6 August 2026 · Integrity Office
A workplace design brief is the document your fitout or design team works from. A clear brief gets you a better layout, a more accurate price and fewer changes during the build. This guide sets out what to include, with a checklist you can use.
You do not need every answer before you talk to a designer. Our office interior design team can help shape the brief, measure the space and test layouts with you.
What a design brief should include
Your business and how it works
Describe the teams who will use the office, what they do each day and how they work together. Note which teams need to sit near each other, which need quiet and which spend most of their time out of the office.
Headcount now and later
Give the number of people now and the number you expect over the lease. If people work from home part of the week, say how many are in on the busiest day.
The rooms and settings you need
- Private offices and who needs them
- Meeting rooms by size, and how often each is used
- Quiet rooms or phone booths
- Reception and waiting area
- Kitchen, breakout and staff amenities
- Storage, filing, comms room and print areas
- Any special rooms, such as training, consulting or a showroom
What works and what does not
List what works in your current office and what does not. Complaints about noise, a lack of meeting rooms or a crowded kitchen tell the designer a lot.
Brand and image
Include brand guidelines and photos of offices you like. Say who visits the office and what you want them to take away. Our guide to designing a branded workplace has ideas.
Budget and timing
Give a budget range and the date you need to move in. As a guide, most Melbourne office fit outs cost $850 to $1,400 per square metre plus GST; our office fit out cost guide breaks this down.
Constraints
Include anything that limits the design: lease conditions, building rules, furniture you want to keep, areas that must stay running during the work and anyone who has to approve the design.
Design brief checklist
- Address or floor plan of the tenancy
- Teams, headcount now and expected growth
- Rooms and settings needed, with sizes
- Adjacencies: who needs to sit near whom
- What works and what does not in the current office
- Brand guidelines and reference photos
- Furniture and equipment to keep
- IT, AV and security requirements
- Budget range and target move-in date
- Who signs off the design
What happens after the brief
The designer turns the brief into layout options, then finishes and joinery once the layout is agreed. Because we design and build, the brief also feeds the price, so you see the cost of the design as it develops. The space planning guide covers how layouts are tested.
Ready to start your brief? Tell us about your office or call 1300 903 935. We answer enquiries within the hour during business hours.
