The quest for the perfect creative brief

The topic of the creative brief is a really interesting one. I have been in the creative industry for over 28 years and it is ALWAYS been a problem.

When a problem remains a problem for so long can we be sure we are still looking at solving the right problem?

The quest for the perfect Creative Brief just does not exist in my experience. I much prefer a process to getting to the answers you need which goes something like this:

👉 Start with asking good questions.

I trained to be coach 15 years ago and this process is brilliant at giving you an understanding of what makes great questions to get a deep understanding and articulation of what someone wants (search 'good coaching questions' to see what I mean).

👉 Show stuff to your client.

No 'Ta-dah; moments - give them sketches, moodboards and take them on the journey with you. It is amazing the stuff that can come out in this process that would not have ever made it into the brief but helps you create better work.

👉 Avoid ambiguity.

Get good at crafting copy and communicating clearly. Any word that can be interpreted in different ways needs to be clarified (e.g. even the statement 'make it look pretty' is wildly open for interpretation!).

And lastly....

🤔 Recognise that there are actually 3 types of creative brief

There is a brief for execution work. There is a brief for work where you have a starting point for a direction (such as brand guidelines). And there is a brief for conceptual work where you are starting with nothing (such as branding, advertising or campaigns).