App Design Brief | Guide + Template

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An app design brief is essential to any designer's toolkit since it lays a firm groundwork for the project you're working on and ensures that it gets off to a productive beginning. The preparation will take some of your time but considering all of the headaches it will save you in the future, it will be time well spent. Learn to write one in this guide or use our proven template by clicking the button below!

The process of accurately determining what a client envisions for their mobile app can be a slippery slope. As a designer, one of your primary goals is to satisfy the customer to the best of your skills while also meeting the end user’s needs.

But having good design abilities alone is not enough to ensure the success of a project to build a mobile app (or any other design project, for that matter).

What is an App Brief?

To start with the right foot, the app design project should begin with creating an app design brief: a concise document outlining the most important parts of the project. A properly written app brief will detail the primary goals, as well as the timelines, finances, and general requirements for the application.

Think of it as a milestone that establishes the overall strategic direction of the project as well as the fundamental parameters for the team of designers.

People frequently find that preparing an app design brief is a difficult or perplexing thing to do. However, the HolaBrief team is very familiar with building briefs, so we are aware of the potential issues that can appear along the way.

It is possible for the designers and their clients to have misunderstandings with one another if the brief is inconsistent. As a direct consequence of this, there will be undefined needs, which may result in extended periods of labor, missed deadlines, or other types of roadblocks during the design process.

Since every app design and UI project is unique, the briefs ought to be crafted with consideration given their needs. Nevertheless, there are a few junctures that should be taken into consideration.

Benefits of implementing an Application Design Creative Brief?

A mobile app brief is a thought starter; it functions as a springboard to improve the idea and materialize it into a powerful product. When the appropriate amount of time and effort is invested in the creation of a comprehensive mobile app requirement brief, the foundation is laid for a product that satisfies the needs of your target audience, helps solve problems, and contributes to the accomplishment of the goals that have been established.

We recommend that you develop a detailed application design brief to ensure that you do not overlook any essential ideas that are important to your project. This guarantees that you won't overlook any requirements or standards and gives your technological partner sufficient time to evaluate your thoughts and necessities.

A mobile or web app design brief provides a road map for the creation of an application by outlining all the requirements that need to be met at each stage of the development process. The primary purpose of developing a mobile app brief is to increase the likelihood that you will end up with the product that you want. Having a mobile app design brief template will ensure that you and your technology partner are working from the same playbook throughout the development process.

Customize our template for free by creating a HolaBrief account!

How to write an App Brief? A tested outline

A well-written app design brief acts much like a summary of your project proposal. It considers every conceivable aspect and makes it possible for the design team to comprehend your undertaking. Because we do not want you to miss out on anything, we have defined all of the important stages of producing an exceptional brief for creating an app brief.

1) Project Overview

In this part of the brief, you should provide or request a description of the application while also providing an overview of what is required and what is optional.

Make sure that you cover what the app is about as well as what its vision is for the app. Don’t forget to add details that your designer needs to know, such as Do's and Don'ts, the company’s history and previous efforts if there were any.

2) Objective

Describe the issue that you are attempting to solve with your collaborative technology partner. An app design business must know the project’s goals in order to create an appropriate product. You should be able to express the what (the problem it solves), how, and why of everything in a clear and concise manner. When the objective is articulated in the app design brief, it makes it much simpler for the design partner to achieve their goals.

If you want to create an app that gives its users a great experience and motivates them to take action, you have to make sure that you communicate every last detail about the people you are trying to reach. Describe the target audience for your app. When designing a successful app, it is helpful to have an understanding of both the user group and the target audience, as well as to pay attention to the demands and interests of both groups.

3) Product Description and Features

Because the functionality of your app is one of the factors that will determine the outcome of your product, it is in your best interest to concentrate on the essential functionality. Describe how the functionality of your software helps users overcome the challenges they face.

Have a conversation with your technology partner about the scope of options for bespoke features. In order to rapidly construct an MVP, you should only include the functionality that is required.

4) Visual Direction

It is equally crucial to determine how the user will interact with the app as it is to decide how the app will appear and feel. Not only is it essential for the designer to outline the design process and explain how they want their ideas to become a reality, but it is also essential for the success of the app that they are designing.

Create a brief that details the functional needs of the mobile application while also taking into account the user experience as a whole. During the process of developing a template for a mobile app brief, include references for existing apps that are congruent with your goal.

It is crucial that all of the sketches, wireframes and user interfaces for an app be built, keeping in mind the target demographic. This is because the visual attractiveness of an app checks off many boxes for the users. You can use our interactive Moodbards to help you with this section.

5) Milestones and Deliverables

The last thing that you need to include in the brief is an estimate of the budget, as well as a schedule that has been assigned to the project. When the cost of designing a mobile app is broken down into its component parts, you will discover that the scope of the job significantly impacts the overall cost of app development.

As a result, before developing a fully functional product, you should focus most on locating the ideal product-market fit. Rather than beginning with the creation of a sophisticated product, it is best to begin with, an MVP. Along with providing your development partner with a timetable, outlining the financial resources you can devote to the project is a criterion that must be met.

Build and Download your Application Design Brief Sample

Now, you are in an excellent position to write your application design creative brief after reading this article, regardless of the kind of project you are working on. What if, though, we told you that there is no need to begin from the very beginning?

We developed HolaBrief to become the industry standard for app design brief software. After doing hundreds of briefs, talking to dozens of agencies, and lots of trial and error, we've created the ultimate tool to create interactive, collaborative, and professionally-looking briefs.

You may give HolaBrief a try for FREE, build your brief, and then quickly email it off to your customer. That's all there is to it!

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