A Brief explanation

Briefs are often a simple yet comprehensive explanation of what the client wants from the person given the brief. It can be as simple as an informal brief, a written explanation of what is needed to be done, often informal yet distinct, but it can also be a contract with very specific objectives and a formal manner, often called a ‘Tendered’ brief. They often start with a worded description, formal or not. Sometimes if the client and designer are close this can consist of a casual conversation, otherwise it’s just written communication. You can also receive a briefing as a group, in a team, but these briefs are often hard to negotiate, but simple and easy to spread information around. Next, the Brief will have a list of requirements, involving what needs to be done, what information will need to be gathered and required materials. The idea of the brief is that the creative elements of the client’s initial idea are present in the final product. Briefs must be simple and easy to follow, are you must clarify with the client about uncertainties you have with the brief.

Here is an example of a tendered brief;

Project Brief: Example

A family plumbing business called "Leaky Pipes?" want an interactive web presence to advertise their plumbing business. It is intended that the site be commercial and educational.

There are two brothers and one sister in the company and each have different ideas about what should be included in the web site. They all agree that they want more than just a static web presence on the Internet and that they would like the site to have some interactivity.

They think that a good way to attract users to their plumbing site would be to have an educational aspect to it. Dempster, the eldest brother, is interested in making small mini videos with him carrying out simple plumbing maintenance tasks. He is very interested in health and safety. Miquel, the youngest brother wants the site to have a page with a list of simple plumbing maintenance tips including what to do in emergency before a plumber arrives. The advice and videos given will only show how to carry out simple plumbing maintenance with the view of users finding the site in a search and then contacting the business for quality plumbing work. The sister, Laurietta, wants an on-line quotation form for plumbing work that will allow a user to complete it and then submit it for general quotes and an e-mail facility for more complicated quotes. At the moment there is no need for an e-commerce facility.

The company logo used should contain the company name and a colourful image of a plumber.

The users to be targeted would be anyone who would be likely to require dependable and reasonably priced plumbers.

All three of the partners have asked for the completed web site to be ready in four months time.

I found that at this website: http://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/IMPlanning01CD/page_09.htm

That example shows the problem first, and then explains the problem in more detail. It ends with a list of requirements as I explained, all briefs will have these. This example shows a problem, and that in a sense is what a brief is; A set problem that you must solve, with given objectives.

If the Brief needs changing, or seems unreasonable, or you have issues with it, there are ways of changing the requirements, to a degree. If a requirement is impossible for you to do, say, there is too little money given in the budget, or the request is highly impractical, you can request a change in the brief from the client. If the budget is up for discussion ask what constraints are there on what you can do with the amount of money given. If you need clarification of something in the brief, it is best to ask as soon as possible. If the Client doesn’t relent to a compromise, you could request extra time, or work your way around the problem yourself. You could even get help. If the problem is too much, then it would be for the best for the project to be passed on to someone else or got rid of altogether.

 If the brief set before you seem a bit of a challenge, use this opportunity to expand on your skills and set about learning the skills you will need for the task. If the client will pay for training, then feel free to do so. Also, if you feel you can improve the final product of the brief, doing it better (although within the restraints of the brief itself) then approach the client about it and see what they say about your proposal.

All in all, as I said before, a brief is a problem that you must solve in a certain way to satisfy the client, and you can try to make the result as best you can by using negotiation and innovation. This is the same with all forms of project briefing and is an important life skill to learn.