Design Brief
Developing a Design Brief
For a more thorough break down in developing your design brief, check out Developing a Design Brief
Your design brief establishes clear expectations about the system you will be developing. It should clearly explain the problem, the purpose of the system, the expectations, the limits, and how success will be measured.
In business, generally a design brief would be presented to the design team at the commencement of a project.
Your design brief should be created after you have clearly identified the problem you want to solve or the opportunity you want to seize, what the subsystems should be, and what the key components of the system are.
Approach writing a design brief like you are providing a single document to hand to another student to create the project that you are planning. The design brief is a document that goes between the thinkers and planners to the maker.
Overview
It outlines all of the expectations of the project. These could include:
- What the key objective is—why is this system needed?
- Who the intended users are and how this system affects them
- Constraints and Considerations
- Ethical Considerations
- Factors that will influence the design
- Context of use—where and when will it be used?
- A timeline
- Requirements—what should it do (and not do)
- Measures of success—how will you be able to tell the system was successful?
- Risks and safety considerations
- What will be produced by the end of the project
Sections of a Design Brief
There is no hard and fast rule as to what a design brief should include, but potential sections you could include in your design brief are:
- Problem/Need/Opportunity
- A clear statement of the problem being addressed and why it matters.
- Context
- Background information about the situation, environment, or community the system is designed for.
- Factors Influencing Creation and Use
- Covering function, user needs, materials and components, environment of use, safety, cost, and waste/energy.
- Project Overview
- Who the system is designed for and what their needs are.
- What the system will and won't do — defining its boundaries.
- Factors influencing the design
- Considerations — sustainability, ethical design, user needs, inclusivity, environmental impact, etc.
- Constraints that must be observed — budget, materials, size, time, voltage restrictions, safety regulations, etc.
- Success indicators
- How you will judge whether the final system successfully responds to the design brief, including measurable performance parameters/targets the system must meet (e.g. speed, power output, response time).
You do not have to know exactly how you will produce the system. You do not have to know all of the components or materials you will produce, you just need the idea.
There is no set length required for a design brief, but 1-2 pages would be sufficient. It should not be so long-winded that you are repeating your entire folio, but should clarify your folio to that point.
You could think of it like a conclusion or summary of your research to this point, and setting goals for what comes next.