80% of creative projects that go off the rails share one thing: an incomplete brief. Not a bad supplier — a bad brief. The brief is the most critical moment of any project and the one everyone treats as a formality. Here is how to write a brief that delivers results.
The too-short brief lacks information. "Make us a modern logo" is not a brief — c'est une invitation au malentendu. Le prestataire interprète, le client est déçu, les itérations se multiplient, le budget explose.
The too-long brief goes unread. 15 pages of strategic context where essential information (budget, deadline, expected deliverables) is drowned in noise. The supplier skims, misses the point, and the project starts on the wrong foot.
The copy-pasted brief lacks specificity. A generic brief template does not ask the right questions for your project. A logo brief is not a website brief is not a film brief.
An effective creative brief fits on one page and answers these 10 questions:
1. Who are you? Name, activity, positioning. In 2 sentences.
2. What is the project objective? Not "have a nice logo" — "reposition our brand to target decision-makers in the pharmaceutical industry". A measurable objective, not an aesthetic wish.
3. Who is your target? Precise profile — not "everyone" or "professionals". Age, role, sector, maturity level, what they seek, what would make them leave.
4. What makes you different? Your raison d'etre against competitors. If you do not know, that is the first thing to work on — before the design.
5. What are the expected deliverables? Precise list. Logo + brand guidelines + templates? 8-page website? 90-second film + 4 social media formats? No ambiguity.
6. What is the budget? Even a range helps the provider adapt their proposal. No budget = no framing = proposal mismatched to your needs.
7. What is the deadline? Desired delivery date. If the deadline is fixed (event, launch), say so immediately.
8. What are the constraints? Existing brand guidelines to follow, technical constraints, hierarchical approval, regulatory constraints. Everything that will limit creative choices.
9. What are your visual references? 3 à 5 exemples de ce qui vous inspire (et pourquoi) + 3 exemples de ce que vous ne voulez surtout pas. Le "surtout pas" est souvent plus utile que les inspirations.
10. Who decides? The name of the person who approves the final deliverable. One decision-maker = smooth project. Committee of 8 = never-ending project.
80% of creative projects that go off the rails share one thing: an incomplete brief.
At Nexia, ZIA — our AI creative project manager — asks precisely these questions, in the right order, conversationally. The client does not fill out a form — they have a conversation with ZIA, who adapts to the answers, digs deeper when things are vague, accelerates when things are clear. In 3 minutes, the brief is structured and sent to the team.
This is the solution we built after receiving hundreds of incomplete briefs. ZIA does not let gaps slip through — and she does it without offending the client.
The client does not fill out a form — they talk with ZIA, who adapts to the answers, digs deeper when vague, accelerates when clear.