Selecting A brief.

We've been asked to look at a brief we want to do and a brief we think is awful and evaluate them based on a set of questions, so here is the evaluation of the one we don't want to do, The Mutual Assurance Brief:

What's the brief asking for?
-Extremely open ended/unfocused, the outcome could be an illustration or an animation or anything that communicates the idea of 'mutuality' clearly.
-Promotion of mutual assurance to get people who might mistrust the banks etc. because of the financial crisis to begin investing.

Who's the Audience?
-The Company Judging the work,
-Over 30's with disposable income planning for the financial future with their families. The brief specifies for the work to be clear to a family audience.

Important Considerations?
- The audience.
-The company ethos in terms of customers owning the company etc. etc.
- Potentially the logo but it's not necessary.

What is non-negotiable/mandatory?
- Has to be family friendly, tone of voice has to be 'real and meaningful' so informative and emotionally avocative, other than that it's so vague and open.

Ted Baker, the brief we really want to do as a collaboration.


What's the brief asking for?
-A shop window display, thats mesage and elements have enough clarity that you can take some away and scale it down for varying shop window sizes.
-A bit of in store promotional material that might include give-aways.

Who's the Audience?
-Middle and upper classes with disposable income, the brand is expensive and high end. It's got quite a classic and stylish look that appeals to a large age range and appeal to both genders.

Important Considerations?
-Has to be inclusive to the large age range, so contemporary but with enough traditional elements to appeal to an older audience.
-Makes use of 'Irreverant British Humour'
-Would like use of movement and lighting.

What is non-negotiable/mandatory?
-Must make use of the brand name/logo
-In store promotional materials that tie in.
-For Autumn, but must not use leaves and other traditional Autumn themes.

Writing a brief, looking at other briefs, breaking down what they want/need to their most cynical:
Hamley's
-We want more customers
-We deserve better
-People are ignoring our shop
-We don't know what we want to fil our windows
-We want to re-brand as hipper/trendier.


Hewlett Packard
-Appears open but is in fact a project where they have clear requirements they're not prepared to voice loudly. For example it says you need to produce 'anything creative' for anyone that is creative but then suggests a specific audience of photographers, graphic designers etc. suggesting they have something more specific in mind, that they're not willing to divulge.


Homebase
-Clear concise brief that has a lot of specifications, whilst still having enough room for a designer to think creatively:
-requirements, has to look different but still fit in the garden world section of homebase. Has to have a photograph/image of the fully grown plant as an incentive to new growers. Clear idea of their audience etc.

What I learned from this exercise...
An open brief is a difficult brief and involves a lot of negotiating and re-writing with the client, in this competition brief, that would be impossible so it's easier to leave it alone and look for one with more specifications. It happens that the Ted Baker one is alot more concise than the Engage Mutual Assurance one anyway, giving us a clear choice.


Re-writing the briefs we looked at to start with in our own language:
Me and Vickie then re-wrote the Ted Baker brief in terms that are easier for us both to get our heads around. Click for a better image.