Red Panda Espresso
So, you’ve got this great idea for a brand new café. This isn’t any old café. This café is unique. It is something no one else has done. The issue is, where do you start? How do you get someone to invest in your unique café? Well, you know, you should really start at the beginning. I’ve heard it’s a very good place to start. What you really need is a design brief. But, what exactly is a design brief. A design brief is a document that basically serves as an outline of the scope of your project. Your design brief may include your mission statement, offerings, personality of the café, your target audience, and of course your goals. Let’s discuss this using an example.
Mission Control…We Need A Statement
So for this example, we are going to be proposing a café based around red pandas, because let’s be honest they’re adorable. So the first thing we need is a mission statement. Your mission statement should describe who you are as a company and what you value. Your mission statement should tell people what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. The best mission statements do this in the reverse order, starting with why. For our café, titled Red Panda Espresso (totally not a rip off of a popular Chinese fast food brand), our mission statement goes something like this:
“Red Panda Espresso believes that the preservation of red pandas is important. Red Pandas are an endangered species, and we seek to aid in the preservation by offering housing within the shop, themed to the habitat of a red panda. This café will preserve red pandas by housing them and offering a donation/pseudo adoption program.”
This tells our investors why we do this (“believes that the preservation of red pandas is important”), how we do it (“offering housing within the shop”), and what we do (“preserve red pandas”). Just like that, the mission statement is done!
An OFFERING To The…Red Panda…Gods?
Alright! Next up is the offerings. No, not to the red panda gods! Offerings are what your business will have to offer. What services will it fulfill? Does it have coffee, milkshakes, burgers? Is it a design firm, law firm, etc.? Also, where is your business located? So, with our Red Panda Espresso example, we have a café that is themed to the environment of red pandas. That is primarily Chinese. So our offerings will go something along the lines of this:
“Red Panda Espresso is a coffee shop that is dedicated to the preservation of red pandas. It is not your average coffee shop, however. This coffee shop will not only serve coffee, but also Chinese food. Sit down and enjoy some coffee and Chinese food while all around you red pandas play (encased in glass of course). Have you ever wanted to pet or hold a red panda? Well today could be your lucky day. You are free to interact with our trained red pandas, under supervision from trained staff members. Coming soon to a major city near you!”
Here we have explained that our café will not only serve coffee, but also Chinese food. We say that one of the enticing parts is that you can see red pandas playing all around you and even can interact with some of them. Then, because they are endangered, we state that this won’t be a huge chain. It will only be in some major cities, due to the limited number of red pandas in existence. Step two: completed!
“I Got Personality”
The next thing that should be included in a design brief is personality. Now, I’m not talking about who you are as a person. I’m talking about the personality of your business. This deals with the atmosphere of your business. Is it serious, fun, silly, etc.? For Red Panda Espresso, there are five traits I would use to describe the personality:
- Fun
- Playful
- Bold
- Welcoming
- Energetic
These are the key traits of Red Panda Espresso. These tell you what the atmosphere will be like. Red pandas, in my opinion, are adorable and playful. To me, watching them play is fun. We want people to feel welcomed when they come in and feel energized (not just through the coffee). Three steps down, two to go!
Target (Audience) Acquired
Audience is pretty self explanatory. This deals with who is your target audience. Is it millennials, adults, kids, etc.? There are three audiences we are trying to appeal to for Red Panda Espresso:
- Families
- Animal Lovers
- Tourists
Red Panda Espresso is kind of pseudo zoo, except there’s only red pandas, and you can interact with some of them. So we want to target families looking for something fun to do and a place to eat. As an establishment dedicated to the preservation of red pandas, we also want to target people who love animals. We want them to come in and feel like they can help an animal through their purchases and/or through the donation/pseudo adoption program. Finally, as with families, we also want to target tourists who are looking for something fun to do as well as a place to eat. Zoos are a popular tourist stop and Red Panda Espresso is like a zoo but just with red pandas. On to the last step!
GOAAAAAAAAAAL(s)
Goals are not necessarily what you think they are. Goals are not “this is what we want to happen because of the business opening.” Rather, these are what we need in order for the business to succeed. That could be things like a logo, building, website, etc. For Red Panda Espresso we need three things, well other than the building:
- Logo
- Website
- App
We need to create a logo so that our café can be made more recognizable and to help with advertising. Our logo needs to stand out from other coffee shops’ logos. Once that happens we will know our logo is successful. As for the website, we need a website to give information about our cafe, as well as to run our pseudo adoption program sign up. It will be successful when the amount of phone calls and in-store questions received is reduced. The app is a little more complex. We need an app for the pseudo adoption program. When someone signs up for the program, they can download the app and sign in to view daily pictures and information about the status of their red panda. This allows them access to and a close connection with their red panda. When that happens it will be successful. Finally, all steps completed. Now time to put it all together.
Overview:
So, in review, a design brief is a document that outlines the overall scope of your design. There are five steps involved:
- Mission Statement
- Offerings
- Personality
- Audience
- Goals
Now you just have to compile all this information into a document that can be presented to potential investors or clients. It could look something like this:
Mission Statement:
Red Panda Espresso believes that the preservation of red pandas is important. Red Pandas are an endangered species, and we seek to aid in the preservation by offering housing within the shop, themed to the habitat of a red panda. This café will preserve red pandas by housing them and offering a donation/pseudo adoption program.
Offerings:
Red Panda Espresso is a coffee shop that is dedicated to the preservation of red pandas. It is not your average coffee shop, however. This coffee shop will not only serve coffee, but also Chinese food. Sit down and enjoy some coffee and Chinese food while all around you red pandas play (encased in glass of course). Have you ever wanted to pet or hold a red panda? Well today could be your lucky day. You are free to interact with our trained red pandas, under supervision from trained staff members. Coming soon to a major city near you!
Personality:
- Fun
- Playful
- Bold
- Welcoming
- Energetic
Audience:
- Families — Red Panda Espresso is kind of pseudo zoo, except there’s only red pandas, and you can interact with some of them. So we want to target families looking for something fun to do and a place to eat.
- Animal Lovers — As an establishment dedicated to the preservation of red pandas, we also want to target people who love animals. We want them to come in and feel like they can help an animal through their purchases and/or through the donation/pseudo adoption program.
- Tourists — As with families, we also want to target tourists who are looking for something fun to do as well as a place to eat. Zoos are a popular tourist stop and Red Panda Espresso is like a zoo but just with red pandas.
Goals:
- Logo — We need to create a logo so that our café can be made more recognizable and to help with advertising. Our logo needs to stand out from other coffee shops’ logos. Once that happens we will know our logo is successful.
- Website — We need a website to give information about our cafe, as well as to run our pseudo adoption program sign up. It will be successful when the amount of phone calls and in-store questions received is reduced.
- App — We need an app for the pseudo adoption program. When someone signs up for the program, they can download the app and sign in to view daily pictures and information about the status of their red panda. This allows them access to and a close connection with their red panda. When that happens it will be successful.
Now you’re ready to pitch your idea to investors and/or clients!
