1.

UNDERSTANDING CREATIVE BRIEFS

1.1. What is creative brief ?

A framework or foundation for your creative approach

Key factors (concise summary of )
- Background
- Target audience
- Competitors
- Client’s goals
- Project specifics

Creative brief will answer these question

- What is this project ?
- What is the task at hand ?
- Why are we doing it ?
- What is the true problem and opportunity here ?
- Who is it really for and why should they care ?
- Where, when and how will it be used ?
- How will it be remembered and retold ?
- What needs to be done by whom and when should it be delivered ?

Creative briefs makes your design

- Smarter
- More timely
- More innovative
- More effective

Gather up the information that inspires creative thinking.

Make creative briefs work harder for you.

1.2. Creative briefs as strategic tools

- Creates common language
- Link creative to business goals
- Summarize client’s expectation
- Measure and define success
- Guide the decision making process
- Evaluate design solutions
- Make approvals clearer for the client
- Bridging the gap between design and business

Creative briefs enhances Client communication as there is

- Expectations uncovered
 - Building of trust
- Client buy in
- More effective team

- Avoid making work that your client don’t approve

- More profiable

1.3. Client Control and designer freedom :

a. Clients should have more control over the creative brief.

b. Designer should have more control over the creative.
c. A carefully prepared brief gives you freedom to make great work.
d. Who should develop the brief ?
- Client (Background and Deliverables)
- Designer ( everything else)

Phases > discovery > insights > design

1.4. Who should write brief ?

a. Whoever has the most client and project knowledge is the best person to write the brief.
b. The more you boil down the information , the more useful a creative brief will be.

1.5. Ten things to include in a creative brief :

a. Background summary [ identify client, summarize and analyse SWOT of client ,

Research report and documentation , Brand strategy, What does this brand stand for ?
what does this client value ? ]
b. Overview
- Outline the project
- Reasons for project need
- Key business challenges defined
- Determine trends

c. Drivers
- What drives the creative ?
- What will the design achieve ?
- What is purpose of the work ?
- Define top 3 objectives
- Summarize insights
- What is driving you as creative team
- How do you know when you’ve done good job.
d. Audience
- Define who the design is for
- What do they think about the production / service ?
- What will appeal to this audience?
- What is the audience talking about on social media ?
- What would be effective call for action for this target audience.

e. Competitors
- Define competition
- What are they saying to the target audience ?
- SWOT the competition
- Objectively compare to your client.

f. Tone
- Describing mood, voice and pov
- What adjectives describe the approach and personality ?
- How should content flow ?
- How does customer behaviour affect the style ?

g. Message
- Summarize what needs to be said
- Key message
- Identify client offering
- What is the audience take away ?
-
h. Visuals
- Thematic iconography
- Decide to develop new images or existing
- What type of images (photo, illustration or infographics ?
- How do existing style guides affect the project

i. Project details
- Liste deliverables ( discuss preconcieved ideas)
- Get technicals
- What is the best delivery media
- Timeline and budget

j. People
- Who is involved ?
- Who are the stakeholders/supervisors?
- How do clients want to be communicated to ?
2.3. Creative brief development process

1. Review Client material

- Review client’s website
- Review the RFP ( if provided)

2. Analyse your findings

- Look for patterns
- Match findings against client feedbacks
- Draw conclusions and record your thoughts
- Don't worry about being concise, just get it out in table

3. Write It
- Match discoveries with the 10 categories
- Write, then re-wrire

4. Client Approval
- Solicit their feedback
- Let the client have their say here
- Let clients be controlling and precise about their creative briefs.
- Have a written approval.

5. Begin Design
- Review with team members
- Add any missing info
- Send it back to the client for approval
- Lock it and design

Review of sample creative briefs > refer exercise file > make your own.

