The document discusses different types of briefs that can be used between media companies and clients. It defines contractual, formal, informal, co-operative, negotiated, commission, tender, competition, and my brief structures. For a my brief, the client will likely use a mixture of formal and informal structures. There will be some elements of an informal verbal agreement but also some written emails outlining expectations, though no formal contract. This benefits the freelancer by allowing flexibility but also providing some documentation of the project scope.

1. WORKING TO A
BRIEF
LO1
Swara Sawirs

2. CONTRACTUAL BRIEF
Definition:
A contractual brief is where a media company will sign an agreements to
complete a certain project at a specific time. It’s very important that you read
the contract so you understand what is expected of you and what you should
expect of them. If they fail to meet the agreement, for example underpaying you
even though you handed your work in at the right time and at their standard
then they could face legal actions. However, If you fail to hand over your project
at the right time, you will not get paid.
Advantages:
The media company will know exactly what their task is, what they need to do
and they are being asked to do. The brief will be very detailed and the
information will be very specific. This will make it easier for the media company
because they will know exactly what they need to do.
Disadvantages:
If media company think that there are issues within the brief and they produce
the product to their own standards this would not be producing the product to
the standards set by the client and they could decide to take legal action and
this could result in your company having a bad reputation for not completing
projects to a set brief.

3. FORMAL BRIEF
Definition:
A client will provide the media company with a brief which will contain the basic
information such as what product they want to be made. If the media company
has any additional information, they will need to provide their additional ideas in
the negotiation with the client. Once both the client and the media company are
happy with their final agreement, they will finally put it in writing. However, this
contract doesn’t usually have to require legal binding, it just have to require both
parties agreeing.
Advantages:
This would benefit the production company because the client will not be able to
change the brief so therefor the production company can just start the production
of the product immediately. This also benefits the production company because if
you get any new ideas, you can just contact your client and tell them your idea
and see what they think. This could result in the final product looking very
professional and creative and it could also result in the company learning and
understanding more about new skills and tasks.
Disadvantages:
The brief could be very simple and therefore it might not give the media company

4. INFORMAL BRIEF
Definition
This is a verbal agreement between the costumer and the media company. There is
no written proof of this agreement or a contract. There will not be a deadline or
end of date for the tasks you get set, you’d simply hand the in once you have
completed the product and it’s up to the costumers standard. This is the type of
brief freelancers use use especially freelancer designers.
Advantages
This could work in the media company’s favour, because they could take their time
to get their task up to a very high standard as well as working on two different
tasks at the same time with one client or more.
Disadvantages
Since there is no contract, there will be no evidence to say what the client wants or
what amount you get paid so therefor if you do work that is up to the costumers
standards you might get underpaid and there will be no proof of how much you
were suppose to get paid so even then you couldn’t take legal actions against the
costumers.

5. CO-OPERATIVE BRIEF
Definition:
This is where two or more media companies will get hired to work on a special
brief together. If there is a disagreement between the two companies then a
negotiated brief will take place to come to a settlement which will appeal to both
companies.
Advantages:
The companies will know each other and they might like each other’s work which
may lead to working together in the future again. The companies will learn new
things from each other, they will get to see how they do the work in their own
way. Their contact list will be growing because if one company cant do a certain
task for a future customer, they could refer them to the other company.
Disadvantages
This could go horribly wrong and the companies may end up finding it very difficult
to work together which could result in the product not getting done on time and
then the costumer may be have to find different companies to do the work.

6. NEGOTIATED BRIEF
Definition:
Negotiated briefs is where two companies will be working together towards a
certain task and they will have a disagreement. The negotiated brief helps set
rules that will appeal to both companies. During the negotiation, the brief will be
change to make sure it appeals to both companies. This could be simple changes
such as the font or major changes such as the visual style and the content of the
project. Both companies have to compromise to be able to carry on with the task.
Advantages:
This could be really useful because the changes that have been made could lead to
a better project and a better overall come out. Also, it allows the project to be
open to different suggestions from different people which could also lead to a
bigger and a better project and a better overall outcome of the product.
Disadvantages:
It could take a while to come up with someone that will appeal to both companies.
One of the companies might be too stubborn to give in and people’s attitudes may
change towards each other which can cause personal conflict between the two
companies.

