How to brief a designer when you do not know what you want

Not knowing exactly what you want is completely normal. The problem is not the uncertainty. The problem is pretending you are certain when you are not.

One of the most counterproductive things you can do when commissioning design work is pretend you know exactly what you want when you do not. It leads to briefs that sound confident but contain contradictions, feedback that changes direction mid-project, and a designer who spends more time guessing than creating.

Here is a more honest and, in practice, more effective way to approach it.

Start with the problem, not the solution

You do not need to know what the design should look like. You do need to know what it should achieve. Those are very different questions.

Start by describing the situation as honestly as you can. Our current logo was designed fifteen years ago and no longer reflects what we are. Or: we have no consistent visual identity and our materials look like they come from different organisations. Or simply: we are starting from nothing and need to look credible enough that people take us seriously.

This is genuinely useful information. A designer can work with a clearly described problem. They cannot work with vague approval anxiety masquerading as a brief.

Share what you respond to, not what you think you should like

When gathering reference materials, be honest rather than aspirational. If there are brands or visual styles that genuinely appeal to you, share them, even if they seem unrelated to your sector.

The design work you find appealing is useful data. Do not filter it through what you think a charity or a local business is supposed to look like. Share what actually resonates with you and let the designer translate that into something appropriate.

Be honest about what you do not like

This is often more useful than describing what you do like. If there is a visual approach, a colour, a style, or a type of design that you have a strong reaction against, say so clearly at the start. It is far cheaper to rule something out in a brief than to reject it after it has been designed.

Trust the process

A good designer will ask you questions you have not thought about. That is not a sign that your brief was inadequate. It is how the brief gets built into something workable.

Be honest when you do not know the answer. Say: I have not thought about that, let us discuss it. The conversation that follows is more useful than a confident answer you are not sure about.

The best client brief is not the most detailed one. It is the most honest one. Tell a designer what you know, what you are uncertain about, and what matters most. That is enough to get started.

About the Author

Dan Deveney is a digital designer, educational specialist, and developer based near Dartmoor in Devon. Through Granite & Glitch, he works with small businesses, charities, and community groups to create accessible, high-performance digital projects, drawing on more than 15 years of experience across design, education, and development.