Design RFPs have a reputation — and not a flattering one. Speaking as someone who’s spent years inside big design teams and consulting for large product organisations, I can say this bluntly: most RFPs are a mess.
They reveal more about a company’s internal politics than their actual design goals.
They’re often contradictory, stuffed with self-important brand jargon, and read like a therapy session no one asked for. This isn’t theoretical — it’s firsthand, bruised-by-experience reflection.
I’ve seen talented, well-funded teams paralyse themselves with 25-page documents no one actually reads. I’ve watched great design partners quietly walk away from promising clients because the design RFP hinted at chaos.
Writing a good RFP isn’t just polite; it’s the first signal you understand design as a serious, strategic investment — not just a slide deck flourish.
Here’s how to create one that is actually informative, respectful, and — dare I say — useful.
Stop treating your RFP like a treasure map
Many RFPs read like you’re hiding the real problem behind vague hints and poetic slogans. They’re full of abstract aspirations — “We want to disrupt the space,” “We’re looking for a partner who can channel our innovative DNA” — instead of clear problems to solve. Instead of outlining business goals or explaining what’s broken, they bury details under endless slides and metaphor-heavy mood boards.
Design partners shouldn’t have to decipher cryptic “vibes,” decode brand mantras, or guess priorities by reading between the lines.
Your design RFP isn’t a test of psychic abilities.
It should feel like a clear, open invitation: here’s who we are, here’s what’s not working, here’s what we want to achieve.
When you treat it like a puzzle box, you scare away the best people and invite generic proposals that play it safe rather than solve real problems.
What you actually need to include in your design RFP
Your design RFP should act like a strong briefing doc, not a brand poem or a legal trap. This is where you set the stage for real work — where good partners lean in and start envisioning solutions.
1. The actual problem, clearly explained
What exactly is broken or missing?
Are you struggling with conversion?
Is your onboarding incomplete?
Do customers misunderstand your product?
Lay it out without marketing spin.
2. Honest business context
Share relevant details:
your product stage,
competitive pressures,
internal politics (yes, really),
and your audience’s true needs.
The more honest and direct, the better the proposal quality.
3. Clear timeline and real constraints
Exact launch dates,
internal approval loops,
engineering dependencies — list them.
You’re not scaring anyone away; you’re helping partners plan realistically.
4. Success criteria and non-negotiables
Define what “done well” means.
Is it sign-ups, reduced churn, or qualitative feedback from users?
Also clarify what can’t be compromised — brand values, accessibility standards, technical frameworks.
5. Decision-making map
Who will approve designs?
Who actually has veto power?
These politics decide whether a project flows or dies in committee.
Our recommended design RFP template
If you want a real example to guide you, we share a design RFP template with clients — it’s direct, brutally clear, and designed to help you (hopefully) get actionable, thoughtful proposals (not generic ChatGPT sales PDFs).
This isn’t just a small addition; it’s a highlight of how to set up the entire process properly.
What you think you need, but don’t
10 pages of legal disclaimers before you’ve even met the partner — save the legal hurdles for after alignment, not as a first impression.
Abstract brand slogans (“We’re like if Tesla and Apple had a baby on a surfboard” — please, no) — these confuse rather than clarify.
Overly specific visual references (“We want it to look exactly like Figma meets Stripe, but with a bit more spark”) — let your partner suggest, don’t dictate aesthetics too early.
Endless mood boards showcasing every design trend you’ve seen on Dribbble — they overwhelm and mislead rather than focus the conversation.
Forced competitive tear-downs (“We want to beat every feature of X, Y, and Z”) — these are better discussed collaboratively, not imposed as a starting line.
What you really need is a clear, open brief that invites interpretation and expertise, not a manual telling your future partner how to do their job before they even start.
Why clarity beats cleverness
Because if your RFP is written to sound clever, you’re not writing for your design partner — you’re writing for your own ego. Flowery metaphors, grand statements, and cryptic brand poetry might feel sophisticated internally, but they sabotage the core goal: clear understanding.
Cleverness confuses. It signals that you care more about looking impressive than being understood. You don’t want your partner guessing what you mean, misinterpreting priorities, or making wrong assumptions because they’re trying to read between your self-congratulatory lines.
A great RFP is blunt, direct, and sometimes even a little unglamorous. It should read like an honest business conversation, not a TED Talk. The result? You get proposals that are grounded, specific, and truly useful — not a stack of generic sales slides filled with pretty words and zero insight.
Set yourself up for a better working relationship
A good RFP signals you’ll be a good client: decisive, informed, and collaborative. It attracts better proposals from teams who want to work with you, not just invoice you.
Startups and scale-ups often underestimate this: the design RFP is your first design deliverable. It shows how you think, what you value, and how you communicate. If it’s sloppy or confusing, don’t be surprised when the partnership starts the same way.
Examples: The good, the bad, and the unreadable
The good:
“We’re looking to improve onboarding for our B2B SaaS platform. Our current flow has a 40% drop-off at step three. Our goal is to increase successful completions to 75% by Q3. Our audience is mid-market operations leads who value efficiency and clear guidance. We have a dev team ready to implement by July.”
“We need a redesigned pricing page to reduce decision anxiety. Our bounce rate is 65%, and users cite unclear value tiers as a top complaint. The primary goal is to improve paid conversion from 2% to 5%.”
The bad:
“We want to make onboarding more modern and dynamic. Needs to be like Stripe or Airbnb but also unique to us.”
“We’re looking for a design refresh that feels premium, aspirational, and also friendly, yet disruptive.”
The unreadable:
“Appendix D outlines our corporate values, Appendix E is the 9-page security policy, and Appendix F includes a mood board describing our essence as ‘fluid innovation’.”
“Our vision statement is ‘Empower the future of human synergy at scale,’ and we expect design concepts that fully embody this spirit before any scoping discussions.”
Wrap-up: Better design RFPs, better outcomes
A well-written, informative RFP isn’t just a courtesy — it’s a strategic advantage. It saves you time, filters out the wrong partners, and helps you get a proposal that actually solves your problems, not just dazzles with mockups.
A great RFP signals that you’re serious, self-aware, and ready to collaborate. It shows you respect your future partner’s time as much as your own. And ultimately, it sets the tone for the entire relationship: clarity, honesty, and shared focus.
So next time you’re tempted to flood an RFP with jargon, brand manifestos, or slides about “market synergy,” remember: clarity wins.
Every
single
time.