Session 7 - Project: Questionnaires and Design Brief

Design Brief: Asking the right questions

To be able to design a website that is appropriate and fit for purpose, you need to start by making sure that you have all of the information you need to create the website. Information such as background, goals and objectives, design, features, and functionality.

One way of achieving this is to create a questionnaire. The questionnaire is used to help both you and the client decide what features are important and the kind of look and feel that the website needs to achieve.

Here are some example questions

General Project questions
https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/20-questions-all-project-managers-should-ask.php


Web Design Questions
https://marketingland.com/100-questions-you-must-ask-when-developing-web-site-86342

Once you have your questions and they have been answered, you can go ahead and start to put together your Design Brief. The design brief will essentially outline all of the deliverables that are required by the client. It can form part of your contract or agreement with the client and can also be used as a checklist for handover.

What is a Design Brief?

Wikipedia describes a design brief as "A design brief is a comprehensive written document for a design project developed in concert by a person representing the business need for design and the designer. The document is focused on the desired results of design – not aesthetics."

There is no set format for a design brief, but the headings below can be used as a guide.

Business/Corporate Profile

Background information about your company/business, description of who and what you are.

Market Position

Information about your market, branding, customer base, industry and competitors.

Current Situation

What has happened that has instigated this project. The why or reason for the project.

Objectives

What do you hope to achieve from this project.

Target Audience

Who is your target audience. Are you currently reaching that audience. Why or why not. What are the demographics of your target audience (age, location, cultural, financial). Is there anything unusual about your target audience.

Corporate Branding or personality

What image does your brand currently have. What image do you want to portray with this project. What message do you want to portray. What message do you specifically not want to portray. Use adjectives such as expensive, approachable, trendy, friendly, cutting-edge.

Budget

The all important rough estimate of how much you want to spend on this project or roughly what it would cost.

Timeframe or schedule

What is the timeframe for the project. When MUST it be finished by. Any other date/time constraints.

Technical or practical constraints.

Are there any inflexible parameters or constraints that will have some bearing on the project. An example of this could be a corporate style guide.

Purpose of  Design Brief

A design brief is in the format of a short informal report and these would become the headings. The information could come from the client directly as a brief, or you could put it together after you have interviewed the client. It is just a guideline and should not include specific information such as actual page designs or layouts.

A designer will use the design brief to confirm requirements with their client. A good designer will then go off and create some design layouts, samples, storyboard, and even a mock-up before the final product is developed.

 A design brief may be written by the client, outlining what they require, or by the designer after consultation with the client. It is a guideline of what work is to be done. Usually, if instigated by the designer, it would be called a Scoping Document rather than a Design Brief, but either way, it should form the basis of any contract between you (the designer) and your client.

IT Skills 2 - Web Assessment 2

Your aim is to build a website that incorporates Social Media. Obviously it is to be a library website, but the details of the library are entirely up to you. You will work with a partner and you will design each other's website.

Your task today is to create a questionnaire, get responses from your "client", and start to put together a design brief.

See Assessment guide for full details!