The brief that changes everything: how to frame a design project before starting
Florent Dabernat
June 20, 2026
2 min read
In this article
On most projects that go wrong, the problem is almost never the creative phase. It comes from insufficient upfront framing, when no one took the time to check that everyone was actually aiming at the same goal.
Framing, the most underrated step
Framing has a bad reputation: it seems less exciting than the creative phase, less visible in a portfolio, less valued by a client eager to see concrete proposals. And yet it's the step that most directly determines the quality of the final result.
The questions that prevent bad surprises
Good framing answers precise questions before a design tool is even opened: what's the real business objective behind the request, not just the request as stated; who decides and approves, and on what criteria; what are the non-negotiable constraints, budget, timeline, technical; and above all, what does measurable success look like for this specific project.
A clear collaboration framework, set right at kickoff, structures the rest of the project into four simple parts: who does what, what objectives and deliverables, what schedule, what working rules. This framework looks basic, but it prevents most of the misunderstandings that cost time later.
The real cost of poor framing
A poorly framed project doesn't show right away: it moves forward, proposals are made, back-and-forth happens. The problem usually surfaces late, when the client rejects a direction that's technically well executed, because it ultimately didn't answer the real underlying need, never clarified at the start.
That invisible cost, in wasted time and frustration on both sides, almost always exceeds the time rigorous upfront framing would have taken. It's a simple calculation, but one that's easy to forget under the pressure to show visual results quickly.
Frequently asked questions
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How much time should be spent framing a design project?
- It depends on the project's scale, but generally budget 5 to 15% of the total time for rigorous framing, an investment that pays for itself many times over by avoiding costly iterations later.
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Should the client be involved in the entire framing process?
- Ideally yes, at least on the key decisions (objectives, success criteria, constraints). Framing done purely internally, with no explicit client validation, remains fragile against misunderstandings.
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How do you recognize that a project was poorly framed once it's underway?
- A common signal: client feedback that challenges fundamental choices late in the project, or repeated disagreements about what the project is supposed to achieve, rather than about its execution.