Lecture 1 - VDIS10023 – From Design Brief to Design. This presentation will introduce you to "The Design Brief"...one of the most important document that every designer must be able to decode.

1. Sangeeta Jain
*

2. *

3. * It is a journey.

4. * it is an art.

5. * it is problem solving.

6.
*

7. *
* A design brief is a descriptive
document that contains
information about the client and
which explains the client’s
requirements for the project.

8. *
* Graphic Design is the art and
practice of combining text and
graphics and communicating a
message effectively through any
type of visual communication.

9. *
* Brief identifies the “what” of the
design project and Design is the
actual “how” in a project.

10. *
* In 1978, Sony chairman Akio Morita authored a
design brief that concisely asked his design team
“…to make something that lets me listen to opera
recordings on long-­‐‑distance airplane flights
without disturbing passengers around me”.
* Sony engineer Nobutoshi Kihara took up this
briefly stated challenge.
* The resulting design: the Walkman.

11. * From individual designers to most advanced
advertising agencies and design houses,
everyone strives to get a comprehensively
wriXen design brief.
* A comprehensive, detailed brief eliminates
ambiguities in the design process. It becomes
the guiding document in the process and
detects exactly what the designer needs to do
and the constraints within which it has to be
done.
*

12. * It explains the client’s requirements for the project
* It is a framework/foundation for the designers
* It contains a well-­‐‑identified and articulated
summary of the key factors can impact a project
* It focuses on the outcomes of the design and the
business objectives of the design project
* It serves as an essential point of reference for both
the client and the designer
*

13. * It does NOT deal with the aesthetics of design.
*

14. 1. Background Summary:
Who is the client? What is the product or service?
What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats involved with this product or service?
Are there existing advertisements, document or
data to help understand the current positioning of
the client (brand), product or service?
*

15. 2. Overview
What is the nature of the project? Is it redesigning
an existing product/service or introducing a new
one? Is the client entering a new market? Why does
the client need this project? What is the problem?
3. Purpose
What are the specific aims of this project? What will
it realistically and successfully accomplish for the
client and the product or service?
*

16. 4. Audience
Who is the primary and secondary target audience?
Demographics? What do they think of the client
(brand) or product or service?
5. Competitors
Who are the competitors? Why? What are their
strengths and weaknesses? How is the client
(brand) and product or service different from them?
*

17. 6. Message
What message should be communicated to the
audience? What would the audiences to take away?
Why would they care about it? What is in it for them?
7. Tone
How should the message be communicated? What
adjectives will best describe the approach?
*

18. 8. Deliverables:
Is the client going to provide the graphics? If the
designer is creating them, who/what/where? Why?
photography or illustrating? What will the client get
at the end of the project? Formats?
9. People:
Who will the designer report to? Who will approve
this work? By what means?
*

19. 10. Details:
Any mandatory information to be included? Any
disclosers? Any confidentiality agreements to be
completed? Limitations and restrictions?
Timeline, schedule, budget?
*

20.
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21. *
* Reading, understanding and
reconstructing a brief.

22. *
* Go to
hXp://www.dandad.org/en/new-­‐‑blood-­‐‑
awards/#briefs
* Select a brief of your choice and reconstruct it.
* In order to do this you will need to thoroughly
study, research, analyze the client (brand), the
product or service.
* Draw conclusions based on the information and
data that you gather and start to document the
“what” of the design project carefully.

23. *
* State the assumptions and/or conclusions
clearly and explain the rationale for all the
decisions made.
* You may also use graphics to support the text.
* Use the template provided on the class portal to
guide you through this journey. Please make
sure that you are not missing any important
points. Use the template as a guideline not a
rule. You may modify it to suit your purpose.

24. *
* Submit the assessment task in a PDF format.
* Due Date: Week 4
* Weight: 25%
* In the next lecture and assessment task, we will
closer at the “how” of the project.

25. *