Hey guys and welcome to this video
Gareth here.
In the previous two videos I discussed the graphic 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
links for them both are in the description.
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 open or closed.
In this video I'm going to discuss this further 
and showcase some examples.
So what's the difference?
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 will be spent researching
and developing many design ideas, concepts and routes.
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 it will state what the solution will need to be.
Much of the concept design may 
already be done in a closed brief.
Due to the restraints and limitations of the closed brief
less time maybe 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 preference.
Perhaps you like projects that give you maximum creative freedom
maybe you like or prefer undertaking projects that you can take ownership over
and create something from scratch. 
Or perhaps you prefer working
with limitations with more direction and guidance.
Knowing the difference can help 
you seek out the kind of work you like.
For example at an interview you can ask:
Will I be receiving open briefs or closed briefs?
From this you can get a very direct answer get a better understanding of the role
and what kind of work you will be doing and decide if the position is right for you.
In my experience when I am taking on new contracts
or discussing new job opportunities with agents
I will ask if the briefs are open or closed.
I generally only like to take on open briefs. 
So can avoid closed briefs.
This ultimately helps me determine the creative path I take going forward.
So now I'm going to demonstrate 
two design brief examples.
an example of an open brief 
and an example of clothes 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 is a typical brief including 
all the criteria it should Ideally include.
So the title of the brief is Goldline 
T-Shirts - New Branding
and starts with the client details at the top
and then goes straight into the client overview
Project clients overview: The project is for an existing clothing company called Goldline
looking to set up a new online platform called OneStar
to sell T-shirts and accessories to a more targeted youth audience.
What and why: Create the new logo and brand identity for OneStar T-shirts
to stand for the next five to ten years.
The brand is to be used across a wide range of media
including TV, Online, Print, Out of home, 
Web, Social & Email.
Audience: The brand is required to appeal to the young trendy fashionable demographic
who are active users of social media.
Here we can see where the brief goes into detail about gender, age, salary and profession and personality.
Objectives at goals
create an exciting premium brand 
to attract interest and drive purchases
of products and exposure to the brand.
The brand will need to stand out and compete against existing t-shirt online platforms.
Look & feel tone & manner:
So here we have a few keywords:
Fresh, Hip, Trend-setting, contemporary, catchy & bold
bright, premium and unique.
The brief also supplies some 
strap lines and unique selling points.
Now this is a fictional brief so at this time there are no examples of likes or dislikes.
Notice here the brief asks for specifics 
like colours, styles or any brands.
Same again for competitors this 
is a fictional brief so no examples here.
This would otherwise be a list 
of t-shirt store competitors
with any visual references or links for research.
Strategic considerations: The brand will initially be pushed heavily over social media.
Create an exciting quality trend-setting
brand that users will want to share
discuss and be seen wearing over social media
that will help boost exposure of the brand.
Existing branding or marketing collateral:
On this occasion the company currently 
has no prior branding or assets
the client will measure success 
on how well it is received
and how well it performs over social media 
engagement and subscribers to the mailing lists.
On this occasion for budget there 
was no quote given.
Under this we can see a list of what will be charged for:
Stage 1 - Design and conceptualise. 
Stage 2 - Design execution.
and Stage 3 -  Finalise deliverables.
For timeline we have times for each stage
Now over on the left we have the deliverables.
Stage 1 is initially to provide a selection of 
creative approaches for the new brand.
For stage 1 the client requires research, mood boards
and route options mark in the 
design section of the deliverables.
Stage 2 is to execute chosen design 
ideas from stage 1
and  stage 3 is to provide the final deliverables.
Here we can see all what is required 
for print digital and for project assets.
So a standard brief there with lots of information.
So what makes this an open brief?
Well the key parts to note here is that 
this is a branding project
and they have no prior branding or marketing collateral.
They have provided lots of keywords 
for look and feel tone and manner.
Which are quite broad and for stage 1 they require research, mood boards and route options
which they have allocated three weeks to develop.
This is an open brief because here the client would like to see lots of ideas concepts and routes
in stage 1 before settling on one to develop in stage two and three
where a broad range of print and digital media will also need to be designed from scratch.
The brief does not go into too much detail of what design solution will be required.
Any designer working on this brief 
will have a lot of creative freedom
to explore lots of ideas.
So next is the closed brief. Here is another document same layout look for a different project.
The title of this brief is: 
Strata Exhibition and Conference.
Client Overview: Strata Pharmaceuticals is a 
worldwide healthcare company
that manufactures a broad range 
of pharmaceutical products
medical devices, diagnostics and nutritional products.
What and Why: Strata are exhibiting at a conference on the 19th of April 2017 and wish to get some
promotional material and print media developed for the exhibition to engage
and interact with attendees for the event.
Take the previous year's templates and update with new details new graphics and imagery.
Audience: The media is required to appeal to the mature professional audience
passionate about health care. 
Again we can see where the
brief goes into detail about age, gender, salary and profession and personality.
We can also see here of the audience cares about.
Objectives and Goals: Catch attention and clearly inform
professionals and reps of up and coming products.
Look and Feel Tone & Manner: Clean, Clear, Bold, Attractive, Informative, simple and minimal.
The brief also supplies some 
strap line and unique selling points.
again this is a fictional brief so at 
this time there are no examples of likes or dislikes.
Same again for competitors no examples here.
Strategic Considerations: To drive future sales and referrals of drug, medical and nutritional products.
Existing Branding or Marketing Collateral:
Okay so on this occasion they have 
brand guidelines in place and templates
from the year before that they wish to simply update and perhaps modify.
The client will measure success on how well the media is received on the day
how well performs at the event and how many requests for products are made after the event.
For timeline we have two weeks and for deliverables there are no design requirements
but lots of print requirements.
So what makes this a closed brief?
Well the key parts 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 previous brief example there are no bespoke design requirements 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 the design should look like
but does state what the solution should be
the client is specific about what they want delivered
and has provided a short timeline in 
order to do it 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 
graphic design briefs you may encounter.
There is a wide spectrum of creative freedom you will have on any given project.
So brief 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.
So in a previous episode I spoke about 
how it's not always the case
that a design brief will be presented to you
depending on who you're working for 
or with you may be given a well detailed brief
you may be given some verbal instructions
or you may be given no brief at all.
some clients may feel that a meeting 
will be more beneficial
where ideas and projects can be discussed verbally in a more informal or collaborative way.
Whatever the case may be you will want to establish a solid design brief  before starting a design project.
In the next video I'm going to 
showcase some free resources you can use
to create a brief for yourself in the 
event you are not given one.
So see you in the next video.
