Module 5 · Designing for a real client Lesson 13 of 15

Designing to a brief, not a mood

The concept

Read the brief back to whoever asked. Half of all design problems are a disagreement about the brief discovered after a week of work.

Keep the constraint visible - in the frame name or the first artboard - so nobody has to remember it and the work can be judged against it.

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Brief - Job alerts page

Who:        final-year students in tier-2 cities, mid-range Android
Goal:       opt in to a daily job digest (one number: opt-in rate)
Constraint: 2 weeks . existing brand . must work on 3G
Fixed:      the logo and the primary colour
Open:       layout, copy, the proof we show

Worked example

"A booking page for a tier-3 audience on 3G, in two weeks, using the existing brand" is a brief you can design against and defend.

Your practice task

Write a one-paragraph brief for a page you want to design: audience, goal, constraint and what is fixed.

Do this before moving on. Reading a solution teaches the shape of it; typing it teaches you.

Key takeaway

Read the brief back to whoever asked.

Almost there

15 lessons left of 15

Finish every lesson to unlock the certificate. Each one ends in a practice task — do them and the final project brief writes itself.