Chapter 3: Writing Briefs That Lead to Good Work

A brief is a decision tool. If it does not help the team make choices, it is too vague.

The best briefs answer the questions that drive creative decisions:

• What are we trying to change?
• Who are we speaking to?
• What should they think, feel, or do?
• What is the one thing this work must communicate?
• What must stay consistent with the brand?
• What can be flexible?

What a strong brief includes

• Business problem.
• Communication objective.
• Audience and context.
• Key insight.
• Single-minded message.
• Brand voice guidance.
• Mandatory elements.
• Restrictions.
• Deliverables and formats.
• Timeline and approvals.

Brief-writing principles

• Be specific.
• Keep one primary objective.
• Separate facts from opinions.
• State the tradeoffs clearly.
• Include examples when language alone is not enough.

Generation-ready briefs

A modern brief should also describe the generation logic:

• What kind of outputs are expected.
• What reference materials should be used.
• What visual or narrative variables may change.
• What must remain fixed across generated versions.
• What would count as a successful iteration.

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