.

I'll reply with follow-up questions, which will delay your project. Worse, I might make assumptions that take the design in the wrong direction. Front-load the detail now, and you'll get concepts that hit the mark from round one instead of round three.

If they have decision-making power over the final logo, yes. But don't complete it by committee. One person should own the questionnaire and gather input from stakeholders beforehand. Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many opinions spoil the brief.

Unless your businesses share the same audience, positioning, and personality, which they don't, then yes, you need separate questionnaires; each brand deserves its strategic foundation. Shortcuts here lead to logos that appear related but fail to serve their specific purpose.