After reading all this…

Not really sure where to start with your creative brief?

You can save time by using an online tool to create your form!

Creating your form online will give you a more professional and user-friendly final product. Using an online creative brief tool also means you can consolidate all your briefs into one convenient, shareable location.

Tools for Creating Creative Briefs

Filestage

Filestage is not a dedicated tool for creating creative briefs but a creative project management software. It helps you complete your digital projects (from creating your brief to finishing your deliverables) faster than ever before. Here’s how to use to create the perfect creative brief:

Download our creative brief template for free and adapt it to your needs Sign up for a free Filestage trial Share your creative brief draft in Filestage with your client (no sign-up needed) to make sure you’re on the same page and to finetune the briefing document. Share your creative brief with your colleagues and discuss outstanding questions with them in Filestage.

Typeform

If you’re looking for a smooth and engaging interface then Typeform is perfect.

Easy to design, very customizable and simple integration with other programmes like MailChimp and Google Sheets. You can dazzle your clients with the free version but for a really great experience, you might want to consider upgrading to the Pro.

Formstack

With over 200 templates Formstack will definitely have something suited to you. It’s a great solution no matter the size of your team. Their automatic workflows are also a very useful feature for saving you time and helping your team to be more efficient.

Pipefy

There are plenty of templates on Pipefy which you might find useful. We particularly like their ‘Design Thinking Template’. It’s even free! This template is useful to get every member of your team thinking about the various aspects of design. Pipefy is also an intuitive and connected platform so it’s easy to keep all your team onboard.

Simple.io

If you’re looking for something specifically designed for marketers then here it is! Simple is a brilliant briefing software which not only allows you to create and monitor briefs, they also work hard to help you improve them!

7. Creative Brief Questions

Choosing the perfect software and template for a creative brief is all well and good, but then you need questions. We’re not suggesting you ask every single one on our list but use these as ideas to help you think about the information you need from your clients.

Background Information

Collect all the basic information about the client’s company, size, sector etc.

How well know is the client’s brand?

What is the client’s budget for this project?

What separates your client from their competitors?

Where are they in relation to other competitors and market share?

Understand their brand, what are the requirements of their brand?

What is your client’s budget? (this might be for an entire project or cost per lead/sale)

Unique Selling Proposition

Why would a customer choose this product over others?

What does the client’s business offer customers?

Is this product already performing well? Why?

What problem does this product solve?

What are the benefits of this product?

Clear Objectives

You can’t succeed unless you know exactly what your client considers success so what are their objectives?

What does the finished project look like?

What does your client need from this project and what would they like to see?

What are the key messages and points you need to get across?

Target Audience

Who is buying the product? And who do you want to buy it? (consider creating a buyer persona)

What are the important characteristics of our buyers?

What should our audience feel when reading about this product?

What messages and call to actions are consumers left with?

Deliverables

What exactly are the elements the client needs for a finished project?

List all the deliverables the client needs alongside their due dates.

What tools is the client asking you to use? Are these the best tools for the job?

Are there any similar projects your client likes or dislikes? Why?

How will the client review your work? Are you using a content review system?

Tone and Style

The style of any project is what ensures consistency. So what is the layout and style of previous similar projects?

Is this a new project? In which case can you create a style which can be used again in the future?

8. Creative Brief Checklist

If you start working without a clear brief, it’s like driving with broken headlights at night. Sure, it’s still possible, but you’d have to drive slowly, and chances are high that you’ll veer off the street.

We at Filestage know that it’s tempting to rush past the creative brief. Clients are usually itching to start right away. They don’t want to waste time with the planning stages. But investing time in a good brief protects you from encountering serious problems later on down the road. Believe me, it is an investment that will pay off.

Want to have every important point from our guide on how to write a creative brief at one glance? You can download your free checklist right here:

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9. 8 Other Creative Brief Templates

Rather than creating a creative brief process from scratch, you can save time and start with a template. Customizing a template allows you to create a more professional look for your creative brief, and it also provides you with quality tested questions.

Creative Brief Template Advertising by Milanote

Milanote offers a slick user-friendly design to help you organize all the elements of a creative brief. You can create private templates with various boards and hierarchies for different levels within your team. You can collect all of your requirements in one secure place which helps to speed up tasks and keep everyone in your team updated.

Creative Brief Template Graphic Design by Business Victoria



Templates don’t always need to be beautifully designed and flashy. Sometimes simple works best. This easy to fill out two-page template allows you to focus on the key elements of your creative brief without getting distracted.

Marketing Creative Brief Template by 99 Designs

This creative brief from 99 Designs helps you to think about various elements of your clients’ needs. From their color palettes to the style of their business. This is another simple template which won’t take you long to fill in, but you may find massively helpful in the long run.

Website Creative Brief Template by Tomango

This one doesn’s stick to the 1-2 page rule. However, it is a very comprehensive template. It has various sections you can cover like aims and marketing, which give you a more in-depth creative brief. You might find this is more suited for complex tasks or projects with new clients. Remember to only include the information which is relevant, so delete the questions and sections which aren’t useful for you.

