Task 1 - Working to a Brief
Working to a Brief
A brief is usually a written document containing instructions and important details. They are usually between company and client. There are many different types of briefs for different situations. Some of types of briefs are more suitable than others depending in the situation, and what work needs to be done. One type of brief is a formal brief.
A formal brief usually gets straight to the point and doesn’t contain much unnecessary detail or information. Formal briefs are mainly aimed at groups or businesses rather than individuals. They are the standard form of briefs, and they are usually a simple ‘agree and sign’ type of document. An example of a formal brief would be a company writing demands to a client, and the client agreeing to them without any negotiations or changes. Formal briefs are not always classified as a legal document. Advantages of formal briefs are that they are usually very clear and lack any real complexity; they refrain from using extended legal terms in most cases. A disadvantage is that the contract is very general; it doesn’t often go into detail. This can sometimes be a problem for clients.
Informal briefs are more casual briefs. They are usually agreed verbally. They are not as serious as formal briefs and should not be used for serious business. An example of an informal brief would be saying, “Will you do this, this, this and this for me by this date?” to which the client would either agree or disagree. An advantage of an informal brief is that they’re good for clients; they have free roam making it much easier for the client. A disadvantage is that the expectations of the company may not always be met. As informal briefs are not very detailed it can be difficult for the company to explain what they want, and as a result they may often end up with something slightly different to what they were expecting.
Contractual briefs are between clients and companies. They explain duties required to achieve success. It will explain how much an employee will receive. It is a legal contract between companies and clients that describes duties required as well as explaining price and payment terms. An example of this would be a written document from a company to a client, to which the client signs and agrees to. They are often used by big companies when in business with smaller companies. Advantages of contractual briefs are that they give the company an idea of what the client wants to achieve, and vice versa. It makes agreeing on things like prices and income much easier. A disadvantage of contractual briefs is that the client may acquire a heavy workload from the company; they can be stressful for the client. A lot of creativity is required from the client also.
A negotiated brief is when two parties have different ideas from each other but they both come to a decision by compromising and making sure both parties are happy with the decision. Negotiated briefs can often be in process for a while before the two parties can come to a mutual agreement. Negotiated briefs can end up being completely different to how they started and can be drastically changed. An example of a negotiated brief would be when a company demands a certain task from a client, and the client then negotiates with the company to tweak the demands, usually in the favour of the client. An advantage of negotiated briefs is that it brings the ideas of the company and the client together, and merges them, creating an agreement that is suitable for both client and company. A disadvantage is that when the company and client negotiate, they may often come to disagreements that may result in the client losing potential work. Or worst-case scenario, the two parties cannot come to any sort of agreement at all, and the company has to look elsewhere.
A brief is usually a written document containing instructions and important details. They are usually between company and client. There are many different types of briefs for different situations. Some of types of briefs are more suitable than others depending in the situation, and what work needs to be done. One type of brief is a formal brief.
A formal brief usually gets straight to the point and doesn’t contain much unnecessary detail or information. Formal briefs are mainly aimed at groups or businesses rather than individuals. They are the standard form of briefs, and they are usually a simple ‘agree and sign’ type of document. An example of a formal brief would be a company writing demands to a client, and the client agreeing to them without any negotiations or changes. Formal briefs are not always classified as a legal document. Advantages of formal briefs are that they are usually very clear and lack any real complexity; they refrain from using extended legal terms in most cases. A disadvantage is that the contract is very general; it doesn’t often go into detail. This can sometimes be a problem for clients.
Informal briefs are more casual briefs. They are usually agreed verbally. They are not as serious as formal briefs and should not be used for serious business. An example of an informal brief would be saying, “Will you do this, this, this and this for me by this date?” to which the client would either agree or disagree. An advantage of an informal brief is that they’re good for clients; they have free roam making it much easier for the client. A disadvantage is that the expectations of the company may not always be met. As informal briefs are not very detailed it can be difficult for the company to explain what they want, and as a result they may often end up with something slightly different to what they were expecting.
Contractual briefs are between clients and companies. They explain duties required to achieve success. It will explain how much an employee will receive. It is a legal contract between companies and clients that describes duties required as well as explaining price and payment terms. An example of this would be a written document from a company to a client, to which the client signs and agrees to. They are often used by big companies when in business with smaller companies. Advantages of contractual briefs are that they give the company an idea of what the client wants to achieve, and vice versa. It makes agreeing on things like prices and income much easier. A disadvantage of contractual briefs is that the client may acquire a heavy workload from the company; they can be stressful for the client. A lot of creativity is required from the client also.
A negotiated brief is when two parties have different ideas from each other but they both come to a decision by compromising and making sure both parties are happy with the decision. Negotiated briefs can often be in process for a while before the two parties can come to a mutual agreement. Negotiated briefs can end up being completely different to how they started and can be drastically changed. An example of a negotiated brief would be when a company demands a certain task from a client, and the client then negotiates with the company to tweak the demands, usually in the favour of the client. An advantage of negotiated briefs is that it brings the ideas of the company and the client together, and merges them, creating an agreement that is suitable for both client and company. A disadvantage is that when the company and client negotiate, they may often come to disagreements that may result in the client losing potential work. Or worst-case scenario, the two parties cannot come to any sort of agreement at all, and the company has to look elsewhere.
