(and why it matters)
Let’s not sugarcoat it. You can have the best agency on planet earth, the biggest budget since Barbenheimer, and a creative team fuelled by organic oat milk and designer-spectacled talent — but if your brief is rubbish, chances are, your project will be too.
If your brief sucks, so will everything else.
Yes, it’s true, we’ve seen some shocking briefs in our time. Some so vague they could be a Mizz magazine (RIP) horoscope. You know how it goes, “we want something punchy… but soft. We want it on-brand but also something different to our usual stuff.” Mkkayyyyy. Cool. Thanks.
So, let’s talk about how not to mess it up.
First off: What even is a brief?
A brief isn’t a form. It’s not a box-tick. It’s not a document you fire off five minutes before your project kicks off and then ghost your agency for two weeks (no really, please don’t do that). The brief is the blueprint. The vibe-setter. The “here’s what I want and here’s everything you need to do it right” manual. Without it, we’re designing in the dark – and trust us, when it comes to our work *cue Rihanna* we want you to see errythang.
A solid brief keeps everyone on the same page, focused on the right goals, and able to avoid the classic guessing game of what the client actually meant. You know when motivational speakers drop the ‘failure to prepare is preparing to fail’ bomb? Yeah, well, that’s essentially what a lazy, or half-formed brief is for a creative.
Red flags of a terrible brief
Let’s play a game: is your brief secretly trash? Have a whizz through the checklist…
❌“We just want something clean and fresh.” (Wow. Groundbreaking.)
❌ “No real deadline, just ASAP.” (Your creative team just passed out.)
❌ “The audience? Erm… humans, mainly?” (Brilliant.)
❌ “We’ll know it when we see it.” (Cue the existential dread.)
If this sounds familiar, don’t panic. We’ve all been there. But we’re here to help you turn things around.
The brief you should be writing
A killer brief has three things:
- Clarity: What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Who’s it for? What does success look like? If it can’t be said in one sentence, something’s off. Get specific. Don’t leave room for interpretation where there shouldn’t be any.
- Context: Give us the background. What’s led up to this? What’s happening in your business or market that makes this project important? A brief isn’t just about features or deliverables, it’s about meaning. The ‘why’ behind the work.
- Constraints: Boundaries are a creative’s best friend. Give us the budget, the timeline, the must-haves and the definitely-not-that’s. If we know the edges of the sandbox, we can play properly inside it, or break out of it with purpose (more on breaking moulds here).
Bonus tip? Be honest. If you’re worried, unclear, or still figuring things out, just say so. A good agency (ahem, that’s us by the way) will help you shape the brief into something usable that the team can deliver against.
Account Managers: aka the brief whisperers
Big love to account managers everywhere. These are the magical translators who turn vague thoughts into creative gold. They ask the questions no one wants to answer (or often ask) and chase the answers no one wants to give. In simple terms, they keep everything moving.
They’re the bridge between client vision and creative execution. The ones who can hear “We want to be edgy but professional” and translate that into something that makes sense i.e. follow the brand guidelines but make a PC innuendo, that kind of thing. If you’ve got a good AM, please let them know how grateful you are, because they really are the glue that holds client and creative visions together. Or at the very least, if you’re a client, don’t send them a four-word brief and expect miracles by EOP Friday.
What happens when you get it right?
When a brief hits all the right notes, it’s magical. Timelines stay intact. The design pops. The campaign lands. The angels sing and everyone sleeps at night.
Even better? The team gets to enjoy the creative process, instead of endlessly second-guessing it. And that shows in the work. Trust us, people can feel the difference between a campaign that was loved into life and one that barely limped out the door under a barrage of amends, ‘what ifs’ and internal disputes.
A great brief isn’t just a win for the agency. It’s a win for you. It protects your budget, sharpens your vision, and fast-tracks the results you want.
Wanna go deeper?
We get into all of this (and more) in Episode 4 of Nuts About Design, where Marie spills the tea on real-life briefing disasters, why AI can’t save you from a terrible brief if you don’t understand it in the first place, and what really sets great projects up for success.
TL;DR? Here’s the brief on briefs:
- Bad brief = bad outcome.
- Good brief = creative jackpot.
Still writing briefs like it’s 2012? It’s time for a rethink. Need help bringing your brand to life (and nailing your brief while you’re at it)? You know where to find us.