Best 10 Design Brief Templates for Product Strategists

A Design Brief serves as a foundational document that outlines a design project's goals, scope, and constraints, helping product strategists ensure that all design activities align with the project's overarching objectives. It facilitates clear communication between stakeholders and designers, laying the groundwork for successful product strategies. A well-structured Design Brief template in Notion can streamline this process, making it simpler for teams to articulate their needs and expectations, and ensuring that projects kick off with clarity and purpose.

Before diving into creating your own Design Brief template, it's wise to explore some existing templates to make the process smoother.

What Should Design Brief Templates Include?

Choosing the right Design Brief Template is crucial for streamlining your project's initial phases and ensuring all stakeholders are aligned. Here are key components to look for in a Notion template:

  1. Project Objectives: Clearly defined goals and outcomes should be a central feature, guiding the project's direction and expectations.

  2. Scope of Work: This includes detailed descriptions of the tasks and deliverables, helping to manage scope creep and align expectations.

  3. Timeline: A comprehensive timeline with milestones and deadlines ensures that the project stays on track.

  4. Budget: Outlining the budget helps in tracking costs and resource allocation, making financial oversight straightforward.

Selecting a template with these components will help you maintain clarity and efficiency throughout your project's lifecycle, making it easier to achieve your strategic goals.

What Should Design Brief Templates Avoid?

Choosing the right design brief template is crucial for streamlining your project's initiation phase. However, certain elements can complicate or derail this process. Here are three key components to steer clear of:

  1. Overly Complex Terminology: Avoid templates that use jargon or overly technical language. These can alienate team members who are not familiar with specific terms, leading to confusion.

  2. Excessive Detail: While detail is important, overly intricate templates can be overwhelming. Opt for simplicity to ensure that the focus remains on essential information.

  3. Rigid Structure: A template that doesn’t allow flexibility can hinder creativity. Choose one that encourages input and adaptation to suit specific project needs.

Selecting a template that avoids these pitfalls will facilitate a smoother, more effective planning process and help maintain focus on the strategic goals of your project.

1Creative Brief

A simple document to help you organize all requirements and information needed to enable smooth collaboration with agencies and freelancers.

A template preview for Creative Brief

2Product Design RFC

Introducing the "Product Design RFC" template β€” a comprehensive and collaborative template designed to streamline your product design process from ideation to execution. This template captures essential information, fosters communication, and provides a structured approach to drive your design project forward.

A template preview for Product Design RFC

3Design Brief

A simple document to help you organize all requirements and information needed for effective execution of design projects.

A template preview for Design Brief

4Brand Design Brief

Ugh, tired of design drafts that miss the mark?

You know, the ones that look kinda pretty, but don't really connect with your audience or boost your sales?

Been there, done that. That's why I created this super-simple Brand Design Brief Template.

Think of it as your magic wand for crafting a brand that:
Turns heads with stunning visuals that capture your unique vibe.
Speaks to your ideal customers like they're old friends.
Crushes the competition by standing out from the crowd.
Drives real business results, not just likes and shares.

No more design drama, Just a clear roadmap that helps you and your designer:
Understand your target audience inside-out. Who are they? What makes them tick?
Unleash your creative vision. Playful? Sleek? You name it! ✨
Spot your competitive edge. What are they doing right (and wrong)?
Fuel your designer's imagination. Share visual inspo to spark their creativity.
Align design with your business goals. Let's make it happen!

A template preview for Brand Design Brief

5UX/UI Design Project Brief

Looking for a skilled UX/UI designer? Check out this comprehensive UX/UI Design Project Brief Notion template! The Overview section provides background information about your expertise, while the "Why me" section highlights your unique value proposition. The Services section outlines the design offerings to cater to all client needs. Budget and timeline management are made easy with dedicated tables. Finally, the Terms and Conditions section ensures a productive collaboration. Start your UX/UI design project with confidence using this professional Notion template. Contact the client today to kickstart your project!

A template preview for UX/UI Design Project Brief

6Design spec

Use this rich design spec to research, plan, and develop new product features or any other type of project.

This template includes sections for research and inspiration links (inserted as web bookmarks), documenting why and how you're building the feature, requirements, and how you'll measure success. It also showcases how you can use embeds from Figma, Framer, Invision, or Github to display mocks and prototypes.

A template preview for Design spec

7Content design workflow

An end-to-end process guide with tips, a checklist and mindset prompts. It helps define project scope, the writing process and focuses on the most important parts of the UX content design process.

Use this template to save time, reduce writers block, and help apply a standardized process in a writing team.

A template preview for Content design workflow

8Notion Design Brief

Are you tired of spending endless hours on product design projects that seem to go nowhere?

Imagine having a secret weapon πŸͺ„ to streamline your design process and create successful products every time.

Why this Notion design brief template?

A single page, well organized, and has enough detail to guide you to write down your brief in minutes!

😎 Save time

πŸš€ Increase productivity

πŸ’° Deliver exceptional results

πŸ”Ž Include detailed guide and hints

πŸ’Ž Ultimate template for digital product design projects

πŸ‘‹ Say goodbye to frustration and hello to success with our game-changing design brief template!

A template preview for Notion Design Brief

9Design Doc Template

A simple notion template to help you keep your product design projects documented.

The template is perfect for product designers, UX designers, or product managers.

A template preview for Design Doc Template

10Design Accessibility Checklist

This template has been designed to guide product designers through the process of creating products that are accessible to users with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities. This template covers a range of considerations that should be taken into account throughout the design process, including typography and color choices, navigation and structure, buttons and links, and forms and controls. Each section includes a list of best practices and Success Criteria from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), making it easy to create products that meet industry standards for accessibility.

A template preview for Design Accessibility Checklist

Closing Thoughts

Utilizing these templates streamlines the brainstorming process, ensuring that all critical elements are covered efficiently. This structured approach saves time and enhances team alignment.

By adopting these templates, you can elevate your product strategy, leading to more innovative and successful outcomes. Don't hesitate to implement them into your workflow to see immediate improvements.

What is a Mood Board?

A mood board is a visual tool that communicates the general aesthetic, style, and feel of a project to align stakeholders and guide the creative process.

What is a Scope Creep?

Scope creep refers to the gradual expansion of features and functionality in a project beyond its original objectives, often leading to delays and budget overruns.

What is a Stakeholder Map?

A stakeholder map is a visual diagram that identifies and categorizes the groups or individuals that have a vested interest in the outcome of a project, crucial for strategic planning in design briefs.

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