Part of Brand strategy
Brand identity and direction
We write the brief a designer can move forward with.
Afterwards a designer knows what to make, why, and how you recognise a good proposal. Not a moodboard with vague words. A brief with the choices already fixed.
What you get
One brief a designer can start from immediately, and a way to judge proposals without a taste debate.
What is a brand identity brief?
Brand identity and direction is the strategic brief a designer needs to make a visual identity that fits what a brand stands for. WIT.agency fixes four things for this: the assignment, the framework, the boundaries and how you judge it. WIT briefs and guides, WIT doesn't design. You get a document a designer or agency can start from, plus someone who stays at the table until the result is right.
It's also called a design brief. It differs from a visual identity: we determine what needs to happen and why, a designer determines what it looks like. And it differs from a brand strategy: that comes first, since without a position there's nothing to design against.
Marketing agency based in Belgium · Works locally, nationally and internationally · For businesses and for agencies
This is why they call us.
“Our design project is stuck in endless rounds.”
Whoever is still unsure after the fourth round isn't unsure about the design. The brief is the problem.
What we look at
Four parts. Zero taste debates.
Design projects rarely stall on craft. They stall because nobody can say why something is right or wrong. That's why we fix four things before anything gets drawn.
Assignment
What does this design need to do, and for whom?
Not a wish list of materials but one assignment in plain language. Whoever can't formulate that gets proposals going every direction.
Framework
Where does the form come from?
The position, story and tone from your brand strategy, translated into what that means visually. Without that framework, every proposal is worth the same.
Boundaries
What must it definitely not become?
Where you want to stay away from is just as useful as where you want to go, and a good deal easier to put into words.
Judgment
How do you recognise a good proposal?
We agree in advance what you judge by. That turns the meeting from a taste conversation into a test, and saves two rounds.
What it comes down to
From taste to judgment.
What's there now
Modern, professional, with a fresh feel. Not too dull but not too wild either.
Any designer can make something from this, and nobody can say afterward whether it's right.
What's there afterwards
The identity has to work on a job site, on a phone and on a three-metre trade show stand. It can feel technical but never cold.
Three sentences a designer can move forward with. That's what the Assignment and Boundaries parts deliver.
Illustrative example, not from an actual client.
The deliverable
Here's what it looks like when it's done.
One brief a designer understands immediately, plus our presence until the result is there.
- 01The assignment in plain language, with what the design needs to do
- 02The framework: what your position means visually
- 03The boundaries, with examples of what it must not become
- 04The checklist you judge proposals against
- 05Everywhere the design needs to work, from screen to trade show stand
How it usually goes
A fixed way of working. No fixed package.
This is the usual sequence. Where we go deep and where we keep it short gets decided during intake.
Intake
We ask the questions. Where this needs to work, what already exists, and where the previous attempt got stuck.
at the table
Translation
We translate your position and tone into what that means visually, and gather examples of what fits and what doesn't.
review
Brief
We go through the brief until you could defend it yourself to a designer.
at the table
Guidance
We sit at the table for the presentations and test every proposal against the brief instead of the taste of the room.
decide
Where it varies
If your brand strategy is already set, step two is short. No designer yet? We propose one that fits the assignment.
Where it never varies
We never design ourselves. Because we don't design, we can be sharp about the work of whoever does.
What it costs
No rate card. One number.
A brief for a logo and a basic style is a different job than one for a brand portfolio that also needs to line up internally. That's why there's no fixed price tag.
What there is: once the approach is set, the number is fixed. No hourly billing, no extra costs halfway through.
What determines the scope
What needs designing.
A basic identity, or also packaging, signage, a webshop and a trade show stand.
How many brands exist.
One brand, or a portfolio where the internal relationship also needs to hold up.
What already exists.
A sharp brand strategy, or a direction we need to fix first.
How long we stay involved.
Just the brief, or also guidance until the result is approved.
Honestly
Sometimes you need something else.
You don't yet know what your brand stands for.
Look at Brand strategyYou need someone to make the design.
Then we propose a designer that fits your assignmentYou have an identity but it's used differently everywhere.
Look at Communication auditYou're looking for a report to justify a decision that's already made.
Then we're not the right fitClient quote coming.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before they start.
What does a brand identity brief cost?
There's no fixed rate, because scope varies by assignment. Price depends on what needs designing, the number of brands, existing strategy, and whether we also guide the process.
Why don't you design yourselves?
Because they're different trades, and because whoever sells both inevitably briefs toward their own offer. Because we don't design, we can be honest about the quality of the work someone else delivers.
Do you have designers in your network?
Yes, and we're glad to propose someone who fits the assignment. You're equally free to bring your own designer or agency.
How long does a brand identity brief take?
The brief itself comes together relatively fast once your brand strategy is set. Guidance runs for as long as the design project runs, and that depends on the designer.
What if we already have a designer who's stuck?
Then this is often exactly what's missing. Designers rarely get stuck on craft, they get stuck on an assignment too vague to test against.
Do you help judge the proposals?
Yes, that's half the value. We test every proposal against the brief instead of the taste of the meeting.
What's the difference with a brand strategy?
A brand strategy determines what you stand for and how you sound. A brand identity brief translates that into an assignment for a designer. The strategy comes first.
Is this useful for a website too?
Yes. A website is one of the places where an identity gets tested hardest, and most website projects stall on the same vagueness as design projects.
Agree first. Then draw.
The call where we work out whether a brand identity brief makes sense for you takes thirty minutes and costs nothing.
Book a 30-minute call