Top Creative Brief Templates for Designers

Creative Briefs serve as a foundational roadmap for designers, bridging the gap between creative vision and practical execution. By clearly outlining goals, deliverables, timelines, and budgets, they help ensure that all project stakeholders are aligned and that creative work meets its intended purpose. A Creative Brief template can simplify this process, providing structure and consistency to the briefing process, enabling designers to focus more on creativity and less on administrative details.

Before you start creating your own Creative Brief template, it might be helpful to explore these Creative Brief examples below to streamline the process.

What Should Creative Brief Templates Include?

Choosing the right Creative Brief template can streamline your project's initiation phase, ensuring all team members are aligned from the start. Here are key components to look for in a template:

Project Objectives: This section should clearly outline what the project aims to achieve, helping to guide the focus and scope of the work.
Target Audience: A good template will include a section to define who the project is intended for, which influences design decisions and messaging.
Deliverables: It's crucial that the template specifies what final outputs are expected, including formats and any milestone pieces.
Timeline: Ensure there's a timeline section that outlines key dates and phases of the project, aiding in time management and scheduling.

Selecting a comprehensive template can significantly affect the efficiency and success of your creative projects, making it a crucial step in the project management process.

What Should Creative Brief Templates Avoid?

Choosing the right creative brief template is crucial for streamlining your design process. However, not all templates are created equal. Here are a few elements you should steer clear of:

Overly Complex Language: Avoid templates that use complicated jargon or technical terms that might confuse stakeholders. Clarity is key in communication.
Excessive Detail: While detail is important, overly prescriptive templates can stifle creativity. Look for a balance that provides guidance but allows for creative freedom.
Rigid Structure: A template that doesn’t allow for flexibility can be a hindrance. Opt for one that adapts to different projects and client needs.

Remember, the best template is one that simplifies the creative process, not complicates it. Choose a template that enhances communication and fosters creativity.

1Small Design Agency Task Management

This template helps to organise incoming work from the client account management teams into a creative design team at a small design agency. Often there are competing creative deadlines across account management teams which can lead to miss management of task priorities. On this template both the management team and creative team have their own workspace which is connected together, providing a way to manage creative tasks.

A template preview for Small Design Agency Task Management

2Influencer brief

The influencer brief template is your go-to resource for streamlining collaborations with influencers. This template organizes all vital campaign information, such as campaign objectives, content examples, talking points, and deliverables. By providing a clear brief, your team can ensure influencers align with your brand's vision, ultimately leading to more impactful promotions.

3Brand 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!

4Content Deliverables

Devin Reed's Content Deliverables Template is designed to help you effectively plan and track your content deliverables for an entire quarter. This template lets you record the deliverable name, its status, project description, demand, target audience, lift, and ETA. The option to view by status, lift, or ETA gives you the flexibility to manage your content projects in a way that best suits your workflow. Simplify your content planning and stay ahead of your deliverables with this efficient Notion template.

A template preview for Content Deliverables

5Brand Foundations Framework

You can use this visual framework is a tool to help you structure your brand foundations and map out the hierarchy of your brand narrative and supporting messaging. Use it as a reference for a more robust messaging guide, or use it as a template and fill in each block with your actual mission statement, vision statement, and so on.

6Creative Brief

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

7Approving Campaigns/ Briefs with External Agencies

This template efficiently organizes campaign information, including goals, target audience, and key messaging. It features a table for tracking tasks and deliverables, an approvals checklist, and an integrated Calendly booking page for effortless scheduling of review sessions with agencies and internal teams.

A template preview for Approving Campaigns/ Briefs with External Agencies

8Design Brief

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

9Content brief

A major bottleneck in content programs is a lack of alignment on content expectations. This content brief template helps all stakeholders — SEOs, writers, and marketing leads — align on things like keyword requirements, brand & audience settings, content structure, visual elements, and more. A well-crafted content brief keeps projects on track, guards against frustrating rewrites, and keeps everyone happy.

10Creative brief

Creative projects have many moving parts. This creative brief lets you gather all the necessary information and materials in one place — goals, deliverables, timeline, budget, and more. Get aligned with internal or external teams to set expectations and move forward with clarity.

Closing Thoughts

Utilizing these templates streamlines the design process, ensuring clarity and efficiency from concept to completion. They help in maintaining consistency across projects and teams.

Start implementing these tools today to enhance your workflow and improve collaboration. Embrace the structured approach to unleash your creative potential and deliver outstanding results.

What is a Deliverables?

Deliverables refer to the final outputs or products that are to be delivered to a client at the end of a project, as specified in the creative brief.

What is a Scope Creep?

Scope creep is the term used to describe the gradual expansion of project objectives and deliverables without adjustments to time, resources, or budget.

What is a Mood Board?

A mood board is a visual tool that communicates the general aesthetic and feel of a project, often included in creative briefs to align the creative team's vision.