You wouldn’t let someone build your house without a contract. Every major deal - that you have to put a large amount of time in, sweat blood and tears over or live in/with - should be treated as you would any investment.
Get everything on paper at the very beginning.
With a house, you line up your architect and contractors and develop a budget and expectations of every one at the very beginning. It could take weeks or even months to reach agreements or a concrete plan of action. The architects don’t just draw up and execute the project without ingesting the thoughts and considerations of the home owners. Nor should the home owners let them. It’s their investment. It’s a house they have to live and breathe and stand. With a house - you can’t just Apple+Z.
The same goes for any creative project.
At the beginning of every creative project - there should be a contract. Like building a house - you should develop a budget and establish the expectations of every one at the very beginning. This process should not be glossed over. Because also like a house - the owners will have to live and breathe it (especially if its a brand or website) and stand it. So after the initial invoice and deposit - there should be a creative brief.
WHAT IS A CREATIVE BRIEF?
The creative brief is a document that agencies/firms employ to define a project. Each creative brief should start from a series of simple questions asked by the creative team and answered by the client. This floorplan becomes the guidepost for the development of the creative deliverable. It is a document that should be overwhelmingly strategic - covering all the possible and unforeseen bases imaginable. This framework - like many strategic declarations - should hold everyone accountable if the project goes off track. And if the project does err - referring back to this mutually agreed upon document can help to guide the project back onto the right path, and it is a good place to see where the project might have been strayed.
DOES EVERY AGENCY HAVE THE SAME BRIEF?
Most agencies have their own creative briefs. Most agencies are different from each other. Creative briefs are usually tailored to the agency that is developing the creative deliverable. Each individual group knows which questions (and answers) are of paramount importance to them in order to deliver a high-quality, sustainable, creative execution.
SO, HOW DO I WRITE ONE?
Start with a simple conversation. Start with the right questions. You can gear the questions towards achieving the answers that will populate the outline of a typical creative brief. Most clients don’t mind talking about themselves. So listen. The creative brief can tell if you were listening or not.
WHAT’S TYPICAL IN A CB?
Most creative briefs are outlined as follows:
- Background — what is the background of the project? Why is it being done?
- Target audience — who is the target audience? who is the expected target? who is an unexpected target? what do they already think about this subject?
- Objectives — what is to be accomplished? How will the success of this be measured? What is my long-term goal with this? What is my short-term goal with this?
- Single message — what is the one thing to tell the audience? What is the single thing they should remember about the offering? How will they believe what we say?
- Deliverables — what is to be used to give the audience the message? What is the best way or place to reach this audience - a website that’s build in html? a blog? a flashy brochure?
- Timeline — how soon is this needed? When is it expected to be done? How many rounds (revisions) will this project undergo?
- Budget — how much can be spent to get this developed? Is there any budget needed to publish/flight the creative
- Approvals — who needs to give the “okay”?
I DRAFTED THE BRIEF. NOW WHAT?
After the brief is drafted and spell-checked and fact-checked and compared with notes and notes of every one who was there when the client(s) answered the questions, the creative brief goes back to the client. At this point they say, “yes, you were listening! this is great!” or “yes, this is great, but add…” or “which meeting were you at?” (at which point, you go back and redo the brief). You get the brief right and you get the client to sign off on it. You don’t start drawing anything or putting anything into the computer before you get it right and signed.
OKAY - SO MY CLIENTS ARE ALL MAKE BELIEVE BECAUSE I’M A STUDENT. DO I REALLY NEED A CB?
What are creative briefs good for - besides improving your analysis of clients, besides showing you points you may have missed or not considered when you’re in the midst of the project? As a student or potential designer about to enter the workforce - the creative brief is the most useful document to refer to before your presentation. Reciting the audience details, unknown facts you may have found out to fill up the background section, defining the objectives and the single message - is more than impressive - to your professors and potential employers. It’s proof that there’s something behind your design. It’s proof you can talk about your design.
The creative brief defines the expectations. And for the student designer who can master the CB and talk about the points of the project in person without notecards, it goes above them.