How to Work With Creative Briefs
We often get asked to do creative work where the client says, “well, I want it to stand out and use a lot of the colour XYZ”, and that pretty much constitutes the creative brief.
Whatever industry you're in, you need a bit more to go on and this is the mighty areas of the Creative Brief.
A brief is crucial to the success of your project. A good brief can help you avoid spending countless hours working and reworking something only to find it's nothing like what your client expected, or indeed wanted.
If a brief is ignored, then it's almost certain that a project will fail, but if we follow each one to the letter then we should take away the creative tag from our titles. It's important that we question and challenge a brief so that we can produce solutions that have depth and flair.
Ideally a brief should be a written document outlining: what the client is looking for; what the client wants to achieve and what market and audience is being targeted. The brief should also address current industry trends, the competition, the scope of the project, time-lines and due dates, budgets, measurement of success metrics and any other relevant information such as previous projects and branding.
Quite a lot to go on already then!
Being creative through realising the ideas of someone else can often be difficult to get right, and a good brief can help you narrow down exactly what your client is looking for, especially in creative industries where taste, style, expression, jargon, trends and techniques all collide.
However, with so many different methods of contact from mails to calls and meetings by chance and by planning, its very easy to lose sight of the key points, and it's even rarer that a client will write you clear and concise brief from the start, since campaigns are often born through discussions and exchanges of ideas.
The benefit of working with small companies is that you'll often deal with a decision maker who can give you the answers you need without them being diluted or re-interpreted by another person.
One thing that is essential whatever the size and type of company you deal with is that you must get to know your client and their business before you can understand what they are looking to accomplish. Getting to know your client also brings with it the advantages of openly and honestly discussing ideas in a comfortable manner.
Having this kind of relationship with your client means that a good brief will follow on naturally.
Clients, especially those with a smaller budget will often ask for quotes on projects before a brief has been established, however this can lead to confusion and misplaced expectations.
Clients asking for a quote have hopefully come to you because they believe in your work and know you can deliver. Their natural next question therefore, is "how much is this going to cost me".
However, putting a price tag on a job that has not been discussed fully means that you have made decisions you are not informed to make and this can lead to significant problems, no matter how large or small the resulting sum.
Exploring ideas and establishing a brief doesn't mean that you will know what the end result will be before you've started the project, as you will work through ideas and refine and develop based on client feedback, but it is important that the brief is as accurate as possible at the earliest stage of the project as it will define everything that you work towards from then on.
If like us you like to do things that are odd or different from the obvious solution to a problem, then you need to find a way of communicating your ideas to a client who may not be able to imagine something that they are completely unfamiliar with and you should take care when approaching new ideas not to enforce your opinions on the client, rather to navigate towards a possible and different solution together.
Have a read below, our 10 tips on how to handle a brief.
1. Establish the Basics.
Make sure the brief states the deliverables, gives full technical specifications, any dates you are required to work to and budget details. Ask yourself how these deliverables will influence your response.
2. Make sure you understand what is required.
What are the brand guidelines you need to work to, colours, materials, and audiences? Do you have all the materials (logo, text, images) that you need? Can they send you examples of previous campaigns and their thoughts on what worked and what didn't. Know what your client has done previously and find out if it has worked for them or if they would benefit from a new approach.
3. Listen
Quite often you'll receive briefs over the phone or during a meeting. If things go this way, it's always a good idea to send a confirmation email stating your understandings of the task at hand. It shows your clients that you are putting thought into understanding what they need, and it avoids future problems of producing something that they might not want. Always state the obvious, it helps everyone focus.
4. Think about yourself
On receiving a brief, evaluate whether or not it is beneficial for you to actually do it. We have turned projects down that have infringed on work that we do or have done for other clients, and we always turn down work that we don't believe in ourselves. You need to know that you will be proud of the end result. Think about whether it's possible to produce what's being asked of you, think about the time it will take and if you will make a profit. It may be possible to challenge the brief and work out a possible solution, however sometimes you need to just walk away from it.
5. Is the brief right?
OK, so not every client will want to be told they are wrong, but you should trust your experience and if you think it would benefit the client to remould the brief then it should be discussed, even if it isn't taken forward. Make sure you explain your reasons clearly so that they can understand how it might work.
6. Know your audience
It is important to discuss the target audience with your client however it can also be hugely beneficial to talk to the audience directly and do your own research, and also a lot of fun!
7. Don't assume anything
It's quite easy to have a clear idea in your own mind of what you think is best, however, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort by just making sure the client is on the same wavelength.
8. Know why your client picked you.
If a client knows that you have a certain style that they like and you decide to experiment with something new, you may end up having to do everything again. On the other hand, your client may hate a particular style they have seen and know that you've never used it so they pick you - don't make that be the first time to try it!
9. Don't take each other for granted
If you have a regular client it can be easy to assume you know what they want, and they will assume what you will produce. In this situation things can become stale and it can be beneficial to meet up and discuss new approaches. Plus you get an excuse to go out for lunch!
10. Trust Your Experience
Clients can often come to you with a clear idea of what they want, based on work they've had done before or things they have seen work for other companies. However it is your job to challenge whether that is the best way forward, sometimes something that is completely different can bring more benefit for a client.
And one for good luck - Know Who The Competition Is
If possible get a list of competitors from your client and note their strengths and weaknesses in relation to your project to get an overview of the market. It's also important to know what the competitors are doing so that you may produce something relevant but entirely different, and of course better!
So there we have it, June’s Newsletter. If you need any design help, don't hesitate to get in touch!