This is not particularly intended to be to be the entire description of the actual designs. It just briefs the goals and objectives of the work that has to be done and they are also designed in such a way that it includes the terms and conditions of the work.

What is the need of Design Brief?
For any process of large designs, design briefs must be part of the work’s planning stage. They are pretty useful for both the client and for the designer as they provide the roadmap for the goals that has to be achieved.

Where to start the building of this design brief?
You as a Freelance Web designer, you will be the instigator for any design brief. While the project client will have the better idea on what he/she will require from their website just beyond making money or else to get more page views. So it is entirely upto the client on project planning and client interviews.

What should be mentioned in a design brief?
Mostly, the design briefs has to include the objective and goals that has to be achieved and also the deadlines or contractual or billing issues. So you have to include some of the things such as:

Site’s goals and objectives
Site’s overview
Entire description of the objectives and goals of the site
If there is a redesign, you have to have the description of the objectives and goals of the project.

Site Audience
The typical description of the audiences that they are trying to attract towards them
Age
Gender
Employment
Interests

Where the site will be used?
At home with slow connection or high connection
In the office
On PDA’s or on the cell phones
On a CDROM
Over a kiosk
Scope of the project
Type of technology that will be required for the project:
Redesign or full site build
HTML development
Ajax development or JavaScript
CSS development
ColdFusion, PHP or ASP
In which language the CGIs are written?
Ecommerce storefront
Flash
Content type of both the designer and the client
Text
Graphics: logos, animation, icons, photos and illustrations
Video
Sound
Localization of above mentioned
Design aspects
Creative design
Conceptual design
Typography
Layout
Colours

Details of the contract
It has to include the project’s details and also include:
Pricing: be specific or general for the need that will be required by the client and make sure the client understands for what he is paying for
Schedule: include the dates of content due and approval dates. Also you have to include the deadline dates as well.
Billing: the date for the invoices and also when the late fees will be assessed.
Copyright: who will own the entire copyright of any design, content etc?

]]> http://www.html.co.uk/160/creating-a-design-brief-along-with-the-design-contract.html/feed 0 http://www.html.co.uk/158/help-for-writing-a-great-web-design-contract.html http://www.html.co.uk/158/help-for-writing-a-great-web-design-contract.html#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 15:17:19 +0000 Editor http://www.html.co.uk/?p=158 Description of the work or scope of the work
Initially, most of the people think that they will know this automatically, but as go on with the work, you will come to know that most of the clients do not have any idea. Clients think that they know what they need but in reality, they do not have most of the clues. The idea is not to plan the entire course of the work, but to acknowledge that the time that you’re working on is very much valuable and the client have to meet the expenses of the plan that you will be drawing up. Whether or not you have to make your client agree to that and you have to draw up the work contract. The contract should include the scope of the work that you’re doing. The contract should include

Number of pages that has to be built
Number of scripts or the CGIs or the programs that has to be built
Number of graphics that has to be created
Total amount of content that has to be written
The margin of error that has occurred
Make sure that the client agrees to the contract and then make the move towards the work that has to be done.

Project dates
A contract which is good includes dates. It will be pretty tempting to leave this upto the client and all of the clients will want the site to be fixed. Most of the clients will forget about the dates as they will get busy with other works. So you have to include the dates. Some of the dates that has to be included are
Due date of the signed contract
Starting date of the work
Designs or the plans completed
Approval of the designs and plans by the client
Due dates of the client
Designer milestone releases
Dates of invoices
Competition date of the site
Due dates of the clients review
Updates date
Client’s final review
Launching date

Payment
You should not only include the project’s cost but also how much have to be invoiced. You have to take some percent of the project cost as the deposit and will thus ensure that the client is pretty serious about the work and will definitely give you some amount of cash for the work to move ahead.

Revisions
Mostly, clients will always want to make some of the changes in the project. So if you include number of revisions in your contract, you will not be in the trouble of sticking in to the never ending work of revising the work.

Source files and copyright
The contract that you have done should include and mainly specify the entire copyright of the content, graphics, designs, programs and the multimedia and also you have to specify of who owns the rights of source files. The source files include
Images
Multimedia
Scripts and programs
Design of the website
Content written for the site

Credits
Along with the files rights, you should also specify the on how you will be credited for that wok that you have done. So you have to mainly specify
Where will be the credit displayed?
How the credit will be done
For what things you will be credited

This Design Brief is nothing but a document that is written to describe the features and scopes of a particular project. This Design Brief is jointly developed by both the web designer and the client.

This design brief is not planned to be just a description of the genuine design. In words we can tell that the look and feel is not accurately defined in a particular Design Brief but instead a design brief will outline the objectives and goals of that website and also provides details on how they will be able to meet. Most of the Design Briefs are used in Conjunction along with a contract in order to define the terms of a web design profession.

Why to build a design brief?

This Design Briefs must be the part of that particular planning stage of any big design process. These Design brief are useful for both the client and designer because they provide a roadmap for both of theirs objectives and goals of their site. Designers will know on what to be focused on and also clients will know on what has to be achieved.

Where and when to start building a Design Brief

If you are a freelance web designer, now you will be the instigator of any Design Brief. It is also possible that even client will have lot better ideas of what he wants from their website beyond on “How to Make Money Online” or else “Get More Page Views” but most of the clients do not have so. So it is entirely up to the client’s interviews and also the project planning. So do the client interview in an efficient way.

What the matter should be there in a Design Brief?

All the Design briefs should contain information regarding on what is the project objectives and goals and as well as the deadlines and also the billing or else the contractual issues.

Some of the Site objectives and goals

Overview of the website as a total thing
Descriptions of the objective and goal
Explanation of the objectives and goals and of the project

Website’s audience
An explanation of the typical members they are trying to draw.
Gender
Age
Employment
Interests
Where should be the site particularly is used:
At home over slow connection or high speed connection
At an office
On PDA’s or cell phones
On a CDROM or over a kiosk

Scope of the project
The technology required for the project:
Redesign or full site build?
Development of HTML
Development of Ajax or JavaScript
Development of CSS
ColdFusion, ASP, PHP or any other server related technology
Flash
Ecommerce storefront
Content of both the clients and the designer
Text