Work is an important part of life for many people. It provides income to support oneself and family, a sense of purpose and social connections with coworkers. While work can be demanding, it also rewards workers with a paycheck, opportunities for growth, and the satisfaction of contributing value through their efforts and skills.

1. WORKING TO A BRIEF
LO1
Name: Charley
Jackson

2. CONTRACTUAL BRIEF
Definition: A contractual brief is a legally binding document that contains set
conditions such as a set task, with a set time period for completion and a
set fee. If the company steps out of the specified agreement this means that
they are breaching what the contract states. For example: if a wedding
photographer was contracted to take images but didn't show up to the
wedding then the client would be well within their rights to get their money
back or potentially sue.
Advantages: One advantage would be that the contractual agreement clarifies
that both the company and the client know exactly what they
expecting/expected to do without any confusion. This agreement can also
act as a form of protection or insurance for both the client or the company
for if anything happens to go wrong or maybe not to plan. This can prevent
the company from having to do more work than planned or prevent the
client from not receiving what they are paying for
Disadvantages: One disadvantage of this could be if a unrealistic completion
date is set, for example: say if a company is contracted to build and finalise
an extension for a house within 2-3 weeks this would be unrealistic. This
could become a problem because if the company did not finalise the
extension within the time period then they are liable for a being sued which
could damage the company's reputation and financial situation. Another
disadvantage is once the contract is signed it cannot be revoked, therefore
meaning that they have to follow out what they have agreed to.

3. FORMAL BRIEF
Definition: A formal brief is similar to a contractual brief in some ways
because both the client and the company have to make an agreement,
although it isn't always legally binding. This brief means that both sides
have to formally agree on the product or service that will be provided. For
example: Age UK may want a company to create posters for their campaign,
however the colour scheme and contents of the poster would have to be
negotiated by both sides (the company and the client). Essentially, the client
tells the company what they want.
Advantages: One advantage of the formal brief is that it will give flexibility in
regards to designing of the product or service, time constraints, budgets
and so on. This naturally makes the project more relaxed and keeps the
project simple. One way that this kind of belief keeps a project simple is
that it doesn’t require either sides reading though a lengthy contract.
Another advantage is having less pressure of time limits and so on.
Disadvantages: One disadvantage is that there are not specifics, this could
make negotiation a little bit harder or it could make it harder for the
company to meet the clients needs, for example: if the client doesn’t specify
on a colour scheme but the company picks one for them and the client
doesn’t like it; this could make things difficult. Another disadvantage is the
loss of protection that naturally comes with a legally binding contract, this
means that if anything goes wrong that there isn't a proper way to prove
this.

4. INFORMAL BRIEF
Definition: An informal brief is the opposite of a contractual and
formal brief because there are no legally binding parts,
contractual or written agreements involved. An informal brief
can literally involve a discussion; an informal brief can include
a verbal agreement meaning there are no contracts/written
agreements.
Advantages: One advantage of an informal brief is that there is
no paperwork to complete and the company basically can do
whatever they like. This means that the company can complete
the project when they feel like it because there are no set time
frames or they can even make changes to the project if they
want to because there is nothing to suggest that they can't,
there's also nothing to stop this. A
Disadvantages: One disadvantage of an informal brief is that it
is not reliable, for example: if the product or service is
something that is required within a specific time and the
company doesn’t manage to meet this then the client wouldn’t
be eligible for a refund and wouldn’t be able to sue the
company due to a lack of evidence.

5. CO-OPERATIVE BRIEF
Definition: A Co-Operative brief is where more than one company is hired by
the client to complete one project, this means that all of the companies
involved have to work together by following the same brief in order to
complete the project efficiently and within the time scale set by the client.
Advantages: One advantage of a Co-Operative brief is that there is more than
one company working on a project meaning that there is bound to be a
better outcome or finalisation on the product or service because the brief is
split between the companies. This means that all of the elements of the
brief will be focused on in more detail.
Disadvantages: One disadvantage of working with more than one company
can make negotiation hard because there could be disagreements between
the companies which could delay the progress of the project and cause
further problems. Another disadvantage is that the wages paid out for the
completion of the project have to be spit between all of those involved,
meaning that each company will earn less than they would if they were
working on the project solo.