7. COMMISSION BRIEF
Definition:
This is where a big media company will hire out a smaller media company to create
a certain product/task. This is more negotiated between the two companies rather
than getting the client involved, the client will deal with the large company but not
necessarily the small hired out company. If the overall product is successful, the
small hired out company will get paid for their work as well as part of the
product's profit but only under circumstances which the big company will discuss
with the smaller company. For example, if the products gets published or
advertised on TV then the smaller company can get a certain amount out of the
products profit.
Advantages:
This works in the small company's favour because sometimes they can get a
percentage of the profit the product makes which means they get paid for doing
their job as well as some of the product's income. This works in the big company's
favour because they have hired a small company to take care of a certain project
which means that the big company can get on with other different projects.
Disadvantages:
The small hired out company doesn’t get much of a say which means the overall
outcome of the project they created could be very different to what they expected.
Also, the big company might of hired more than one small company which means
the product's profit may be shared between a few company's which then means

8. TENDER BRIEF
Definition:
A company will publish that they need some work done then a production
company will make a proposal that they will pitch the client. There will be more
than one production company that may have more than one proposal so therefor,
after the client has seen all the proposals from all the company's, the client will
pick the best proposal and give that production company the project.
Advantages:
The client will get lots of different ideas from lots of different perspectives and
companies which can lead to the client coming up with a better project or even
small additional information. The client will be able to see a rough expectation of
the overall outcome in his head and therefore he will pick the production
company that pitched the closest proposal to the image he had in mind.
Disadvantages:
The companies that get their proposal rejected will be set back and they would of
lost the time and effort to get their proposal and pitch together. Some production
companies would of declined other work because they thought that the client was
going to pick their proposal and therefore they may of lost out on making profit
as well.

9. COMPETITION BRIEF
Definition:
This is where a client can put their brief out so it can be available to all
different production companies that will be interested in the brief. Each
production company will have to fill the brief and the client can then judge
and assess which company has the best project and as an award the client
will either pay the production company money or the production company
will get an award of some sort (such as having their product published). This
brief is very similar to the tender brief because the same element is applied
as to how the client has to pick one company to produce the work but yet
many different companies can apply for the role.
Advantages:
The client only has to pay the one winning production company, however,
sometimes the client won't have to pay the company at all due it being a
competition. There will be a lot of different companies producing the product
which means the client has a variety of products to choose from and it means
that the client can choose the most successful product.
Disadvantages:
Client only has to pay the winning production company which means other
companies who have filled out the brief would of wasted their time and effort
and the client might of stole some of the companies ideas for future projects.

10. MY BRIEF
Which structure/structures will your client brief use?
Reference your reasons for choice/choices
I think the structures my client will use is a mixture between formal and informal
briefs. I don’t have a brief in writing, we have had phone conversations to decide
what products she wants and what she expects. However, there has also been
some emails exchanged between us where I have it on writing of what she expects
of me and what she wants. However, I don’t actually have a contract6 and the
work I am doing is free of charge. This benefit's me because even though the work
may end up not being in my client's standard, I could always use it for my
portfolio work, and even though it may not appeal to her eyes, it will always
appeal to someone's eyes and I can show others some of my work.
The informal part to this brief is that there is no contract to even prove that we are
working together, most of it has been done on the phone which in a way has made
it easier because I got to build a more personal relation with the client and I
understand exactly what I need to do.
The formal part is where I have emails from my client with guidelines as to what
she would like from me.
In a way, there is slightly Tender brief elements in the brief the client has sent me. I
am not the only person creating this poster and flyer. She has already sent me a

11. READING THE BRIEF
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
When you receive the brief, it is very important that you read through it
properly and understand what is expected of you. Understanding the
brief is very important because it will help you produce the work at the
client's standards. If you fail to produce at the client's standard you
may not get paid or you may get underpaid, so reading the brief and
understanding it will mean that you are being safe and producing the
work at the client's standard. The brief will tell you exactly what
products you need. In my brief I got two different products that I need
to create. A flyer for an event when can be poster through people's
letterboxes and then a poster for the same event. Straight away I
started making notes on what paper sizes I am going to use. My client
sent me a poster that another company has done for the same event
which gave me a heads up and helped me know what sort of style to
avoid so my products doesn't look like theirs.

