A clear design brief saves time, reduces revisions, and gets you graphics you actually love. Here is exactly what to include, with real examples for church teams.
If you have ever sent a design request and received something that missed the mark, the brief is usually where things went sideways. Not because anyone did anything wrong, but because design without context is guesswork. A good brief removes the guesswork and gives your designer everything they need to serve you well on the first attempt.
This guide walks you through what belongs in a great brief, with practical examples written for church communications teams.
Church staff are busy. You may be juggling Sunday announcements, a sermon series launch, volunteer coordination, and a dozen other things. Writing a detailed brief feels like extra work, but it actually saves time. A vague request leads to revision rounds. A clear brief gets you closer to done on day one.
Think of the brief as a conversation in writing. You are giving your designer the context they need to make good creative decisions on your behalf.
Start with a simple label so everyone knows what they are working on. Include the format you need, such as a sermon series graphic, a social post, a bulletin cover, or an event flyer.
Example: "Easter Sunday bulletin cover, 8.5x11 print-ready PDF"
Who will see this, and what do you want them to do or feel? A graphic for a women's Bible study and a graphic for a men's retreat serve different audiences and should feel different visually.
Example: "This is for our church lobby display and Instagram feed. We want first-time guests to feel welcome and curious, not overwhelmed."
List every word that must appear in the design. Do not leave your designer to guess the sermon title, the date, the speaker name, or the event details. Spelling errors in the brief become spelling errors in the design.
Example: "Series title: Firm Foundation. Week 3 of 6. Speaker: Pastor James Okafor. Sunday, September 14, 10am and 12pm."
Describe the look and feel you want, or share reference images. You do not need design vocabulary. Words like warm, modern, bold, peaceful, earthy, or clean go a long way. If you have found something you like online, drop in a link or attach a screenshot.
Example: "We are thinking stone textures, muted earth tones, and clean sans-serif fonts. Nothing too trendy. Something that could work for all ages."
Include your logo file, brand colors (hex codes if you have them), and any fonts you use regularly. If you do not have a formal brand guide, a past design you loved works as a reference point. Consistent branding builds trust with your congregation over time. If you want to learn more about building that consistency, our portfolio of church projects shows how a unified look develops across a full season of graphics.
Tell your designer exactly what file formats and sizes you need. Print and digital have different requirements, and a graphic sized for Instagram Stories will not work for a horizontal stage screen without adjustment.
Example: "We need a 1080x1080 social post, a 1920x1080 slide for our screens, and a print-ready 4x6 postcard at 300dpi."
Give the real deadline, not a padded one. If you are working with a service that offers 2-3 business day turnaround, count backward from your Sunday and submit accordingly. If you have a hard print deadline with a vendor, say so clearly.
Sending a brief with only a title and a vague description like "something that looks Easter-y" puts the full creative burden on your designer without the information they need. Similarly, sending copy that has not been proofread means corrections come later and slow everything down. Avoid submitting low-resolution logos or telling your designer to "pull it from the website." Export a clean file before you submit.
If you are producing sermon series graphics across multiple weeks, submit all the series details at once when possible. It gives your designer a complete picture and keeps the visual family consistent from week one to the finale.
A well-written brief does not need to be long. Two or three focused paragraphs, a copy block, and a list of specs is often enough. The goal is clarity, not length. Many church communications directors find it helpful to build a simple template they reuse each week, filling in the project-specific details each time.
At PixelPainters, every project submission goes through a structured intake process that walks you through exactly these details. The team includes designers with church staff backgrounds, so they understand the language of ministry and the pace of church life. If you are not sure whether a subscription model makes sense for your church's volume of design work, a free consultation is a good place to start the conversation without any pressure.
Good design starts with good communication. Write the brief you would want to receive, and you will almost always get the design you were hoping for.