Method

A brief is a list of facts and constraints. Style comes later. The first job is to write down what is actually known and what is still a guess.

Start with the use: who has to read this, at what size, in which language, and in which medium (a sheet, a sign, a screen). Then list the hard constraints: a trim size, a colour limit, a date, a name that cannot be changed, a logo file that has to be used as supplied. If a constraint is missing, mark it as unknown rather than filling it in.

If the brief names a feeling ("clean", "bold", "modern"), ask for an example of a piece of work that already does that job, or for a piece that must not be copied. Vague adjectives are not specifications. They become useful only when they point at something you can both see.

This page is about reading, not about pitching for work. GDB does not take on client jobs. The same habit of writing down facts before talking about style is useful in editorial work as well.