(for a clearer view, click on image)

Here’s something I’ve found, taken a long while back from a studio I’ve had the misfortune of working at for a short time. Thankfully they’re no longer in business so I can legally reproduce this.

Just how shitty is it? Let me count the ways:

1. The information supplied is so minuscule, all it states is the scope of work involved.
2. Scope of work is not the same as what the project is meant to be. What is it? What is the project about? New business? Membership drive? Publicity? What?
3. Look at that idiotic bit under “Target Audience”: Anyone. ANYONE? Seriously?
4. Look at how the Brief form alone is crafted. Look again at Target Audience Characteristic and its accompanying question guide: “Are they gay, rich, sick?”. If that doesn’t smack of discrimination and ill-advised humour, I don’t know what is.

I know that some of you may not even have the fortune of ANY brief but in this instance, I’d rather not see one if it’s going to be like this. Any studio or agency that does not care enough to get the message right is either disrespectful of the process or plainly stupid. I can’t stress enough about how getting the message right is more efficient for turnaround and cuts back on wasteful mistakes. It also saves on annoying repetitive questions and frustration on the part of the person undertaking the project: all that fuelling the stuff of office politics that none of us want.

While we can’t always attach a full written brief for every small project that comes along (re-sizing of ads etc), it is critical, to say the least, when there’s more than 2 items in the scope. There are heaps of stellar examples of how Briefs should be prepared out there in the wide open web and every studio should adapt them to the kind of work they do.

Take the “guess” out of guesswork, because when you don’t give a shit about the briefing process, designers are not going to give a shit about you. Or your client.

Have you had a similar experience and want to talk about it? Email me. I’d love to hear your… pain.