Brand Identity Brief

A complete brand identity brief that gives designers and agencies a clear creative direction without micromanaging the execution.

Best For

•A startup founder preparing to hire a freelance designer sends this brief so pitches come back aligned instead of three unrelated directions.
•An in-house marketing lead uses it to align stakeholders on brand personality before a rebrand kicks off, cutting revision rounds with the agency.
•A design agency account manager uses it as an intake document to run client kickoff calls with structured questions instead of an open-ended chat.

Prompt Template

Create a comprehensive brand identity brief for [BRAND_NAME], a [COMPANY_DESCRIPTION]. The brief will guide a designer or agency building the brand's visual identity from scratch. Include the following sections: (1) Brand positioning, core value proposition in one sentence and the brand's position relative to competitors: [COMPETITORS], (2) Brand personality, 4–5 personality traits written as "We are [X] but not [Y]" to define the character with nuance, (3) Target audience, primary persona summary: [PERSONA_DESCRIPTION], (4) Visual direction, describe the desired aesthetic using 3 reference brand examples and explain what to borrow from each (not copy), (5) Logo direction, describe the mark type (wordmark, lettermark, icon + wordmark), mood, and any must-avoid directions, (6) Color direction, 2–3 adjectives that describe the color mood and any colors that must be avoided, (7) Typography direction, heading personality and body copy readability needs, (8) Deliverables required, list all assets needed: [DELIVERABLES_LIST]. Keep the total brief under 800 words.

Pro Tip

Fill in the three reference brand examples with specifics like 'the confidence of Nike's typography, not its logo' so the designer borrows a trait rather than copying a look.

Example Output

A sample of what this prompt produces once you fill in the placeholders.

Brand positioning: Fieldnote is the field-notes app for tradespeople who need job records that hold up in a dispute, not another generic productivity tool. Personality: 'We are direct but not blunt,' 'We are rugged but not rough.' Visual direction references Carhartt's material honesty, Basecamp's plainspoken UI, and Patagonia's restrained color use.