The Creative Brief

The creative brief is a questionnaire that helps the design team better understand your marketing and branding requirements. This questionnaire is filled out and submitted by the client to be used as a basis for discussion in the initial planning sessions.

Here are a few sample questions from the creative brief:

In a paragraph or two, please provide a brief background to your business (e.g. your location, products, services and markets, approximate size of the business etc.)

What are the main marketing and business objectives for the website project? (e.g. target new markets, improve online branding and marketing, streamline business operations etc.)

Who is the Intended Audience for your Website? (e.g. any specific market segments, age ranges, regional locations etc.)

Using simple adjectives and phrases, what are the most important "values" or "image" that you want your website to convey? (e.g. professional, funky, conservative, creative, cool etc.)

The Technical Specifications Interview

The goal of the technical specifications interview is to reveal key information and requirements that will help the developers map the technical scope of the project and ensure a successful outcome.

Here are a few sample questions from the technical specifications interview:

How would you generally describe the technical abilities of your intended audience? (e.g. their internet connection speed, general computer knowledge, etc.)

What exisiting functionality does your current website offer that you would like to continue offering on your new website? What new functionality would you like to offer?

Does your website require adherence to "accessibility" guidelines as stated in Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act?

What is the optimal screen resolution that you would perfer for your new website? (e.g. 800x600, 1024x768)

Do you currently or would you like to extend password-protected content to your customers or members?