6. NEGOTIATED BRIEF
Definition: A negotiated brief is similar to a Co-Operative brief because it is
where more than one company works on a project using the same brief. The
part that makes a negotiated brief different is that if the companies involved
in the project have conflicting ideas then it is up to them to negotiate it
between them while ensuring that the client is happy with the negotiations
made.
Advantages: One advantage negotiated brief is that it promotes synergy. This
brief allows more than one company to work on a brief meaning that there
is more minds and ideas that will come together to create something that
has the potential to be better than the client expected, this kind of feedback
would give both companies a good reputation.
Disadvantages: Very similarly to Co-Operative the main disadvantage is, with
there being two companies full of ideas an potential; there may be
disagreements between the two of them. If disagreements arise there needs
to be a negotiation. The problem with this is that it prevents the project
from moving forward until the issue is resolved.

7. COMMISSION BRIEF
Definition: A commission brief is where a large media company
hires an independent media company in order to create a
product for an external client. The product is created by two
media companies which share the same brief which will be split
between them. Once the product has been created it can be
used by the larger media company for the external client. The
independent media company will then receive money for
making the product and also make a profit from the product
every time it is used/broadcasted/ sold or published.
Advantages: One advantage of a commission brief is that the
independent company will potentially make some profit from
their work every time it is sold/used/broadcasted/etc.
Disadvantages: The independent company might not get as
much profit as they are hoping for and another disadvantage is
that they never get to handle the client due to it being passed
down.

8. TENDER BRIEF
Definition: A tender brief is when a media producer creates a
pitch/proposal based around the brief that the client has
published. With a tender brief the client gets to see different
companies pitches and then make a the decision of which company
then want to go
Advantages: The client gets to see a range of different ideas, they
also then get to analyse all of them to see which one will be most
suited to them; rather than just picking one company who might
not fulfil the requirements of the client.
Disadvantages: This kind of brief comes with a risk for all of the
participating companies, the risk is that they may put a lot of work
in to their idea which may not get picked by the client. If the
company doesn’t get picked this can have downfalls such as losing
the money put in to the pitch and so on.

9. COMPETITION BRIEF
Definition: A competition brief is made available to all
participating production companies so that each of the
different companies can fill it in. Once the brief has been filled,
the projects then get judged and a best is picked. The best is
awarded the project or has the project published. It is often
free to enter the competition and the client only has to pay the
best (the winning company)
Advantages: One advantage of the competition brief is that it
gives an opportunity to work with large companies. Another
advantage is that the client (or the judges) get to a range of
projects to choose from.
Disadvantages: Only the winning company will get paid, this is a
disadvantage because all of the other participating companies
will have put in work that they will not be getting paid for.

10. MY BRIEF
My brief is informal, this is partly because I know the client
personally so there are no contractual agreements, official
negotiations or formal language necessary. I would also say
that this brief is informal because the brief is written in short
sentence and doesn’t go in to much detail in regards to what
the client requires from me in order for the production of the
business cards to be successful. The brief gives a
preview/rough idea of what the client would like doing to get
the business cards they were expecting. The features that are
briefly previewed within the brief are aspects like the colour
scheme, the text style and so on.

11. READING THE BRIEF
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
It is important to read though my brief to ensure that I know exactly
how to meet the clients expectations and requirements. The brief is an
extremely big part of the project because it will guide me and help me
to understand exactly what I need to do to fulfil the requirements and
complete the project successfully. Not only will the brief help me to
understand what my overall task is, it will help me to determine how
much time I have to achieve the standards that the client wants. I need
to manage my time efficiently in order for the project to be a success.
Choosing to not thoroughly read the brief could potentially allow for
mistakes to be made and for there to be issues along the way due to a
lack of understanding of what the client wants. This can also lead to
more problems because the company/producer would have to allow
more time to fix any issues caused.

12. READING THE BRIEF
What is the nature and demand of your client brief?
The nature of the brief is that the client would like me to create a
business card design that nicely suits her brand new nail salon. She is
wanting to use the business cards as a way of promoting/spreading the
word about her business because they’re neat and she can pass the
cards out to people that may be interested in the nail services she
provides. Another purpose of the cards is being able to use them as
appointment cards, this is a nice and efficient way for the clients
customers to keep track of their nail appointment. The client didn’t not
on the brief when she wanted the business cards finalised for but after
contacting her she decided that the 16th May would be preferable due
to her moving closer to the launch date of her salon.

13. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to
production?
A discussion with the client prior to beginning of the production of the
cards is very important because with briefs being written in short
sentences it can be easy to misunderstand certain things that could
affect the whole project. I think it’s best to contact the client and
double check that you have the right idea about what they are
expecting to see when the production is finalised. If the creator was to
not spend a little bit of time making checks with the client and
clarifying that the information and understanding they have for the
project is correct then this could lead to things not going as planned
(for example the client may not be happy with the finalised piece), a
waste of materials/funds, a loss of time, lack of trust from the clients
and so on.

14. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion
with a brief?
One advantage of employing discretion with a brief is that the producer
has the opportunity to push their creative bar and try to impress their
client by constructing and adding their own inspiration/ideas in to a
project while also fulfilling the brief. This allows the creator to have
freedom within their work and show what they are capable of in a way
that they think represents them the best. Another advantage of this is
that if the client likes what the creator has added then this could help
the creator/company become trusted because after doing a great job
there is usually great ‘word of mouth’ passed on by the client. This
kind of situation/positivity could lead the creator in to more
opportunities.
One disadvantage of employing discretion with a brief is that the
producer may incorporate their idea in to the production; usually
without confirmation from the client which could cause an issue
because the client may not like the idea that the producer has added
outside of the briefs outline. Another disadvantage is this could cause
the client not to trust the producer with their project and potentially

15. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s
proposed product?
All of the legal/ethical and regulatory issues will be considered prior to
production because of how important it is, not taking this seriously
could result in the client being in trouble with the law (facing fines ect);
this would also have a negative reflection on the producers too. When
creating the product I will be ensuring that everything used is not
copyrighted , especially the images; I will be using images of nail
treatments for the business cards but I will be double checking that
they are owned by the client and haven’t been taken from somewhere
else. I will also be ensuring that the font I will be using is copyright free
so that this will not be an issue either.

16. NEGOTIATING A BRIEF
Amendments you have considered to:
The Product
I will be creating a business card, that will be organised in to separate
layers to ensure the efficiency of ease of being able to alter any part of
the card to suit the clients needs. I will be creating screenshots of each
different stage (such as when the colour has been added, to when the
images has been added, to the text and so on), I will use these as a way
of feeding back/clarifying that client is happy with the progress of the
project.
I will be adding a butterfly to the brightly coloured card that has plans
to be developed in to a butterfly that will be pressed in to the card with
a metallic finish.
The Budget
The majority of the project will cost nothing to make but once the
creation of the business card is finalised, the client has requested that
the cards get printed in a quantity of 100. This would have to be don’t
through a printing firm, me and the client did some research a found
that VistaPrint could facilitate this for £34.
The Conditions

17. OPPORTUNITIES
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore?
Self Development
Firstly, I think that this opportunity will help me to improve my creativity level
and the way I see things because this allows me to really open my mind up
and think of ideas that are suited to me and more importantly in this case, an
audience. This project will give me the opportunity to improve my skills. I will
be able to particularly improve on my ability to match/contrast colours,
improve with structuring and laying out aspects so that they are visually
pleasing, my photoshop and much more. Another self-development will be
communication, this project requires me to communicate with a client and is
a very useful skill to have.
Learning new skills
Throughout this project I will be learning new skills such as working with a
client, this will including learning how to follow a brief successfully, ensuring
that all of the set requirements are met and communicating with the client
throughout the project to make sure that they are happy with the progress
made. These skill are ones that I will be able to carry with me through life and
potentially use in the future. I think that communication is the most
important skill because it allows me to know what the clients requirements
are, it helps me understand what they would like creating for them, its helps
me to understand if I am progressing in the right direction with the project
and so on.

18. OPPORTUNITIES
Multi-skilling
There are quite a few skills which I plan to use and develop within this
project such as visual hierarchy, this is particularly important because
this affects the way the product (business cards) that I will be creating
for the client will be seen by the audience. I will be also be developing
my visual hierarchy so create a focal point for the product to ensure
that parts of it stand out above others and to draw attention. Another
skill I will be developing is Photoshopping, I have been given some
images that need altering before I use them on the product. The kind
of altering that I will be doing is cropping, brightening, blurring and
background correction.
Contributing to a project
The brief/project will be worked on solely by me, this is not a project
that will be use to contribute to another project and it will not contain
contributions from others. The way I will be contributing to my project
is by covering all the bases to ensure that the requirements on the brief
have been met correctly for the client.