12. READING THE BRIEF
What is the nature and demand of your client brief?
The nature of this brief is to provide some fashionable flyers and posters for a fashion show that
is being held by my client's company. The client has asked for there to be a design on only the
front of the flyers and the posters so it's one sided.
The demands that have been given within this brief are such things as using 100% recycled paper
but she would like it to be card paper rather than normal plain paper. The client has also stated
that they usually print 3,500 of the product, so we will do the same. There is no such demands
when it comes to creating the actual products. She’s gave me a lot of freedom to create what I
think will be right. She mentioned that she wants 20 print outs of each product to be ready to
be dispatched and if she likes the style, she will print out more herself.

13. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to
production?
If you get to meet your client, it will benefit you because you will be
able to discuss the brief with them, this will help you as a production
company because then you can explain any issues you may have with
producing the product etc... but you can also discuss any ideas that
you can add to the project to improve the overall outcome. This could
end in two ways, your client may take on your ideas on board or they
may completely decline them and ask you to get on with the brief
exactly how it is. If you go on and create the final product using your
own ideas and not following the brief's outline then your client may
refuse to pay you because the product is not up to their standards.
This is better than thinking of an idea, creating the idea without asking
the client, then producing the product at your standard rather than
the clients standard because then you would of wasted your time as
well as lost money and possibly got a bad review on your company.

14. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with
a brief?
The advantages of being discrete about a brief is that if it was a
competition brief, you will be keeping your ideas to yourself which
means no one will be stealing your ideas or try to out d you. It also
means that it will be a surprise to the client because you just took the
brief on and created the product with no issues, so the client will be
surprised with the overall outcome.
The disadvantage of being discrete about a brief is that you cant share
your ideas with anyone which means that you will need to relay on your
own ideas because you will not be able to get a different perspective on
your work from someone different. Another disadvantage is that you
may end up creating a product that your client will dislike very much
and therefor, the client will refuse to take your product and pay you or
reward you.

15. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the
brief’s proposed product?
There is no such legal or ethical issues with my project. However,
there are some regulatory which I will need to consider. Copyright
is something to completely avoid. I am not allowed to use
anyone’s art work or pieces of work at all unless I have permission
too. This could result in my company being sued and it could also
result in my client being sued if the product was to be released.
Also, if my model is under 18, I will need to get her and her
parents to sign a consent form and a release form so therefor I
could use the images from the photo shoot. If my model if over
18 then she will still need to sign a consent and a release form.
Some ethical issues I may have will be small things like too much
body revealing to people from different cultures. However, that
will not happen because I am using nice, elegant clothes from my
client’s company.

16. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Amendments you have considered to:
The Product
If my client doesn’t like the first drafts I send her then I will need to make
sure I find out what she didn’t like and improve it for the 2nd drafts I send
her. If she doesn’t like the 2nd draft, I will need to go meet her and get it in
writing exactly what she wants and I will also need to ask for a longer
deadline because I will not be able to produce the 3rd draft at the time she
expects the products to be in.
The Budget
My client is not supplying me with any money so therefor, if the model and
makeup artist need to be paid, I will have to do it myself. I also will need to
pay for all the 20 print outs of each product. This could end up resulting in
me paying over £200 (if the model and makeup artist require paying) or
only resulting in paying £20 which will be for the paper and the print outs.
The Conditions
If I don’t have the products ready by the deadline of the brief then I will need
to speak to my client and explain what issues I am having and why my
project has gone over time. I will need to negotiate with my client what will
happen next and see if I can get another deadline.

17. OPPORTUNITIES
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development:
The brief will be a good opportunity for me to be able to see what tasks I am particularly good
at and therefor I will be able to see the tasks I am not very good at and see what I can do to
help with the skills I am missing. I will need to improve on the tasks I am bad at in order to
complete the production of the product at my client’s standards.
Learning new skills
I will face some difficulties because there will be certain things that will be new to me and things
that I will need to practice over and over again until I am satisfied with the overall outcome.
This will means that I will be learning new skills which could help me with my future designs
and work.
Multi-skilling
My company is just me, I don’t have any team members. Which means this will result in me
having to multi task a lot. I would have to answer all client (old and new) calls, create the work
and do all the other jobs which needs to be done in order to complete the production of this
product.
Contributing to a project
I will create extra pieces of work which will help me understand the brief more and get my ideas