- So as a designer, when undertaking design projects,
ideally you should be issued with a design brief.
Now, typically a brief for a project will
either be an open or a closed brief,
and the spectrum in between can vary.
In the previous video, I discussed the design brief
and what makes for a good one.
This video is an expansion on those,
so if you have not seen those videos,
I suggest you check them out before watching this one.
It'll make more sense
to understand the context of this video.
Links to them are in the description.
In this video, I'm going to discuss open and closed briefs
and showcase some examples.
So what's the difference between an open and a closed brief?
So open briefs generally allow for more creative freedom,
allowing for wider creative possibilities.
The brief will not go into too much detail
of what design solution will be required.
Typically, with an open brief,
a lot of time may be spent researching
and developing design ideas, concepts, and routes.
On the other hand,
closed briefs will generally require something specific,
perhaps working within already established brand guidelines
or working with already created graphics.
The closed brief might not tell you exactly
what your design will look like,
but will suggest more what the solution will be.
Much of the concept design may already be done
in a closed brief.
Due to the constraints and limitations of the closed brief,
less time may be spent producing the work
to already established design criteria.
Whether open or closed,
what both briefs will help with is a degree of direction.
However simple or complex,
this can help steer a designer in the right direction.
So why is this important to know?
Well, here it's really about terminology,
detail, and preference.
Perhaps you like projects
that give you maximum creative freedom.
Maybe you like or prefer undertaking projects
that you can take ownership of
and create something from scratch.
Or perhaps you prefer to work within limitations
with more direction and guidance.
Knowing the difference
can help you seek out the work you want to do.
For example, if you're applying for a design role
at a company or design agency, at an interview you can ask,
"Will I be receiving open briefs or closed briefs?"
From this, you can get a very direct answer,
gain a better understanding of the role,
what kind of work you will be doing,
and decide if the position is right for you.
In my experience, when I'm taking on new contracts
or discussing new job opportunities with agents,
I will ask if the brief is open or closed.
And if they can't give me a direct answer,
well, I'll ask some questions
about the type of work I'll be doing
to work out if the brief is open or closed.
I generally prefer to take on open briefs,
so I tend to avoid closed briefs.
This ultimately helps me determine
the creative path I take going forward.
Now, if you're working, say, solo freelance with a client,
they may not know what an open or closed brief is.
In this case, asking some detailed questions
about the scope of the project
and what they want can help you decide for yourself
whether it's an open or closed brief
and decide if it's right for you.
So now I'm going to demonstrate two design brief examples,
an example of an open brief
and an example of a closed brief.
If you wish to take a closer look at these and follow along,
you can download the PDFs.
Links are in the description.
So first, I'm going to start
with an example of an open brief.
So here's a typical brief including all the criteria
to adequately inform a designer before starting a project.
So the title of this brief is
"Brand design for a new custom streetwear design platform"
and starts with the client details at the top
and then goes straight into the project/client overview.
For the sake of the length of this video,
I won't read all of this,
but I'll just touch on the key details.
So here we have information supplied
for what, why, goals, unique selling points,
tone of voice, straplines, audience,
competitors, and strategic considerations.
This is the standard information you would want to get
to introduce a designer to the full context of a project.
Next, we have the design overview
where we can decide on the scope of the design.
So here we have objectives, impact,
likes and dislikes, existing brand marketing collateral,
design considerations, how will success be measured,
budget, timeline, deliverables, and additional notes.
So from the objectives, we can see that the task here is
to create a new logo and brand identity
to be used across a wide range of media,
including TV, online, print,
out-of-home, web, social, and email.
The brand will need to stand out
and compete against existing online platforms.
It also states, "We want to create an exciting premium brand
to attract both designers and new customers
to use the platform and share with their friends
and colleagues across social media."
For impact, the brand will need to feel edgy, fashionable,
modern, dynamic, authentic, and rebellious,
to not only reflect our values,
but reflect the personalities of the bright
and creative people that we want to use the platform.
