Working to a Brief LO1

Sanem Koyupinar and Catherine Giggal

Contractual BriefDefinition: A contractual brief is a legal document, which is created between an

employee and a client. It outlines the duties that will be required by the company, and how the company organises their work. It is a document which states the expectations of the client, the prices they agree on, as well as the the payment terms.

Advantages: An advantage is that it gives the company an idea of what the client wants them to achieve, whilst also initiating a stable price range, where the client and the employer will agree on a set income with the employer through the contractual brief.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage is that the client may require a heavy workload from the employer, which will put a strain upon them, and with advertising, a lot of creativity is required, and this is likely to be hindered if the client desires to receive written work, as opposed to graphical designs.

Formal BriefDefinition: A formal written brief is a document that includes detailed information

about what the client wants the company to achieve. It is usually a straightforward document, which refrains from including any unwanted information. The brief itself may not always be classified as a legal document.

Advantages: An advantage is that as the document itself is clear, as well as concise, as it lacks in any form of complexity, refraining from including extended legal terms within its theses. Also, as it is not always a legal-binding document, the company can express their opinions, as well as having the ability to work around the contract.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage is that the contract is very general, as opposed to the haphazard structure of a regular contract, which is explained in a lot more detail. The employer as well as the client, may disagree on the terms of each others decisions, and opinions which are listed in the contract.

Informal BriefDefinition: A informal brief is less professional than that of a traditional brief, where it

outlines the project verbally, as this particular type of brief does not require any means of a written document. There is a discussion conducted between the client and the employer, where they will come to a general agreement over the details of the contract.

Advantages: A advantage is that there is no real guideline to the brief, it is very free, and the employer will be allowed to manoeuvre and influence their own opinions into the document, before the client finalises it.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage would be that the expectations proclaimed by the client may interfere with the ethos of the employer, who may not want to perform a task that involves a heavy workload, which may disinterest the client into giving them work, and they may look elsewhere for an individual to complete their project.

Co-Operative BriefDefinition: This is where two or several production companies are employed to

operate upon a set brief, which they complete in unison on a team basis. The project has to be completed before a certain deadline, otherwise the client will be extremely dissatisfied, and will not employ the selected companies in the future.

Advantages: An advantage of working as a team is that it helps to build a sense of community within the workplace, whilst adding a social side to it as well, which inevitably means that a good form of communication will be featured between the team members. Also, having several people work on a project means that a variety of different ideas will be circulated, which will be beneficial in completing the project.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage could be that the individuals who are working in the team may disagree with other which will inevitably cause the downfall of the project, whilst hindering the growth of it significantly, due to the conflicting views of the individuals involved over the brief.

Negotiated BriefDefinition: This is where the client and the employer will come to a specified

agreement upon the brief of the project, which will include the final ideas of both the employer, as well as the client. It is important that the client and employer/company agree on the brief, or it will cause inevitable problems in the future.

Advantages: An advantage to this type of brief is that it brings the ideas of the client and employer together, and merges them into one, creating a brief that is suitable for both the employer, as well as the client, which means that they are less likely to quarrel in the future over the terms of the legal agreement.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage is that when the client and the employer ‘negotiate’ their brief, they may come to a disagreement, that may result in the employer losing the potential work, as they may deny the requirements stated by the client, which means that the client may siphon their project out to another employer or company.

Commission BriefDefinition: A ‘commission brief’ is where a large corporation, such as The Daily Mail,

employ an independent company to create their product/project for them. It is notable that this type of brief is negotiated between two media companies, as opposed to an external client, who may receive the product once it has been established.

Advantages: An advantage is that the independent production company will be paid for creating the specific product, and may receive a fraction of the profit that is generated by the product once it has been distributed to the intended consumer, also known as the target audience of the product.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage for this might be that when the product has been launched, the large company may develop a sense of corporate greed, not giving the independent institution enough credit for their contribution, or paying them a sufficient amount of money for their hard work. This creates an unfair advantage, which may lead the independent business to complain to the large company, and will prevent them from working for the giant corporation in the future.

Tender BriefDefinition: A client will produce an advertisement stating that they require a media

product to be created. A potential employer, such as a production company, initiates a brief, a budget, as well as a proposal, which is then pitched to the client in order to secure their chance of obtaining the work that was previously advertised by the employer. The client decides upon the most impressive proposal featured from their group of candidates.

