How to Write an AI Design Brief

Name the audience and decision

A freelance photographer preparing an invoice and a finance manager approving hundreds of invoices need different density and controls. Give the generator a primary audience, a frequent task and the information needed to make a decision. Avoid describing every future user in the first brief.

Describe success in observable terms: a reviewer can identify overdue invoices and open the right record, for example. That is easier to evaluate than a request for a premium experience.

Separate requirements from visual preferences

Requirements include mandatory fields, navigation destinations, supported screen widths and existing components. Preferences include type character, color restraint and image treatment. Mark what is flexible. If a brand system already exists, provide its actual tokens or approved examples rather than asking the model to infer them from a name.

For a reference, explain which relationship you want to borrow: compact rows, a strong editorial heading, or a persistent summary. A reference image alone leaves the generator guessing about behavior.

Use a brief you can review

This fictional example is intentionally small enough to evaluate in one session. Replace the sample requirements with those of your project.

Surface: invoice review page.
Audience: a studio owner reviewing ten to thirty invoices a week.
Main task: find an overdue invoice and inspect its details.
Content: client, invoice number, issue date, due date, amount and status.
Actions: filter by status, open details, return to the list.
States: loading, no invoices, no filter results, load failure.
Constraints: usable on a narrow phone; preserve the filter on return.
Direction: compact business typography; amounts easy to scan.
Out of scope: payment collection and accounting integrations.
Acceptance: identify the largest overdue amount without opening every invoice.

Ask for material missing information

A generator should ask when an unknown changes the flow: whether an invoice can be edited after approval, for example. It can choose a reversible default for minor spacing. If every brief triggers a long questionnaire, tighten the initial request and identify which decisions it may make.

Do not supply private customer records to make the brief realistic. Use synthetic examples that reproduce long names, large amounts and unusual states without exposing actual records.

Revise with evidence

Replace 'make it cleaner' with an observation and an intended result. For example: 'On the phone layout, the amount wraps below the status and is hard to compare. Keep the amount aligned with the client name, and move secondary dates into details.'

Keep the accepted brief as a short project note. If a later revision changes the main task, update the acceptance condition too. A prompt is useful when it makes the next review more precise, not because it is long.