Whether you’re designing a four page newsletter or a 200 page book, a clear design brief should be established beforehand. Not only will give the creative team direction and the foundations to build on, but it also gets you thinking about what you want or don’t want in the magazine, and will help eliminate confusion throughout the design process.

Key points to consider are:

• Who is the target market? What are their main areas of interest?
• The images or established graphic elements that must be included
• Highlight brief examples of the style or overall look you are aiming to achieve
• Highlight what not to do: examples of what the design shouldn’t include and styles to avoid
• Special features: Specific fonts which must be used, for example
• Using material with an existing design can also be helpful

The more information you have from the outset, the better the end product will be – this way you can hopefully hit the nail on the head, on the first or second attempt, and produce a publication that everyone will be happy with.