Advantages: An advantage could be that as there is a lot of competition, the employer will be more determined and motivated to produce a high-quality proposal, that will secure them the work from the client, therefore, making them more productive as a company, as they will be thinking of the income in which they will receive upon the completion of the project/product.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage for this type of brief is that because of the competition, an employer is likely to be disheartened over losing the work set by the client, to another company. It can be difficult for an employer to gain work, due to the other employers, who also want to get the job. A company has to expect failure, so that they can then look for temporary employment elsewhere.

Competition BriefDefinition: A brief which is created in order to be accessible to all of the production

companies which are participating in creating a project/product. It is notable that each corporation completes their own brief, outlining their ethos. All of the finished projects created by these companies are judged, and the most impressive one is crowned winner, and is taken into publication by the client.

Advantages: An advantage may be that because of the heavy competition, the employer will strive to pitch themselves to the client in the most sufficient way, behaving in a professional manner, which is likely to impress the client, and may, in turn, provide the employer with work.

Disadvantages: Even though this type of brief is generally free to join, the winner of the competition may have to pay a fee for being crowned victorious, as opposed to the runner-up. There is a slight possibility that the winner may be unhappy with siphoning out some of their income to the client. However, this is a part of the job, and they will have to learn to accept it if they want to pursue a career within this specific field of work.

My BriefWhich structure/structures will the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief use? Reference your reasons for choice/choices

The brief for our specific project, (where we have to create vegetarian recipe cards) will be presented in a formal matter, due to the fact that it states a sense of professionalism, which should therefore reflect within our company, in the hopes that it will attract a potential client, who wants to have a sophisticated style incorporated within their work. Also, we want to utilise this as it is a fixed brief, where we would only have to send work such as sketches and initial planning sheets, as opposed to distributing the main body of work in which we will finalise before sending it off the client, who will then attain the project in its full form.

Reading the BriefWhy is important to thoroughly read your brief?

It is extremely important for an individual to read through their brief, otherwise, they may complete the project featuring a high abundance of errors, in which the client will be unhappy about, and it is likely that they may not pay the employer the full agreed wage, as the work in which they assigned to the employer is highly incorrect, causing much dismay to the client. Also, if an individual refrains from reading the brief, they will not be able to complete the set project in a sufficient manner, and will create a project based on their own thoughts, instead of incorporating the wishes posed by the client within the brief. Also, if it is a contractual brief, the employer is likely to be scrutinised for their inability to complete a set project, in which the client stated within the legally-binding document. The company/employer will then lose a high amount of money from producing the product incorrectly, and their reputation as a corporation will be immediately diminished.

Reading the BriefWhat is the nature and demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief?

The nature of the brief initiated by the client is that they require a straightforward style within their work, so that the consumers can easily view the cards, and will be able to comprehend the listed recipe in a sufficient manner. The company are also eco-friendly, where they print their cards solely on recyclable paper, whilst utilising vegetable-based inks. Also, the brief states that they want to create a biodegradable laminate to coat their cards, which is inexpensive, due to the fact that the coating they use currently, costs a high amount of money, which could be used for other things.

Furthermore, the demand of the product (which is stated within the brief) is that the company wants to incorporate a vibrant style within their work, putting a ‘creative’ edge onto the cards, which will initially attract the eye of the intended viewer. Also, they want their cards to be laminated, and should be thematic, so that they can be identified in a set. The recipes featured must be strictly vegetarian, listing ingredients that are suitable to the vegetarian diet as well. It is also notable that high-quality photographs of food should be used on the cards, and that the cooking instructions should be featured on each individual recipe card.

Negotiating a BriefWhy is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production?

It is highly important to discuss your brief with your client before you start production, merely for the fact that it gives the employer a chance to share their queries regarding the project, and state their views and differences upon the theses initiated by the client. Also, it gives the client and the employer an opportunity to discuss through the stated brief, which will become a legal document, once it has been finalised, so if there are any problems, the employer must state them before it is too late for them to alter it. It is vital for both the client and the employer to read over their terms, so that there are no disagreements between them in the future.

Negotiating a BriefWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief?

