I did a similar exercise when I studied for the option “Graphic Design 1: Core Concepts”. I checked the coursework for that unit and the notes I wrote at the time to see how I analysed the briefs. There were two pieces of advice that I found very useful and still try to put into practice regularly. One is to look at the keywords and simplify and analyse them. Another one is to keep asking questions about the brief: “Who, Why, What, Where, When and How”. I also looked at a book describing the process of working with a brief: “The Graphic Design Process” (Nottingham, A. and Stout, J. (2020). The Graphic Design Process How to be successful in design school. London Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Bloomsbury Visual Arts.). Although the book is more about Graphic Design, it gives some very practical advice to deal with a creative brief.
Brief 1 – BBC2
What is the brief?
- Create an opening credit sequence for the BB2’s arts programme, “The Culture Show”.
- The credit sequence should last 20 seconds (create at least one).
- Target audience: 25-44 year olds. The programme is intended for people who have an interest in culture.
- The opening sequence should contain some reference to the different disciplines covered in the programme: fashion, art, architecture, music, film or TV.
- The design should be innovative, thought-provoking, stylish and witty.
- Constraints: Follow BBC Producer’s guidelines regarding subject matters (no nudity, sex, smoking or drug references).
Keywords
The brief contains many interesting keywords that can be put into categories:
“Surprise”, “challenge”, “thought-provoking”, “inspire”: The artwork should offer something different and new that captures the attention of its intended audience. It should be both provocative while respecting the BBC’s guidelines.
“Forward-looking”, “younger audience”, “cutting-edge”, “innovative”: The design should be modern.
“Viewer’s intelligence”, “well-crafted”, ‘expert”, “leading-programme”, “stylish”, “witty”: The design should be of a high quality and sophisticated.
“Fashion, art, architecture, music, film and TV”: It should cover many cultural aspects.
What Questions would you ask the client?
- What is the timeline to deliver some drafts and complete the project.
- There are not so many details about the format but someone experienced in producing that type of artwork (opening sequence for a programme) might know the industry standards already.
- Does the client have some material that is not available online and would help to understand the product? As this programme has been existing for a while, do they have some comments on the opening sequences that were created in the past that could help to understand their expectations?
What does the client want? What would be a successful outcome?
A successful outcome for the client would be an opening sequence that captures the attention of the viewer (especially younger people) immediately and make them want to watch the documentary.
The artwork should be modern, unique and of a very high standard.
A good opening sequence would become emblematic of the programme and help to identify the programme.
Where would you place this brief on the open – closed spectrum?
This is quite a tight brief. As an opening sequence for a TV programme, the format (size, length, …) is clearly defined. The brief also contains some clear information about the audience, the subject of the artwork and the style they expect.
However, this is also a brief that can be answered in many ways. It has to cover many aspects of culture but it will be up to the artist to decide how they do that.
Brief 2 – Orange
What is the brief?
- Create illustrations that show your vision of communications in three to five years time.
- Target audience: Existing and potential customers of Orange. It could be anyone who has a mobile phone, broadband or other communication devices. It means that it could be nearly every adult.
- The brief contains several suggestions regarding the directions that the designs could take: it could be about physical products and technology, or it could be more emotional and explore how people feel about communications and the potential to communicate with others.
Keywords
“Future of communications”, “Communication with people”
What Questions would you ask the client?
What is the deadline and the general timeline for this project?
It would be interesting to know more about the context and where these illustrations would be used and displayed to know if there are constraints regarding sizes or colours for instance.
What does the client want? What would be a successful outcome?
These illustrations would not be for a specific advertising campaign, such as the launch of a new product. The aim would therefore be to enhance the image of the brand and its ability to be there for its customers in the future.
The illustrations should reflect a positive vision of the future of communications and the role of the company in that future.
Where would you place this brief on the open – closed spectrum?
This is a very open brief. The suggestion is that the illustrator can choose the direction they want as long as it covers the subject “the vision of communications”. There is no specifics regarding the format either.
Brief 3 – Sainsbury’s
What is the brief?
- Create a piece of design or illustration to go on Sainsbury’s shopping bags.
- This will be a limited edition.
- The artwork should be based on one of the three following key themes: “Be the best for food and health”, “Show respect for our environment”, “Source with integrity”
- The bag dimensions are 390mm (H) x 450mm (W).
- The design will be printed on both main faces of the bag (the branding will be applied to side gussets).
- There are no colour limitation.
- Target audience: The audience would be Sainsbury’s customers as well as potential customers that might see these bags in the hands of people who have been to the supermarket. It means that this is a very large audience since Sainsbury’s is one of the largest chains of supermarkets in the UK and they try to appeal to everyone. It would be mainly for adults though as they are the ones who would decide to use this supermarket rather than another one.
Keywords
“Shopping bag”
“Health”, “Respect”, “Environment”, “Integrity”: The illustration should reflect a brand with strong ethics that cares for the environment and the health of its customers.
What Questions would you ask the client?
- What is the timeline for this project?
- It would be useful to check the type of shopping bags in question and their level of transparency, the background colours (would it be the same as the usual bags),….
- Would the same illustration be repeated on both sides of the bag?
What does the client want? What would be a successful outcome?
The client wants to communicate a certain image to the customers as an ethical company who cares about values such as health or the environment. A successful outcome would be a bag that attracts the curiosity of the customers and make them feel that they are in safe hands.
Where would you place this brief on the open – closed spectrum?
This is a very tight brief. The instructions regarding the format, the themes that should be part of the illustration and the use of the illustration are very clear.
There is some freedom regarding the messages although there are similarities in the values of the three key themes suggested: the idea that this is an ethical company that can be trusted.
Catherine Roux Degree in Illustration 