 |
|
I can’t recall how many times I’ve sat in a discovery meeting with a client and it became clear that a design direction was very unclear. During those meetings, the client expressed they either didn’t have an existing website or their website wasn’t working for them for some reason or another. Yet there wasn’t an obvious “next step” solution (or even “first step”) in their mind — only that the client wanted to take a step toward a new site or an improved site. It is critical that an interactive agency provides that clarification and guides the client skillfully through this discovery process. Enter the Creative Brief.
The Creative Brief is a document addendum to the Project Brief (the other invaluable document outlining the entire scope of the new project) that clearly defines all design aspects of the project. Without it, a project can quickly become a mish-mash of random notes, lost communication and a game of they said/we said. None of this bodes well for a successful outcome!
I’ve recently revisited our own Discovery and Creative Brief protocols and revised them. I felt that even more details could be added and fleshed out in the discovery process. The more information we have from our clients at the beginning of the project, the better. But it’s not always obvious what questions to ask. A few topics we discuss with client that eventually make it into the Creative Brief include:
- ~ When someone visits your new website for the first time, what do you want their immediate reaction to be? What are words to describe that?
- ~ How would you characterize the personality and style of your new website?
- ~ What main colors would you use? What complementary colors?
- ~ What existing marketing materials do you have? Should the website emulate them?
- ~ What do your competitors websites look like? Do you like them? Why? or Why not?
- ~ What would your calls-to-action be? What is your primary message? What do you want your users to do?
- ~ What type of imagery will you be using? Photography, illustrations, etc? What flavor of imagery — people shots, kids; lifestyle, commercial; edgy styling, B/W, white space; certain ethnicities, professions, actions?
- ~ What type of navigation scheme do you want? Vertical, horizontal, graphic, text-based? Is there a sub-navigation?
When you get down to it, the website look and feel is much more than “I like this” or “I want it to look cool.” What’s cool needs a definition and needs to work in the scope of existing or new marketing goals, ease of use and navigation, industry best practices and a host of other considerations. A successful website project needs to be a well-defined and understood undertaking.
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ...