An advantage in employing discretion within the brief is that it enables the employer to carry on with the project, completing it in the most efficient way, without any interruptions from the client, who may require several drafts of the work to be sent to them via email. It is clear that by incorporating discretion within your work, you will be able to complete the work to the best of your ability, without any pressure from the client, who may have required that the employer regularly updates them on the progress of their project, which is likely to disrupt the workflow of the employer, who will want to finish the project.

On the other hand, by using discretion, the client is literally ‘left in the dark’, where they will have little of no news on the progress of their project, which may unnerve the client, who wants to know how the work is going, and if the employer is committing any serious errors within the assigned project. Also, the lack of communication between the employer and the client may create a sense of isolation, where they do not operate in unison, which means that there will a state of distance, and it will inevitably affect the final outcome of the project/product.

Negotiating a BriefAre there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the brief’s proposed product?

When initiating a product, the employer as well as the client have to list any ethical issues in the brief, which may arise in the near future. The client would have to state that their product does not infringe on copyright, and that everything listed within their brief is completely original, as opposed to incorporating the work of others into their own work, which would be highly illegal, leading to a fine or even a prison sentence.

Also, the client and the employer would have to discuss whether any moral/ethical issues would be touched upon in the process of making the product. It is notable that the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) may have to be involved in the creation of the product, due to the fact that when the client advertises their brief, they would have to monitor it to check if it is suitable for publication, and that is does not offend any members of the public, or potential employer. The brief itself may contain controversial subjects in which the employer may be uncomfortable in working with, so they would have to contact the employer to see if they could alter the brief, so that it suits the ethical and moral level that is inhabited by the employer themselves.

Negotiating a BriefAmendments you have considered to;

The Product: Instead of creating recipe cards, we could alternatively transform the list of recipes into a booklet, in which the consumer can utilise in order to attain their recipes, instead of tirelessly searching through a high abundance of cards. It is notable that will be more environmentally friendly, as fewer pieces of paper are used. Also, it will save the company a sufficient amount of money, due to the fact that they are not creating and distributing thousands of cards to the intended consumer, instead, all of the recipes will be included within a brochure.

The Budget: In order to complete the project in a sufficient manner, it is notable that we may have to ask for funding from an investor (if we run out of money to complete it ourselves), due to the fact that there may be a certain section of the project in which we cannot complete without an extra amount of money, which means that we will have to discover a benefactor, who is initially willing to fund this specific part, so that we can prosper and pursue our career in creating vegetarian recipe cards.

The Conditions: It may be a smart business move to alter the conditions of the project, as it is important for the company to take some control over the project, not enabling the client to dictate every aspect of the project, taking priority within the brief, as opposed to the sole creator of the media product. The client may outline several demands in which the company can work around, coming to an outward comprise with the client, where they can work in unison, in order to complete the project, as opposed to disagreeing over different factors.

OpportunitiesWhat opportunities could this brief allow you to explore? Self Development: In order to prosper in this field, it is important for the producer to attain a sense of self-

development when completing the project, as it enables them to become more confident as individuals, as well as strengthening their self-belief. It is important to explore this when working with a formal brief, as when it is finalised and negotiated with the client, the company can then work on the project on a solitary basis, which will help their confidence to grow, as they have been assigned a project in which they have to complete by themselves.

Learning new skills: It is notable that when a company or an individual completes a certain project, they will gain a new set of skills, in which they did not inhabit beforehand. This is incredibly useful as they can utilise it in the future for other projects that they take on, as well as presenting their new skills into their advertisement, which will initially ‘promote’ their business, as they may state that they can utilise Photoshop, which they may have not been able to use before.

Multi-skilling: It is likely that when outlining the brief of the project, the client will demand that the company performs several types of skills that will be needed in order to complete the project, such as utilising Adobe Photoshop, as well as a complex writing style. The company is then required to pander to the wishes of the client, producing high quality pieces of work, which have been established due to the fact that the company have used a variety of skills, which would have significantly improved the overall worth of the project.

Contributing to a brief: In a formal brief, it is notable that the company, who has been assigned to complete the specific project for the client, adds their own views and opinions to the brief, so that the client realises that they are requiring a compromise, as opposed to letting the client dictate the final outcome of the project through the stated brief. The client and the company/producer have to come to a final agreement over the terms of the brief, which will enable both of them to initiate a mutual understanding, where the requirements of the project will be outlined with the opinions of both the client and the producer will be included within the set brief.