Blog › By the MyBriefy team · October 24, 2026
"Product brief" means different things to different teams. For a design studio it usually means the brief for designing a physical or digital product. For a marketing agency it usually means the brief for launching one. Both are useful; they just answer different questions.
This guide explains both, what each should include, and when to use which.
Product design brief: what to make
A product design brief agrees what the product needs to do and the constraints it has to work within, before design starts. It's about the problem, the user and the limits.
- Objective and problem. What the product is for and the problem it solves.
- Users. Who will use it and in what situation.
- Features. Must-haves, ranked, and nice-to-haves kept separate.
- Constraints. Budget, materials, technology, size, weight and manufacturing method.
- Look and feel. Style direction, brand guidelines and references.
- Usability and accessibility. Requirements users and regulations will expect.
- Regulations and safety. Any standards the product must meet in its markets.
- Deliverables, testing and milestones. Sketches, models, prototypes, test rounds and dates.
Free product design brief template. Questions on objective, users, features, constraints, materials, manufacturing, regulations, testing and deliverables.
See the templateProduct launch brief: how to bring it to market
A product launch brief agrees how a finished product will be introduced: who it's for, what the message is, which channels you'll use and what success looks like. It's a marketing document.
- The product and its main benefit, in the customer's words.
- Target audience and positioning against alternatives.
- Key message and proof points.
- Launch date and any fixed events.
- Channels and assets needed: website updates, email, social, PR, ads.
- Budget and success metrics.
- Stakeholders and approvals.
Free product launch brief template. Questions covering audience, positioning, messaging, launch timing, channels, budget and measurement.
See the templateWhich one do you need?
If the product doesn't exist yet and you're designing it, use a design brief. If it exists (or will soon) and you're marketing it, use a launch brief. If you're doing both, keep them as two briefs. They're usually approved by different people at different times, and mixing them makes both harder to agree.
Ask the client to rank the must-have features from most to least important. When time or budget runs short, you'll already know what to cut.
Getting the brief agreed
Whichever brief you use, send it before the kickoff, pre-fill what you know, and ask the client to approve the final version. In MyBriefy, clients fill in and approve briefs online, with comments next to each answer, so the agreed version is easy to find when questions come up later.
