Whether you love them or hate them, creative briefs are a necessary part of our creative process. Each one is different, everybody has their own way of writing them,  but there is no denying the importance of a good brief.

The Brief

So what is a creative brief and why is it so important? First of all it’s just that: brief. They are meant to be short and to the point, outlining the project and any pertinent information as succinctly as possible. They really shouldn’t be more than a page or two, depending on the project of course.

A brief is important because it provides important information about the project at hand – the challenge, what the desired solution will be, and the goals for the assignment. It is a single constant document that everyone on a creative team can reference. With a singular resource like this there are (usually) less incidents of people getting off track or confused, which lead to wasted money. Briefs also help the client sleep at night, allowing them to have some kind of understanding of what to expect from their hired creative team.

WHO’S INVOLVED

Obviously the creative brief document is created as a primary resource for the creative team. It may be created by the Creative Director or Account Exec (whoever has the most client contact), drawn up using feedback from the client about the project they want. It is then past down to Art Directors, Copywriters and Designers who are involved in the project as a way to unify their creative efforts.

Even though it is more or less an internal document for the creative team, the client should always share equal responsibility in developing a good creative brief. The document is written based on their needs; therefore it is up to them to make sure the information is clear and accurate. In a perfect world the client would be involved from the beginning, helping to draft the document and providing feedback and approval for the final brief.

WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED

Everyone has a different process or different questions to ask, but we all arrive at the same basic set of information.

Client Information

An important part of the brief will be fairly thorough client information, things like:

• the client’s company history
• the state of their industry
• what their product/service is and their market position
• competition analysis
• basic contact information

This will form the foundation of the creative process and will give the team a starting point to conduct their more detailed research.

Project Objectives

What does this project need to accomplish? What are the desired outcomes? How will the results be measured? This section will detail the short and long term expectations for the project, information that will be used again to observe the final execution, measure its success and realign the design strategy if need be.

Target Audience

How can a design be successful if it’s directed at the wrong audience? Work with the client to decide who the project is meant to speak to. Carefully study this demographic so that you can speak effectively to the audience on their own terms.

Project Information

Obviously you’ll need to know what the project is before you start. This is where you’ll include the project overview, the primary message that needs to be communicated, the desired tone or voice and any creative considerations or requirements. This is also a prime location to start eliminating scope-creep by carefully detailing the project.

Logistics

Finally you’ll need to figure out what the final deliverables will need to be and how to produce them. Things like the client’s budget, project timeline and production schedules are also important to include

FINAL THOUGHTS

There is no right or wrong way to do a brief. Well maybe there is a wrong way, but the important thing is to have one as a document of the design challenge. A good brief is essential to a successful design strategy, ensuring the project is clearly understood by the creative team as well as the client.