Now you gather what you've arrived at into a single document: your brand brief. It's the small producer's version of what agencies call a brand platform – two pages, in your own words, answering who you are, for whom, and how it should feel.
The brief does two jobs. It keeps you consistent – the label, the website and the posts start pulling in the same direction. And it's your most important tool if you bring in help: the person you eventually turn to is a brand designer – someone experienced in building a complete identity (name, tone, colour, form, feeling), not just drawing the graphics. A brand designer with a good brief delivers right on the first attempt; one without guesses on your money. More on finding the right person in step 5.
This is your job – not the designer's
The most important decisions behind the brief can't be made by any designer, because they are about who you are. And the best part: much of it is already done.
You bring with you from step 1:
- The golden circle – your why, how and what, in your own words.
- Who you exist for – your most important customer, and the customer segments if you've done the segment cards in Marketing step 1.
In this step you add:
- The core values and principles – what you stand for, what you never compromise on, and what you do not want to be.
- The story and the tone – your history and how you sound.
- The inspiration – brands, colours and images that feel right, and things that feel wrong.
Do the filling-in as a workshop with the team: book an hour or two, ideally with everyone who works in the business. You won't answer the same – and that conversation is half the value. Every hour you spend here is money saved later: a brand designer who gets a complete foundation doesn't guess at your expense, and you avoid paying for round after round of revisions.
What goes in
- The foundation. Your why, how, what – and your who – from step 1. Already filled in on page 1 of the worksheet.
- The core values. 3–4 words describing how you want to be perceived and how you relate to your customers. They should last for years – even as you grow and change your range.
- Who you exist for. Your most important customer segments – if you've done the segment cards in Marketing step 1, this is already done.
- The story and the tone. Your history in five sentences (the place, the hands, why you started) and how you sound (warm? direct? a little humour?).
- The visual – as inspiration, not design. You're not drawing a logo here. But collect: 3 brands you like and why, colours and styles that feel right, photos that feel like you – and just as important: what you do not want to be (e.g. "not cutesy-rustic", "not clinical").
- The practical. The name (and that the domain is free – check right away) and any product names.
How to do it
Start from what you arrived at in the workshop and fill in the worksheet in pencil first. Let it rest a week, read again and strike everything that sounds like someone else's words. What remains is you.
The test: read the brief aloud and swap your name for your nearest competitor's. Does the text still work? Then it's too generic – sharpen it until it can only be about you.
When you're done: one document that steers everything
What you should have in hand: a filled-in brand brief – the foundation and your who, the core values, the story, the tone, the visual inspiration and the practical. Keep it where you'll find it, and read it before you make anything new for the world.
Do this next
Fill in the brief and do the read-aloud test. Next step: Dare to stand out – choose your place in the market and your distinctive assets, with the brief as your compass.