Task 2 - Negotiating Briefs
Negotiating and Responding to Briefs
A large production company has been in contact with me. They would like an advertisement for their radio station, RadioGalactic. I am meeting them on Monday to discuss a contact with them.
Monday 11th May: I met with the head producers of RadioGalactic. They wanted advertising for a big event being hosted on their radio station. We discussed the best possible methods of advertising the show, and came into agreement that a poster would be best.
Thursday 14th May: I met up again with the head producers to discuss the terms of my contact. They wanted to pay me £600 for a poster design, but I negotiated the contact with them, saying I wanted an increase of the payment, and I managed to bump the contact up to £750 for my poster design. I have accepted a contact and I have one week to design and produce a sample poster for the company.
Friday 15th May: I have started work on the poster. The company were not too specific on what they wanted, this is good because it means I have more freedom with the design, and I can put my creative skills to work. The poster will take me around three-four days to complete, so I have plenty of time to tweak or make changes should I need to.
Monday 18th May: The design is finished and the poster is complete. I made some final adjustments and brought it down to the office for approval, I am meeting the producers again on Thursday to see what they think. Hopefully they like the design.
A large production company has been in contact with me. They would like an advertisement for their radio station, RadioGalactic. I am meeting them on Monday to discuss a contact with them.
Monday 11th May: I met with the head producers of RadioGalactic. They wanted advertising for a big event being hosted on their radio station. We discussed the best possible methods of advertising the show, and came into agreement that a poster would be best.
Thursday 14th May: I met up again with the head producers to discuss the terms of my contact. They wanted to pay me £600 for a poster design, but I negotiated the contact with them, saying I wanted an increase of the payment, and I managed to bump the contact up to £750 for my poster design. I have accepted a contact and I have one week to design and produce a sample poster for the company.
Friday 15th May: I have started work on the poster. The company were not too specific on what they wanted, this is good because it means I have more freedom with the design, and I can put my creative skills to work. The poster will take me around three-four days to complete, so I have plenty of time to tweak or make changes should I need to.
Monday 18th May: The design is finished and the poster is complete. I made some final adjustments and brought it down to the office for approval, I am meeting the producers again on Thursday to see what they think. Hopefully they like the design.
Thursday 21st May: I met with the company again. They had thoroughly examined the design and came to the decision that whilst it was definitely very good, it needed some improvement to some minor details. They had told me that the font I used fitted the style of the poster well, but could be quite hard to read (a preview of the font I originally used is to the left). I was told to tweak the font to make it slightly more readable. I had two days to make the changes. I had to meet back with them on Saturday to hand-in the final design.
Saturday 23rd May: After changing the font to something slightly more readable (the changes to the font are displayed to the right), I met with the producers again to confirm that the poster was suitable. Much to my relief the company liked the design and were happy with the changes. The next step was to discuss where the poster should be displayed. I suggested that the poster could maybe displayed on the side of bus; this would attract a suitable audience as the radio show was to be aimed at a younger audience. Whilst the company really liked the idea, they said that advertising on public transport would be too expensive and they were looking for a cheaper alternative. So after lots of thought and discussion I suggested they could perhaps advertise outside a club. They liked this idea and agreed that it would not only be a cheaper method, but it would also attract more younger people, as the venue is a popular area for their target audience. I am meeting with the producers again on Tuesday to sign an official document and receive payment for my efforts.
Tuesday 26th May: I met with the producers one last time to sign off my contract and receive payment.
Tuesday 26th May: I met with the producers one last time to sign off my contract and receive payment.
Task 3 - Responding to a Brief
Task 4 - Evaluation
Evaluation
The process was quite simple. A company came to me looking for a poster design advertising their radio station’s newest show. They offered me a mediocre sum of money in exchange for a design. I managed to create a negotiated brief with the company, and was able to increase the wage a small amount.
The company gave me a week for an initial poster design. I began work and finished a rough design. The company evaluated it and decided some minor tweaks were required before the final design could be published. I made these tweaks and was able to successfully meet the requirements of the company’s brief.
The company first approached me with an informal-negotiated brief. This was good because it meant I had more freedom to create something that I thought would be suitable. As an artist, I appreciated this freedom to work with. I also negotiated this brief so I was able to get more out of it.
Overall, the process was simple, easy and we didn’t run into any major obstacles. I would certainly work with the company again.
The process was quite simple. A company came to me looking for a poster design advertising their radio station’s newest show. They offered me a mediocre sum of money in exchange for a design. I managed to create a negotiated brief with the company, and was able to increase the wage a small amount.
The company gave me a week for an initial poster design. I began work and finished a rough design. The company evaluated it and decided some minor tweaks were required before the final design could be published. I made these tweaks and was able to successfully meet the requirements of the company’s brief.
The company first approached me with an informal-negotiated brief. This was good because it meant I had more freedom to create something that I thought would be suitable. As an artist, I appreciated this freedom to work with. I also negotiated this brief so I was able to get more out of it.
Overall, the process was simple, easy and we didn’t run into any major obstacles. I would certainly work with the company again.