What to Include in a Logo Design Brief (Lebanon Checklist)

A logo design brief should say what your business does, where the logo will appear, which files you need, your deadline and your budget. It should also fix, in writing and before you hire, how many concepts and revision rounds you get, show examples of the style you want, say who supplies fonts and licensed assets, and state who owns the final files and what is handed over. One page is enough. If a designer cannot answer each of these points, you do not yet have a scope you can compare between offers.

Responsible reviewer: Furrsati editorial team. Last updated: 4 October 2026.

What should a logo project include?

Use this as the checklist, then read the section behind each line. Every line is a decision you make before work starts, not a question for the designer to guess.

1. Files: the exact formats and versions you will receive.
2. Uses: every place the logo will appear, including the smallest and the hardest.
3. Concepts and revision rounds: how many of each, and what counts as a "round".
4. Deadline: dates for first concepts, your feedback and final files.
5. Budget: one figure, in one currency, and what it covers.
6. Style examples: what you like, what you do not, and why.
7. Fonts and licensed assets: who supplies them and whose licence covers the logo.
8. Ownership and handover: who owns the logo, and what files change hands at the end.

This guide covers the project scope. For the creative inputs (personality, colours, competitors), see how to brief a graphic designer for a logo.

Which files should the brief ask for?

Name the files in the brief, because "the logo" can mean one flattened JPG or a complete set. Decide against these:

• One master file in vector format (SVG, AI, EPS or a vector PDF). This is what a sign maker or printer needs, and it is the file that lets anyone edit the logo later.
• PNG with a transparent background for social media, WhatsApp Business and your website.
• Colour, black-only and white-only versions. The white one is for dark backgrounds, the black one for stamps and receipts.
• A horizontal, a stacked and an icon-only layout if the logo has a name next to a symbol.
• The colour codes and font names used in the final logo.

If the name must appear in Arabic and Latin letters, say so here and ask for both lockups as separate files. Getting an Arabic version of your logo explains what to check.

Where will the logo be used?

List every place, then write down the smallest size and the hardest background. A logo that works on a shop sign can fall apart as a round Instagram avatar.

Go through your own business: sign or door sticker, delivery bags or boxes, invoices and stamps, WhatsApp profile photo, uniforms, a printed menu, packaging labels. For each, note whether it is colour or one-colour, light or dark background, screen or print. That list tells the designer which versions to build, and tells you which files to demand in the previous section.

How many concepts and revision rounds do you get?

Put both numbers in the brief. Then define the terms, because the dispute usually starts there:

• A concept is a different direction (a different idea or look), not a recoloured copy of the same one.
• A revision round is one consolidated list of changes you send at once. Sending five separate messages over three days should count as one round, and the brief should say so.
• What happens after the last round is agreed too: extra rounds at an agreed price, or none.

For a sense of how scopes differ, Furrsati's price catalogue describes a simple logo as one direction with limited revisions, and a professional logo package as two to three concepts with revisions, vector files and variants. If you want several directions to choose from, write it in the brief rather than hoping.

What deadline should you write?

Ask for dates, not "as soon as possible". Three dates cover most projects: first concepts, your feedback, final files. Your own feedback date matters as much as the designer's, because a project that waits a week for your reply is late because of you.

Work backwards from the day the logo must exist. If it goes on a sign, a printed menu or packaging, the printer needs the final file before the print job, so the deadline you give the designer is earlier than the day you need the print. If you have an opening date, say so in the brief.

What budget should you put in the brief?

Write one figure in one currency (Furrsati's catalogue quotes design work in US dollars) and say what it covers: the number of concepts, the revision rounds and the files listed above. A budget without a scope cannot be compared with an offer.

For orientation, Furrsati's price catalogue lists a simple logo at roughly $50–$180 per project and a professional logo package at roughly $120–$400. Treat these as a guide, not a quote: the scope in your brief is what moves the price. How much a logo costs in Lebanon goes through what changes it.

How do you show the style you want?

Send two or three logos you like and one or two you do not, and write one sentence for each: what exactly you like or dislike (the letter shapes, the simplicity, the colours, the Arabic calligraphy). Examples without a sentence send the designer guessing.

Do not send a competitor's logo with "make it like this". It produces a copy you cannot use, and if your sign sits near theirs, it hurts you. Name what you want to borrow (a feeling, a level of detail) and what the designer must stay away from.

Who supplies the fonts and licensed assets?

Settle this in the brief, because it is a common surprise at handover:

• Fonts. Many fonts are free only for personal use, and licences can differ for print, web and apps. Ask the designer to name the font in the logo and confirm the licence covers a business logo, or to convert the lettering to custom shapes. If you must buy a licence, agree who buys it.
• Stock icons, illustrations and photos. Ask the designer to list any element they did not draw. A logo built from a stock symbol that others can also use is hard to protect.
• AI-generated elements. If the designer used an AI tool for any part, ask them to say which part, so you can decide whether you accept it.

Put the answer in writing: "No third-party element is used unless listed here."

Who owns the logo, and what do you get at handover?

Write ownership as a sentence, not an assumption: "On delivery of the final files, the client owns the logo and may use, edit and register it." Then list the handover:

• the vector master and every export from the files section;
• the colour codes and font names, plus the font files or licence details if you hold the licence;
• anything the designer used from outside (see above);
• whether the designer may show the logo in their portfolio, and who keeps the rejected concepts.

If you plan to register the logo as a trademark, ask a lawyer to check the ownership wording first. Before you accept the delivery, check each item against the list: how to review a logo and brand delivery shows how.

A one-page brief to copy

• Business and what it sells:
• Name on the logo (Arabic, Latin or both):
• Where it will appear (smallest size, hardest background):
• Files required:
• Concepts / revision rounds / what a round means:
• Dates (first concepts, feedback, final files):
• Budget and what it covers:
• Styles I like (with a sentence each) / styles I do not like:
• Fonts and licensed assets (who supplies, who pays for licences):
• Ownership and handover (what I own, which files, portfolio use):

Next step: find a logo designer for your brief

With the brief written, compare designers on the same scope. Start from the logo designer page, or browse graphic design freelancers in Lebanon if you need more than a logo. Send the same brief to two or three of them and compare their answers to each checklist line.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a logo design brief include?

The business and what it sells, where the logo will be used, the files required, the deadline and budget, the number of concepts and revision rounds, examples of the style you want, who supplies fonts and licensed assets, and who owns the logo and which files you receive at handover.

How long should a logo brief be?

One page. The length matters less than whether each of the eight checklist items is answered with a specific decision rather than a general wish.

How many concepts and revisions should I ask for?

It depends on the scope you are paying for. A simple logo is usually one direction with limited revisions; a professional package usually includes several concepts. Whatever you choose, write both numbers and define "round" so both sides count the same way.

Do I need to ask for the source files?

Yes, if you want to edit or reuse the logo without going back to the same designer. Ask for the vector master in the brief and confirm it is part of the handover.

Can I use any font I like in my logo?

Not automatically. A font's licence decides whether you can use it in a business logo. Ask the designer to name the fonts and confirm the licence, or to convert the lettering to custom shapes.

Who owns the logo if I do not write anything about it?

Do not rely on the default. Write the ownership sentence into the brief or the agreement so it is clear who may use, edit and register the logo.