Logo Creative Brief Template by Your Creative Junkie

Although this template has been designed for a specific goal, it´s actually a really useful tool for any creative brief. This brief has various sections so you can really get to grips with your client’s needs. It has an attractive design but is still a simple text template, so anyone can use it. The logo brief template is definitely a useful tool for creative projects.

Creative Agency Brief Template by HubSpot

The template from HubSpot aims to keep your team motivated with an attractive creative brief. If you’re looking for something to inspire your creative team while helping them to understand the project then this is a great choice.

Video Production Creative Brief Template by Studiobinder

This is a really nicely designed template with google sheets from Studiobinder. It was designed for video projects but it’s a good creative brief which you can easily repurpose. It allows you to get to the heart of your client’s needs and focus on tangible aims and objectives.

Social Media Creative Brief Template by Marketingmag

Rather than a simple template, marketing mag has provided a step by step guide to each question and how to fill out your brief. If you have lots of information this is a good place to take notes and start collecting your ideas. Every question is designed to have a long-form answer. So if you have a project with a lot of elements which need explaining then this is a great template.

10. Creative Brief Examples

Still not clear how to make your own kick-ass creative brief?

Have no worries because we’ve put together a selection of industry best practice creative briefs to help you!

10.1 Industry/Domain Examples

Graphic Design Creative Brief Example

You can tell this one is for graphic designers. It’s bold and eye-catching. It’s also quick and simple to fill out.

Brand Creative Brief Example by ReThink Marketing

You can use a sample template like this one to think about the different sections you might want to include.

Web Design Creative Brief Example

This is a good example of a simple design brief which can be customized to suit your brand and style.

Website Creative Brief by HeliosDesign

Some creative briefs will need more information than others. Complex projects like building a website may need a more comprehensive brief to cover all the important aspects.

Video Creative Brief

Interactive briefs are not only easier to fill out but they also look more professional for your clients. Think about mixing up your questions between multiple choice and long form.

Logo Creative Brief by Logos by Nick

This one may seem a little basic but it’s still a useful design. Why overcomplicate things when you can keep it simple and specific?

Creative Brief Sample Ogilvy

This creative brief has an interesting approach to the questions. Your client might prefer filling in a template like this because it really asks them what they want from you.

Social Media Creative Brief

If you’re working with social media content then a brief like this one might be useful. Take a look at the various sections and see if they might be the right way to approach your next project.

Agency Creative Brief by Designtaxi

Another simple example of getting a client’s ideas across quickly. This is a well-suited template for smaller projects so you can ascertain the important information and get started.

Advertising Creative Brief Example

You need to prioritize the information in your brief. For example, here we have a good size section on the background, however, for your brief this section may only need to be a few lines. Put more time into the sections which contain elements your team needs. Background knowledge is useful, but ask yourself ´which information is relevant and essential to my team?’

10.2 Company Examples

PayPal Creative Brief Example

Paypal’s creative brief has a really nice design and flow to it. It’s clearly in line with their style and content. It’s also not too busy so you can scan the text to quickly remind yourself of the important information.

Reebok Creative Brief Example

This simple design helps to highlight the important messages in the creative brief. You might also find bullet-pointed lists useful for quickly get across information. Keep your design brief scannable with lists and sections like these.

Red Bull Creative Brief Example

Red Bull has got this brief right. A short introduction to the company and then straight into the objectives of the project.

Doritos Creative Brief

Doritos’ brief is actually fairly basic in terms of design but it comes with a lot of information. At the end of the day it’s only your team using this brief every day, so if you don’t want to put effort into the design of your brief that’s fine, just make sure it has all the information they need.

Nike Creative Brief

Another fairly simple design brief but choc-full of information. Nike also uses various infographics throughout the brief to help illustrate the background information on the company and their products. If you choose to create a simple creative brief, infographics are a great way of keeping it interesting and explaining difficult topics.

Practical Creative Brief PDF

That’s why we designed a lean and straightforward creative brief template for you. It works as a common thread and prevents you from being too long-winded.

Each slide contains a major question you need to be able to answer clearly. Furthermore, you’ll find a short explanation within the notes section of each slide. This gives you further guidance.

Feel free to adapt our PowerPoint template to your own needs. Use your own logo or add slides where you want to bring in more details. After you worked it out, you can share your creative brief with your client and let them agree on it.

Template Use Cases

Our creative brief template can be used for different purposes. It can be used as:

Marketing brief to start your marketing campaigns

to start your marketing campaigns Brand brief / Branding brief to define your brand assessment

to define your brand assessment Project brief to kickoff your projects

to kickoff your projects Strategic brief to plan next strategic steps

to plan next strategic steps Event brief to start planning an event

to start planning an event Logo brief to get started with the design process

to get started with the design process Company brief to learn more about a company

to learn more about a company Videographer brief to brief a producer

to brief a producer Team brief to get your team aboard

to get your team aboard Media brief to start your media project

You may also be interested in: “Effective Buyer Persona Template“, “Free Storyboard Template” and “Useful Mood Board Template“