A friend of mine is in need of some graphic design work. I'm trying to explain to him that his make-me-something-like-X-but-different-approach is not a very good way to communicate his needs. We tried to write down some of the specifics that a graphic designer would need in order to limit the back & forth of "not getting it right"--but were limited by our own lack of visual-imagination (hence, why he needs a graphic designer).
What are some of the questions graphic designers need to know in order to begin working?
The project is a layout/character design for a mobile app game.