STUDIO DREWSKIIThe brief is the deliverable
Most bad design projects fail at the brief, not the design. Vague briefs produce generic work, then revisions, then resentment. Six questions answered honestly remove most of that cycle.
Send the answers in writing. Verbal briefs evaporate; a written one is a contract both sides can check against.
The six questions
1. Who exactly is the customer, and what do they believe today? 2. What is the single outcome this project must move? 3. Who are the three competitors the work must beat? 4. What three words must the brand never be? 5. What is the budget range, honestly? 6. What does done look like, in one sentence?
Question 4 is the one everyone skips, and it prevents the "make it more premium" spiral better than anything else.
What good answers look like
"Our customer is a seed-stage founder who tried DIY branding and got a logo they hate" beats "startups." "Done means a landing page that gets 30 booked calls a month" beats "a fresh look."
Specificity is not a constraint, it is the material. The designer spends the freedom you save them on the work that matters.