Next, we go into likes, dislikes, and things to avoid,
where the brief provides a few examples.
Next, we have existing brand or marketing collateral.
And on this occasion,
the company currently has no prior branding or assets,
as this project is starting from scratch.
Next, we have design considerations,
how success will be measured, budget, and the timeline.
On the next page, we have the full deliverables
and, in this instance, design for logo identity,
branding, mood boards, and route options are required.
And we can see further touchpoints
that will need to be developed across print and digital.
Finally, on the last page, we have some additional notes.
So a standard brief there
with lots of key information supplied.
So what makes this an open brief?
Well, the key points to note here is
that this is a brief for a branding project,
and they have no prior branding or marketing collateral.
So straightaway, we can tell there is going
to be a wide scope for creativity here
as this is starting from scratch.
Overall, the brief offers lots of direction
and interesting areas to explore
but does not go into too much detail
of what the design solution should be.
This is an open brief because here the client would like
to see ideas, concepts, and routes before settling
on a final direction to develop to completion
where a broad range of digital
and print media will also need to be designed from scratch.
Any designer working on this brief
would have a lot of creative freedom
to explore lots of ideas.
So next is the closed brief.
Here is another document, same layout,
but for a different project.
So the title of this brief is
"Design for an exhibition & conference."
And again, we have information supplied
for what, why, goals, unique selling points,
tone of voice, straplines, audience,
competitors, and strategic considerations.
So from the objectives, we can see that the task here is
to develop some promotional material and print media
for an exhibition to engage and interact
with attendees of the event.
Take the previous year's templates
and update with new details and new graphics and imagery.
Catch attention and clearly inform professionals
and reps of up-and-coming products.
For impact, the work will need to feel clean, clear,
bold, attractive, informative, simple, and minimal.
Next, we go into likes, dislikes, and things to avoid,
where the brief repeatedly states
to reference the brand guidelines and last year's creative.
Next, we have existing branding or marketing collateral.
And on this occasion,
the brand has brand guidelines in place
and templates from the year before
that they wish to simply modify and update.
Next, we have how success will be measured,
budget, and the timeline.
On the next page, we have the deliverables,
which in this instance have no design requirements,
but lots of print requirements.
And on the last page, we have some additional notes.
So what makes this a closed brief?
Well, the key part to note on this one is
that the client already has established guidelines in place
which they wish to abide by
and also templates that they wish to use
from the year before.
Compared to the first brief example,
there are no bespoke design requirements required here.
The client simply wishes to get specific documents
to an already established look and feel.
Now, there is room for creativity
in the fact it requires new imagery and graphics
that would need to be generated and designed,
but to limited specs.
Here, the brief does not state exactly
what that should look like,
but does suggest quite directly what the solution should be.
The client is specific about what they want delivered
and has provided a short time to do so,
in this case, two weeks.
Any designer working on this brief
will have limited creative freedom.
They may create various routes,
but the design will very much reflect current guidelines.
So those are two types of design briefs you may encounter.
Keep in mind there is a wide spectrum
of creative freedom you will have on any given project,
so briefs will vary.
In my experience, it does help to know the difference
so you can undertake and seek out the type
of design work you prefer to do
or at least have a good understanding
before taking on the work.
So what type of briefs do you prefer to work on?
Do you prefer open briefs
where you can do the entire project from scratch,
or do you prefer more closed briefs
with tighter timelines and more clear direction?
Be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section.
And if you wish to learn more about
how to build your own brief,
you can see a link in the description to another video
where I go into that topic in more detail.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this video.
If you did, hit the like button,
and don't forget to subscribe
and hit the bell button to be notified
of more design discussion videos like this in future.
Also, if any of you have any other design topics
you would like to see me discuss,
be sure to pop them in the comment section,
or email me at creative@garethdavidstudio.com,
and I'll look to create another discussion video in future.
Until then, have fun, guys,
and I'll see you next time.
♪ Go on ♪
♪ Uh, go on ♪