Putting together a design brief

The Web Designer Depot have put together a great article on how to create a good design brief.

As a designer, you need to capture what the company does - their niche market and USPs.  Importantly, you need to capture what they want out of the piece of design work.

Budget and time constraints - obviously.  This reminds me of the web triangle - Good Fast Cheap - pick two.

(Thanks to Katherine Writes for the image)

Getting all of this information out of the client (including their likes, dislikes, colour preferences etc etc) can take the form of a questionnaire, an interview, or providing the client with a guide on how to write a brief (if they've not done it before).