How to write a logo brief a designer can actually use
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The short answer: a good logo brief fits on one page and answers six questions: who you are, who you serve, how you want to feel, what you like, what you dislike, and where the logo will appear.
What should a logo brief include?
1. What is the exact name?
Write it exactly as it should appear, with capitals, spacing and any tagline. Note whether the tagline must be part of the logo or can sit separately.
2. Who is your customer?
One sentence. For example: “Women aged 25 to 40 who buy handmade candles as gifts.” This tells the designer which visual language your customer trusts.
3. Which three words describe the feeling?
Pick three adjectives and stop. “Calm, natural, premium” leads somewhere specific. “Modern, fun, professional, bold, elegant” leads nowhere.
4. What do you like?
Attach three to five logos you like, from any industry, with one line on what you like about each: the font, the simplicity, the color.
5. What do you dislike?
One or two examples of what you do not want, and colors to avoid. This saves a full revision round.
6. Where will the logo appear?
List every use: website header, Etsy shop banner, social avatar, product labels, signage, embroidery. A logo that must work as a tiny round avatar or a single-color stamp needs a simpler shape.
What does a finished brief look like?
Name: Harbor & Wick (tagline “Small-batch candles” is optional) Customer: Gift buyers, mostly women 25 to 40, shopping on Etsy and Instagram Feeling: calm, coastal, premium Likes: thin serif wordmarks, lots of white space, muted blue and sand colors Dislikes: cartoon flames, bright orange, script fonts that are hard to read Uses: Etsy banner and avatar, round jar label, Instagram, a stamp for tissue paper
What should you do before you send it?
Run through the “before you hire” section of the free branding checklist. Then send the brief to two or three designers by message and compare their replies, as described in how to hire a logo designer on Fiverr.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a logo brief be?
One page is enough. Six short answers give a designer what they need without burying the important details.
Should I include logos from other industries?
Yes. Three to five logos you like, from any industry, each with one line on what you like about it, show a designer your taste faster than adjectives alone.
What if I don't know what style I want?
Start with your three feeling words and the list of places the logo will appear. Those two answers narrow the style a lot, and our minimalist logo ideas guide shows five common directions.