3. CLIENTS AND CREATIVE BRIEFS

3.1. Working with client on creative briefs

1. Lead client with Briefing session.

2. Collaboration should
- Uncover problems (it isn’t always what they say it is )
- Gather data ( feelings and opinions as well )
- Generate ideas ( can turn into great concepts later )
- Build consensus ( Include all decision makers)
3.2. Getting great client input

Refer : exercise file > creative briefing questionnaire

Ask the client > people who should participate in the briefing process.
It may take more than one session to get full briefing as it involves talking with many people.
Meet selective people One-on-One than in larger group take notes or records (two members are
better than one > recording without permission is illegal )
Prepare in advance to use their time wisely.

In-person briefing > client input > good design results

Listen > Collaborate > Frame the problem > Build Trust

Show respect throughout the project so that client returns with more projects.

WRITING UP

1. Overview :
2. Strategy :
3. Audience
4. Project details
5. Schedule :
6. Contact info :

4. WRITING A CREATIVE BRIEF

4.1. General Writing Tips

a. Keep it short.
b. Assume no prior knowledge for readers.
c. Use simple sentence structure. (present tense > active language)
d. Don’t solve the problem in the creative brief.
e. Visualize it. (Think visually)

5. COMMON PROBLEMS WITH CREATIVE BRIEFS

5.1. Make it readable

a. Right format
b. Right tone
c. Right information
d. Right place
5.2. Being Inspiring
a. If it's too long it means you didn't spend enough time in it .
b. A creative brief is starting point not solution.

1. Focus, Focus, Focus

- Make objectives and target audience clear
- Anticipate pitfalls and wrong turns
- Try to express the content in sharp detail, but with few words.

2. Keep it current
- Infuse your briefs with relevant and current references
- Designers are typically consumers of what most current in any society
- You’ve got to reach the designer first.

3. Provide Clear Metrics

5.3. Handling writer’s block (performance anxiety)

1. Have a deadline
2. Don’t try to be perfect
3. Skip around
4. Write as much as /as fast as you can.
5. Talk it through

6. USING CREATIVE BRIEFS

6.1. Designing based on a creative brief
- Client use brief to organize and develop consensus within their own companies.
- Also to validate and approve design
- Creative team use brief for fact find and understand the client.
- Contained in the brief is everything that u need to design
- Intersection of Build the design and defend the design
- Compare your ideas to the creative brief and use it as a decision-making framework.
Answer these question before heading on design
- What is the purpose of this design ?
- Who are we really designing for ?
- What makes your client’s product or service unique or better
- How can design convey and even amplify this ?
- What is client’s competition doing ?
- How will we know when we have done good job ?
6.2. Managing to a creative brief
- The creative brief helps everyone involved in the project
- Includes a list of deliverables
- Include schedules as benchmarks
- Use the brief to help you keep in the schedule.
- Manage client expectations by delivering creative that fulfills the brief.
- Creative brief help your practice becomes more profitable
- Time is money > being profitable is doing design that fits client’s requirements.

6.3. Working without a creative brief

- Formal creative brief may not be necessary if
a. New assignment is a continuation of a larger in process work.
b. The client trusts the designer implicitly.

7. EVALUATING CREATIVE BRIEFS

7.1. Evaluating design based on a creative brief
Designers essentially are translating information from one format to another.
A creative brief helps unpackage those preferences
Good design is not about personal preference
Argue all design as appropriate based on the creative brief.
Evaluate the design before you present it to the client
Evaluation questions :
- What is the emotional impact of the design
- Does this design convey the client’s intended message ?
- Will this design be percieved as authentic and unique ?
- What aspects of this design invite interaction ?
- Is this design expected or unexpected ? Is that good or bad ?

7.2. Measuring a creative brief’s effectiveness

- After the project is completed , go back to creative brief answer these question
a. Did you do good job ?
b. Did this brief work to inspire creative?
c. What work and what didnt ?
d. What could you have done better ?

Measuring a creative brief’s effectiveness = how well did the creative work to achieve the
client’s goals

Setting measurable goals will allow you to assess success

CONCLUSION

Creative briefs > frameworks > assignment’s frameworks > serve as a set of metrics >
guidelines for a project.

Refer managing design process