GUIDES & TIPS

Our 5 tips for successful briefing

Every project is different, and as with most creative practices there can be a lot to consider when commissioning illustration. No matter your project or timeline, creating a great brief will really help towards a smooth process and a successful end result. Considering how the artwork will need to perform for you from the very beginning is really important, but setting out useful parameters whilst allowing space for creative thinking can be the tricky part.

Over the years working with commissioners and artists around the world, across a wide variety of industries and projects, we’ve compiled what we consider to be the 5 most successful briefing approaches to let the creative magic happen, no matter what the project entails.

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1. The must-haves

For every project there will be must-haves; things that have to happen a certain way or be included to fulfil its purpose. These practicalities absolutely need to be included in your brief, and in fact can help structure and shape the creative challenge at hand. It might include anything from required elements, colour palette and layout restrictions, to specific messaging you are trying to convey. Or it may go as far as to avoid certain scenarios or red herrings that you know would be inappropriate for your audience.  

Consider where and how the end result will be applied, whether or not there are brand style rules to stick to, your messaging, who your audience is, as well as how it will sit against competitors. 

If you have a lot of must-haves, take some time to really consider the artist selection, talk to your shortlist, and perhaps even set aside some budget to explore multiple creative routes to kick things off. 

2. Just enough direction

Working out just how much creative direction to include in a brief isn't easy, and to some extent will vary from project to project, artist to artist. The most successful briefs will, first and foremost, explain the purpose illustration has within the project and the impact you want to make with the visuals. Contextual information about the brand, product or experience is also important in digestible doses, and will help focus the mind, so long as it doesn't confuse or dilute the brief. 

Moodboards and visual references can also be useful to help convey any expectations, set the tone and to steer the conversation. You might even have ideas of your own to start things off. Choose references and examples carefully, providing context, and always bear in mind the artist you are speaking with and why you think their approach will be a good fit.  

Above all, present what isn't a must-have with an open mind. Allowing this creative space within your brief could well result in something truly unexpected that really sets the project apart.

3. Build in the artist's process

Every artist works slightly differently, and the way they think is as important as their style of work aesthetically. It’s well worth having a conversation at the planning stage to get to grips with an artist’s individual process and way of working, to get an understanding of how it might play out as well as what they might need from you to get things kicked off in the right direction.

In addition, some artists will create their work entirely digitally whilst others will have hand made elements to their work, and there will be certain steps each artist follows to achieve their unique style and finish. Understanding these steps will help shape the timeline and key milestones so you can manage your team’s time and what’s expected of them, and may even impact what you need to ask for – especially when it comes to your file specifications. 

4. Deliverables, files and specs

This moves neatly on to file specs and deliverables. It sounds obvious, but even with the best intentions some of these can easily be overlooked as something to be confirmed later, but if gotten right at the start can save time, stress and money. 

Key things to consider: 

• The size the artwork will need to be used, and therefore the maximum dimensions and resolution needed, or whether you require a vector file*.
•  Whether the artwork will need to work for multiple formats and sizes.
• The exact file types you will need, and how the files should be set up.
• Whether you will need to animate the artwork, and how that impacts the way the files are set up.

5. Get aligned  

There can be quite a few people involved in shaping the brief, whether that's a creative team, your client or your boss, and the smoothest projects are those where all involved are aligned on the process, goals and expectations.  

When creating your brief, involving each of the key project stakeholders at the right times can save vital time throughout the creation process, avoiding awkward moments or even potentially costly steps later. Consider what you need to know from each person, and vice versa. And be sure you know who will have the final say about the end result, and when is the best time to involve them.   

Illustrations by Lena Yokoyama

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